A Brief History of Apache Occupation at Chiricahua National Monument

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Partners at Work: Promoting Archaeology and Collaboration in the Chiricahua Mountains" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Chiricahua National Monument, located in southeastern Arizona near Willcox, holds evidence for thousands of years of Native American occupation. Relatively recent in this timeline is occupation by the Chiricahua Apache. Up through the 19th century, the Chiricahua Apache ranged over a significant part of the Southwest, including northern Mexico, southwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Arizona. Chiricahua National Monument, as well as the surrounding Chiricahua and Dragoon mountains, are strongly associated with the Chiricahua Apache. This importance was recognized by the US government, and a Chiricahua Apache reservation was formed in 1872 near the monument, lasting until 1877 when the Chiricahua Apache were forcibly relocated to the San Carlos Reservation in east-central Arizona. This poster presents the archaeological evidence of Chiricahua Apache occupation, along with historical records and oral histories, within and around Chiricahua National Monument. Recent archaeological investigations focusing on the Chiricahua Apache have uncovered artifacts pertaining to subsistence, material wealth, raiding, and warfare. The National Park Service, along with archaeologists, historians, and indigenous scholars, has worked to rediscover the material details of Chiricahua Apache life during the 18th and 19th centuries.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Partners at Work: Promoting Archaeology and Collaboration in the Chiricahua Mountains   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24926