Salado in the Upper Gila

Summary

Salado archaeology in New Mexico was largely defined in the Upper Gila, where the regional name "Cliff phase" originated. Early work by Kidder and the Cosgroves in the 1920s and several professional and avocational projects in the 1960s-70s included important Salado sites. Despite this early promise many projects were underreported, and there has been comparatively little research with modern methods. Recent research by Archaeology Southwest addresses this gap. A strong base of survey and excavation in the Lower San Pedro Valley coupled with a growing understanding of the spread of Salado pottery and other markers allows us to trace Salado influence into the Upper Gila. The regional scale of Salado as the complex outcome of the Kayenta migration from the northern to the southern Southwest in the second half of the 13th century has become increasingly clear. This paper reviews the story of Salado on the scale of the Southwest and then focuses on current Preservation Archaeology efforts in the Upper Gila. Planning is ongoing to define a long-term research program that will improve our understanding of Salado’s place in the larger cultural and temporal framework of the Upper Gila.

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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