Venturing into the Borderland: Revisiting the 13th-Century Occupation of the Upper Gila

Summary

Between the end of the Mimbres Classic period in the 12th century C.E. and the beginning of the 14th-century C.E. Cliff Phase, most of the Upper Gila region of New Mexico is thought to have been only sparsely populated if not entirely unoccupied. Recent excavation in Mule Creek has demonstrated a strong 13th-century presence in this area, however. Like the Gila Cliff Dwellings on the West Fork of the Gila, the settlements in Mule Creek show clear connections to contemporary sites in the Mogollon Highlands to the north and west. A comparison of ceramic collections from previously excavated sites in the Upper Gila with assemblages from Mule Creek and the Gila Cliff Dwellings provides a window into the variable use of the region during the 1200’s. I argue that the 13th-century Upper Gila served as a cultural borderland between Tularosa Phase traditions in the Mogollon Highlands and Black Mountain phase traditions to the south and east. The diverse social connections of the people who occupied or made use of this borderland contributed to the diversity and flexibility visible among 13th-century sites and ultimately at the Cliff Phase Salado sites that flourished in the Upper Gila during the 14th century.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Recent Archaeological Research in the Upper Gila   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage