Ancestral Puebloans: The Southwest American Indians Essays

It was during the time period that Christ was born that the Anasazi Indians appeared in the Four Corners area which is the area where the boundaries of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado meet. For the over a thousand years the Anasazi thrived and built their homes into the side of cliffs. These cliff dwellings could only be reached by climbing and made for a great defense system against enemies; some dwellings reached five stories in height and contained hundreds of rooms. Many of the elaborate cliff dwellings and terraced apartment houses built of stone, mud, and wood that dot the Four Corners region still stand today and date back to about 9,000 CE., but the people who comprised this desert culture did not begin to settle into an agricultural lifestyle until around A.D. 400. The Anasazi, which is a Navajo word meaning “the ancient ones”, likely received corn, squash and beans, which are a prime source of protein, added to their diet and the knowledge to raise them from their southern neighbors in Mexico. Vegetable crops provided a reliable food source that made an increase in population possible and also allowed time for other interests such as religion, art, ritual, public works and handicrafts. This allowed the Anasazi society continued to evolve and progress. The ancient ones also possessed beans, a prime source of protein and new varieties of corn. Other innovations included the bow and arrow which eventually replaced spears and at least two varieties of dogs

The Anasazi culture is believed to be advance. The Anasazi were the beginning of pueblo culture. The Anasazi learned how to use water for irrigation to water their crops. The Anasazi used their crops for trading along with helping develop the culture. The only thing The Anasazi lack is wheels. The Anasazi

This was my first time hearing about the Anasazi culture and it turned out to be very captivating. There was various things that stuck out to me in the article particularly where it shows how innovative they where in those times with adopting different weapons like the bow and arrow.Also how they adapted to living in small communities and started farming and storing food but really for being ahead of their time as fars seeing the changes ahead of time showing an eminent of ability and skill level. Furthermore the expert architectural skills they showed by building cliff dwellings and Adobe homes and how powerful and meaningful they were to society in the southwest until this date. Also they were very structured with the pueblos with large

There are many different archaeologists who are still studying the abandonment of the Anasazi people and arguing the reasons why they left. Even Keith Kloor stated in the “Insider: Who were the Anasazi?” the whole thing is a controversial claim to an ancient legacy. He goes on to discuss how it wasn't just the Anasazi at the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde Colorado that abandoned their home there, but it also happened to the Anasazi people in northwestern New Mexico in Chaco Canyon, another ancient site (2009,

People often ask, “How did the world begin?”. Some argue the Big Bang Theory, others argue God created Earth Himself. Most Native Americans, however, generally believed their world stemmed from multiple gods, animals, or a phenomenon of nature. Each creation myth was tailored to each individual tribe’s culture, customs, and beliefs. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to compare and analyze the creation stories of two prominent Native American tribes present in Texas: the Comanche and the Apache; warrior tribes that rode fiercely on horseback, and both competed to dominate the Great Plains. These two tribes were fairly similar in their military prowess, but both had a different language, culture, and a remarkably different creation story. From their creation story, one may begin to understand the culture of these two notable tribes.

The Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana is a part of the southeast Native American tribes. This tribe has been known to be farmers, hunters and gatherers (Southeast American). The extent of this paper will explore the rich tribal history and lifestyles of the Chitimacha tribe. The word Chitimacha is the people’s word for “those living on Grand River”, according to the scholarly article The Historic Indian Tribes of Louisiana: from 1542 to the Present Louisiana by Fred B. Kniffen. This is relevant information because it helps us to better understand the people of this tribe. The Chitimacha tribe is the only to still live in the same place they lived in 1700 (Kniffen). Additionally, the Chitimacha

