Patayan is a group of prehistoric and historic
Native American cultures in parts of modern-day
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, west to
Lake Cahuilla
Lake Cahuilla ( ; also known as Lake LeConte and Blake Sea) was a prehistoric lake in California and northern Mexico. Located in the Coachella and Imperial valleys, it covered surface areas of to a height of above sea level during the Holoce ...
in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, and in
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
, from AD 700 to 1550. This included areas along the
Gila River
The Gila River (; O'odham ima Keli Akimel or simply Akimel, Quechan: Haa Siʼil, Maricopa language: Xiil) is a tributary of the Colorado River flowing through New Mexico and Arizona in the United States. The river drains an arid watershed of n ...
,
Colorado River
The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...
and in the
Lower Colorado River Valley, the nearby uplands, and north to the vicinity of the
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...
.
Cultural neighbors
Patayan culture is sometimes known as the Hakataya culture. Their nearest cultural neighbors were the
Hohokam
Hohokam () was a culture in the North American Southwest in what is now part of Arizona, United States, and Sonora, Mexico. It existed between 300 and 1500 AD, with cultural precursors possibly as early as 300 BC. Archaeologists disagree about ...
in central and eastern Arizona. The historic Yuman-speaking peoples in this region were skilled warriors and active traders, maintaining exchange networks with the
Pima
Pima or PIMA may refer to:
People
* Pima people, the Akimel O'odham, Indigenous peoples in Arizona (U.S.) and Sonora (Mexico)
Places
* Pima, Arizona, a town in Graham County
* Pima County, Arizona
* Pima Canyon, in the Santa Catalina Mountains ...
in southern Arizona and with the Californian Pacific Coast tribes.
Archaeology
The name "Patayan" comes from the
Quechan language
Quechan or Kwtsaan (, Kwatsáan Iiyáa), also known as Yuma, is the native language of the Quechan people of southeastern California and southwestern Arizona in the Lower Colorado River Valley and Sonoran Desert. Despite its name, it is not rel ...
and means "old people". Alternative terms have been proposed for the culture group. The archaeological record of the Patayan is poorly understood. Archaeologist Malcolm Rogers first identified the Patayan, publishing a definition and chronology in 1945. His survey identified hundreds of desert sites. The harsh environment limits archaeological fieldwork and there are few remains to find. Most Patayan people appear to have been very mobile and did not build large structures or accumulate many possessions. Patayan sites may have raised crops.
Significant archaeological remains of Patayan cultures appear near 875 A.D. and many cultural characteristics continued into historic times. The Patayan Culture may have originally emerged along the Colorado River, extending from the area around modern
Kingman northeast to the Grand Canyon. These people appear to have practiced floodplain agriculture, a conclusion based on the discovery of
manos and
metate
A metate (or mealing stone) is a type or variety of quern, a ground stone tool used for processing grain and seeds. In traditional Mesoamerican cultures, metates are typically used by women who would grind nixtamalized maize and other organic ma ...
s used to process
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
in these areas. Stone points and other tools for hunting and hide preparation have been found, suggesting an economy based both on agriculture and hunting and gathering.
Early Patayan sites contain shallow pithouses or surface "long houses", consisting of a series of rooms arranged in a line. These homes had a pitroom at the east end, perhaps for storage or ceremonial activities. Later sites were less well defined and show loose groupings of varying house types.
Culture and art
The Patayan made both
baskets
A basket is a container that is traditionally constructed from stiff fibers and can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials such as horsehai ...
and
pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...
. Ceramics were apparently not adopted until 700 A.D. Patayan pottery is primarily plain ware, visually resembling the "Alma Plain" of the
Mogollon. However, these pots were made using the paddle-and-anvil method, and the forms are more reminiscent of
Hohokam
Hohokam () was a culture in the North American Southwest in what is now part of Arizona, United States, and Sonora, Mexico. It existed between 300 and 1500 AD, with cultural precursors possibly as early as 300 BC. Archaeologists disagree about ...
ware. The use of paddle-and-anvil construction suggests that people from or influenced by the Hohokam first settled in this territory. Lowland Patayan pottery is made of fine, buff-colored riverine clays, while the upland Patayan pottery is more coarse and a deeper brown. Painted ware, sometimes using red slips, appear heavily influenced by the styles and designs of neighboring cultures.
See also
*
List of dwellings of Pueblo peoples
Hundreds of Ancestral Puebloan dwellings are found across the American Southwest. With almost all constructed well before , these Puebloan towns and villages are located throughout the geography of the Southwest.
Many of these dwellings inc ...
*
Pre-historic Southwestern cultural divisions
Southwestern archaeology is a branch of archaeology concerned with the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. This region was first occupied by hunter-gatherers, and thousands of years later by advanced civilizations, such as the An ...
References
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*
*
External links
Patayan Map and Pottery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patayan
Colorado River tribes
Oasisamerica cultures
Archaeological cultures of North America
History of indigenous peoples of North America
Pre-Columbian cultures
Native American history of California
Native American history of Arizona
History of Baja California
Quechan
Gila River