Oasisamerica

Oasisamerica, as an ethno-cultural region, was formed 2,000 years later than Mesoamerica. Some oasisamerican communities, in addition to growing corn, still practiced hunting and gathering, but most of the tribes switched completely to agriculture ^[3] . The earliest corn samples found date back to about 3500 BC, so corn got into oasisamerica 1500 years after it appeared in Mesoamerica, which confirms the hypothesis that maize was imported from the south.

There are several hypotheses proposed to explain the birth of oasisamerica cultures. The first of these, the endogenous model, offers an independent cultural development, the roots of which lie deep in antiquity. From this point of view, thanks to the favorable climate, ancient desert communities could develop agriculture in the same way as the Mesoamericans did.

The second hypothesis suggests that the Oasis Americans are descendants of Mesoamerican nomads who have gone north over time. Thus, the Oasisamericans are a separated ancient line of Mesoamerican culture. There is ample evidence of the close relationship between the two cultural regions of North America. First, turquoise , which was appreciated by the Mesoamericans, was mined exclusively in southern New Mexico and Arizona . The demand for this mineral could play a large role in establishing trade relations between the two cultural zones. At the same time, ceremonial buildings associated with the Mesoamerican religion and a large number of skeletons of parrots found only in the forests of southeastern Mexico were found in the settlements of Pakim , which are receivers of the Mogul culture.

The area covered by the oasisamerica became the site of the development of several major cultural groups: Pueblo , Hohokam , Mogollon , Patay and Fremont culture ^{[4] [5]} .

Pueblo

The ancient cultures of Pueblo flourished in the region now known as the Four Corners ^[6] . The territory was covered with juniper forests that the ancient peoples learned to use for their needs, since the extraction of food among other vegetation was possible only from November to April. Pueblos were one of the most developed cultural societies with a complex social structure in the oasisamerica. Although it is not customary to speak of pueblo as a certain nation, but rather of people with common cultural characteristics, it is generally accepted that the likely descendants of ancient pueblo are Hopi or Zuni . The term anasazi is also used to describe these cultures, which in the Navajo language is translated as “enemy ancestors”.

The pueblo culture remains the best studied pre-Columbian culture in the United States ^[7] . Archaeological research established a sequence of cultural development that began around the first century BC and continued until the colonization of America by Europeans and the enslavement of the Spaniards. Primitive pueblos settled in caves and rocky shelters in 500-750. AD they began to build the first houses under the ground, forming small villages with houses in a circular position. At the same time, ceramics appear, decorated with patterns of white, black and red colors. In 750-900, the pueblo developed the irrigation system and began to build houses of brick above the ground. In the 900-1150s, grandiose architectural structures appeared, including high-rise buildings. In the next stage (1150-1350), the ancestors of the pueblo improve farming methods, expanding their fields and creating major regional ties, exerting cultural and economic influence on neighboring tribes. However, even the arrival of the colonists, the culture of the ancient Pueblo fell into a deep decline, the reason for this could be the drought, which lasted from 1276 to 1299. At the time of the arrival of the colonists, the pueblos were disconnected groups without a single ethnicity.

The pueblo ancestral religion was based on the worship of plant deities and the fertility of the earth. They believed that supernatural beings, called Kachina, came to the surface of the earth from the sipapa (center of the earth) at the time of the creation of the human race. Worship in Pueblo societies was organized by secret groups of men. The members of these secret societies claimed to be rock.

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  Rock Palace, Mesa Verde National Park

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  Ceramics of the ancestors of pueblo, 1100 - 1250 AD

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  cave house

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  Pueblo Decoration

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  Window in the wall, Pueblo del Arroyo

Hohokam

Hohokam peoples occupied the desert lands of Arizona and Sonora . The territory of the Khokhok is bounded by two large rivers, the Salt and the lakes of Hila , which pass through the center of the Sonoran desert. The surrounding ecosystem presents many challenges for agriculture and human life due to its high temperatures and scarce rainfall. Due to these factors, the khokhoks were forced to build irrigation systems with complex networks of reservoirs and canals leading from the Salt and Hila rivers, whose length reached 10 kilometers, and a depth of several meters. Thanks to these channels, hohokam could harvest 2 corn crops annually.

The main hohokam culture settlements were Sneaktown , Casa Grande , Red Mountain and Pueblo de los Muertos, located in modern Arizona. Hohokam lived in small communities of several hundred people. Their way of life was very similar to the ancient pueblos in the 5th - 7th century, so the underground dwellings were built for the rodents, which are notable for their spacious interiors. Hohokam wore necklaces from shells, which were mined in the coastal areas of Greater California and created stone tools, spears and axes.