Ceramic making is still a popular tradition today in the Americas, especially on Native Indian Reservations, like in Western, North Carolina. The use of ceramics, however, is quite different than the way it was used by the natives during the Middle Woodland Period. Today, pottery is mainly made for decoration or art purposes by modern day Americans, but according to Wallis (2011), about 3,000 years ago the use of pottery became a very common use and practiced tradition among the native people who lived during that time period. The Swift Creek culture and the Cherokee Indians had very similar methods in formulating ceramics. The archaeological findings of these artifacts states that one group had been more advanced designs on their vessels. This reason is most likely because of the materials that one group was able to access in their area that the other group did not have available. One group was also more traditional and spiritual in making their vessels, which caused them to create more complex designs and methods while designing their ceramics (Block 2005). By looking at the similarities of both groups pottery styles, archaeologists were able to determine the minor but very distinctive differences, that one group processed in their art, than the other. By comparing each group’s ceramics by looking at

The positive influence of their Anasazi predecessors continued well into the 1200’s for the Hopi Indians. The Great Drought of 1276 through 1299, though, brought great changes in the making of Hopi pottery (Bartlett 4). Orange and yellow pottery came into existence as wood used for the firing technique was abandoned for the coal fuel found in abundance on the three mesas. Coal became the principal fuel for cooking and heating, as well as for the firing of the Hopi pottery. The Anasazi influence, along with the use of coal, transformed the pottery color and design into what has now been named the Sikyatki Polychrome style of Hopi pottery.

”California Indians. 1999, p6. 2p. 1 Black and White Photograph, 1 Chart, 1 Map.” The mesquite and willow wood provide a flexible and strong base for the bow, which allowed the Cahuilla to hunt game from a distance. They also implemented another weapon that was similar to a boomerang that was held in one hand and tossed at smaller game. The throwing stick would incapacitate or stun the game in order to provide a chance for the Cahuilla hunter to acquire their prey ”http://www.augustinetribe.org/cahuilla.html”. Hunting was a big part of the Cahuilla life when the seasons would allow it. Using the seasons as indicators when their game would produce offspring, and when they were able to start hunting was no easy task as it shows excellent organizational and planning skills.

Referred to as "Hisatsinom" by their Hopi descendants, the people are probably better known as "Anasazi," the Navajo name said to mean "ancient enemies." Other, more traditional, Native

In the early history of the United States, even before Europeans set foot in North America, there were Native Americans all across the continent. Native Americans lived in tribes and were nomadic. Although they were nomadic, they would also inhabit “permanent villages” where they would live year-round. On the occasion that those “permanent villages” were abandoned, left behind would be artifacts from their culture that explained a great amount about their lifestyle and traditions. These popular artifacts were most commonly found in southwest and northeast regions such as the Great Plains, the Great Basin, and the Mississippi River Valley.

A source of water seems to have been one of the most important points in Anasazi building concepts. Though much of Anasazi great house architecture was built near a spring or other water source, most inhabitants of the Chaco Canyon region innovatively constructed dams and reservoirs to maintain the level of water they would need, to the best of their ability.7 This kind of water tapping was of great importance to the Anasazi people, as the environment of northwest New Mexico is extremely arid, leaving much of the naturally available water sources with very limited amounts.

•Anasazi – They were a cultural group of people during the Pueblo I and II Eras. During their time, corn was introduced to society, and the ideas of nomadic hunters and gatherers were present. Their crafts and houses still stand today, which plays an important role in the advancement of architecture and craftsmanship.

Anasazi Mystery The Anasazi were an ancient Indian tribe who date back to about 200 A.D. and they were believed to be related to the Pueblo Indians. This tribe inhabited southwest Colorado, southern Utah, northern New Mexico and Arizona until around 1300 A.D. After this time however, the Anasazi began to disappear. There are many theories as to why the tribes left and disappeared. Some claim that it is due to changes in climate that caused drought and drove people away.

Near the end of the Archaic Period, many Native American groups began to accept and implement agriculture, as it provided a more reliable source of food. With the creation of planting fields came the creation of permanent villages, and thereby the need for a new and more suitable building material: adobe. Adobe provided long-lasting and efficient shelter