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1

The
Mogollon
Culture
evolved
in
the
southwestern
corner
of
New
Mexico
and
 extended
along
the
Mogollon
Rim
into
east‐central
and
southeast
Arizona
and
 southward
into
the
Chihuahua
region
of
northern
Mexico.
This
map
is
decep?ve
in
 that
it
makes
it
look
like
the
Mogollon
occupied
an
en?re
territory
uniformly;
 however,
they
really
stuck
to
the
upland
areas
and
leD
large
lowland
areas
alone.
 2

Unlike
the
Hohokam
or
the
Ancestral
Puebloans,
the
Mogollon
were
only
Part‐?me
 farmers.
They
also
moved
around
more,
so
their
villages
were
only
semi‐permanent.
 3

This
is
the
textbook
defini?on
of
the
Mogollon
period.
It
is
based
on
the
appearance
 of
par?cular
type
of
poKery
and
the
construc?on
of
D‐shaped
pithouses.
Can
you
see
 how
limited
this
is?
It
would
be
like
defining
American
culture
from
the
1980s
to
the
 2000s
as
the
“Compact
Disk”
period.
This
hides
the
large
variability
that
occurs
during
 this
?me.
I,
for
example,
sported
quite
the
wavy
hair
in
the
1980s.
Today
–
not
so
 much.
 4

Pithouses
among
the
Mogollon
were
very
similar
to
those
built
by
the
Hohokam
and
 Ancestral
Puebloans,
except
they
tended
to
be
D‐shaped
rather
than
rectangular
or
 circular.
Also,
since
this
part
of
the
southwest
lacks
the
caliche
that
is
common
in
the
 Phoenix
valley,
most
pithouses
lacked
plastered
floors.
This
makes
them
very
difficult
 to
iden?fy
when
we
are
excava?ng
them.
You
have
to
find
a
layer
of
dirt
that
is
 slightly
more
packed
than
the
surrounding
dirt.
 5

Like
other
pithouses,
Mogollon
structures
required
lots
of
wood.
This
was
not
as
large
 of
a
problem
with
the
Mogollon,
who
lived
in
forested
areas,
as
it
would
be
with
the
 Hohokam
or
Puebloans.


 6

7

Mogollon
seKlements
during
this
?me
were
?ny
by
any
standard.
SeKlements
with
 simultaneous
occupa?on
of
4‐6
dwellings
would
have
had
a
popula?on
of
about
30
 people
total.
This
number
is
too
small
to
reliably
provide
marriage
partners
or
to
offer
 access
to
diverse
resources
that
might
have
been
needed
to
offset
poor
crops
or
lack
 of
success
in
hun?ng.
These
groups
would
have
had
to
interact
with
others
on
a
fairly
 regular
basis.
 8

Again
–
everything
is
based
on
poKery!!
This
period
was
one
of
great
stability
among
 the
Mogollon.
Hun?ng
and
some
gathering
con?nued
to
be
important
even
though
 agriculture
was
adopted
everywhere.
Pithouses
were
smaller
but
each
seKlement
 had
more
structures,
perhaps
indica?ng
that
the
basic
coopera?ng
group
was
the
 nuclear
family,
several
of
which
occupied
the
same
hamlet.
Most
seKlements
were
 built
near
arable
land
rather
than
in
defensive
loca?ons.
 9

The
appearance
of
surface
pueblos
during
this
?me
suggests
that
the
Puebloans
are
 having
a
more
important
influence
on
the
Mogollon
region
during
this
?me.
Some
 have
argued
that
the
Puebloans
engaged
in
a
“takeover”,
but
there
is
liKle
evidence
 of
warfare
or
conquest.
 10

As
with
the
Hohokam
and
the
Puebloans,
this
period
was
one
of
massive
change
for
 the
Mogollon.
In
many
parts
of
the
Mogollon
region
large
sites
are
built
for
the
first
 ?me,
possibly
due
to
an
influx
of
people
migra?ng
from
the
Puebloan
region.
Sites
 near
arable
land
tend
to
be
abandoned
in
favor
of
more
defensive
loca?ons.
One
 theory
–as
resources
become
more
unevenly
distributed,
people
mass
in
those
areas
 and
try
to
defend
what
they
have
from
outsiders.
 11

This
is
famous
site
located
along
the
Gila
River
near
Silver
City,
NM.
The
structures
 were
built
into
natural
caves
in
volcanic
tuff
in
the
end
of
the
13 th 
century.
These
 structures
would
have
been
excellent
defensive
loca?ons,
but
not
very
good
for
 growing
crops.

 12

The
Mimbres
Branch
represent
one
group
of
Mogollon
(like
Californians
are
one
 branch
of
Americans).
The
Mimbres
were
so
successful
as
both
farmers
and
poKery
 makers
that
their
popula?ons
expanded
to
the
point
where
their
region
(Mimbres
 Valley)
could
no
longer
support
them
all.
As
a
result,
their
group
collapses.
 Note
the
holes
in
the
two
bowls.
This
is
not
random
breakage.
These
holes
were
 punched
by
Mogollon
people
when
they
were
burying
their
dead.
The
broken
bowls
 were
placed
over
the
faces
of
the
deceased
to
allow
their
spirits
to
pass
on.
 13

One
of
the
most
well‐known
Mogollon
sites,
Three
Rivers
Petroglyphs,
seems
to
be
a
 veritable
Mecca
for
people
who
came
to
carve
petroglyphs.
No
other
site
in
the
SW
 comes
close
to
the
number
of
petroglyphs
found
here.
 14

A
Mogollon
Fish.
I
like
this
one,
for
some
reason.
 15

The
variety
in
petroglyph
designs
suggests
that
people
from
many
different
areas
are
 congrega?ng
here.
Maybe
to
trade?
 16

Why
do
you
think
buildings
would
be
burned
before
they
were
leD?
 17