Archaeologists have questioned the ethnic identity of the Hohokam culture. Some believe that culture developed endogenously (without external influence), pointing to Sneaktown , which arose in the fourth century BC. Others believe that the ancestors of the Khokhoks migrated from Mesoamerica. In defense of this version, proponents point out that pottery to hockeys appeared in 300 BC. (the time of the founding of Sneaktown), and until that time there had been no hint of independent regional development of ceramics. Proponents also claim that technological advances such as complex canal systems or cremation were also first created in western Mesoamerica.

The development of the culture of hohokam is divided into four periods: pioneer (300 BC - 550 AD), colonial (550-900 AD), sedentary (900-1100 AD). ) and classical (1100-1450 AD). The pioneering period began with the construction of canals. During the colonial period, trade relations were established with Mesoamerica, which confirms the appearance of copper bells, pyrite mirrors and the construction of ball fields. Relations with Mesoamerica and the presence of such tradable goods show that the jockees at this point were a developed society with the elite and the leader. During the sedentary period, trade relations with Mesoamerica diminish and high-rise buildings, such as Casa Grande, begin to be built by hockeys .

By the time Europeans arrived in the deserts of Arizona and Sonora, the city centers of Hohokam were already abandoned, presumably due to natural disasters that led to mass starvation and the collapse of the social structure. The likely descendants of this culture are the Papago Indians, who at the time of arrival of the colonists, led a semi-nomadic way of life and experienced the birth of agriculture.

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  Human figure

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  Earthen vessel 600-900 years

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  reconstructed house giggle pattern

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  Casa Grande Ruins

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  Sample of art on shells

Mogollon

Mogollion was a cultural area of ​​Mesoamerica that stretched from the foothills of the western Sierra Madre , north to Arizona and New Mexico in the southwestern United States. Some scholars prefer to distinguish between two broad cultural traditions in this area: Mogolion itself and its successive culture, Pakime . The people who inhabited this area, well adapted to the landscape, which is characterized by the presence of pine forests, steep mountains and ravines. Unlike their neighbors, hohokam and the ancestors of the pueblo in the north, the mogolins performed luxurious burial rites and buried the deceased with pottery and precious stones. For the same reason, the tombs became a frequent target of the robbers, who then tried to sell their trophies on the archaeological black market. The most impressive examples of the ceramic mugoll tradition were found in the valley of the Mimbre River in New Mexico. Ceramics production in this region flourished between the 8th and 12th centuries. The pottery was painted white and decorated with stylized images of everyday life in the community. The chronology of the development of the mogul culture is divided into two phases; The “early” period lasts from 500 BC. until 1000 AD, and the "late" period lasts from the 11th to the 16th century.

The first period shows a slow and gradual cultural development, where the form of social relations and organizational structures remained almost unchanged for 1500 years, and technological advances also remained almost unchanged, but underwent some improvements. In the early period, the Mogul family lived in rocky dwellings in which they defended themselves against the invasion of hunting tribes. In the eleventh century, trade relations were established with Mesoamerica, and the population of Mogalion grew rapidly by increasing the area of ​​agriculture. Deeper stratifications are formed in society. It is also possible that the Mogalion Indians experienced cultural influence from the side of the pueblo, since they also began to build buildings of brick, like their northern neighbors.

Culture Mogollon reached its peak in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. At this time, the population of cities grew rapidly. The Paquim settlement, in Chihuahua, was the largest of them. The Mogulon Indians dominated the mountainous region, which contains many archaeological objects known as Casas Alcantilado, outposts built in remote caves on the eastern slopes of Sierra Madre. Pakimes sold precious minerals such as turquoise and cinnabar to Mesoamerica. They also controlled the sale of certain products throughout the Gulf of California, especially Nassarius shells. Pakimes were strongly influenced by Mesoamerican cultures, as evidenced by the presence in their cities of arenas for ball games and the remains of animals living in tropical Central America.

In the 13th century, the central power of Pakimus weakened and by the 15th century practically all cities were neglected, while its inhabitants migrated to the Mexican state of Coahuila . It is assumed that the Indian peoples Tarakahites, Yaks , Mayo , Opata, and Taraumara , who now live in northeastern Mexico, are descendants of Mughalons.

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  Mogolon ceramics

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  Ceramics Mimbres, 1000–1150

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  Ceramics Mimbres, 1000–1150

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  Ritual figure of 1300-1400 year

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  Ruins of Kinishba, Arizona

Fremont

Fremont culture covered most of the utes and was located to the north of the ancient pueblo settlements. Its cultural development as part of the Ozamerica took place between the 5th and 14th centuries. Scientists claim that the Fremont culture was formed from the Pueblo ancestral culture. In theory, the Fremont communities emigrated to the north, bringing with them the customs and technologies of the Pueblo ancestors. In favor of this theory, you can bring found ceramics in the state of Utah, which is very similar to the one that was found in Mesa Verde . The second hypothesis suggests that the Fremont culture could have been formed from a society of buffalo hunters, probably of Atabasco origin, which over time adopted the culture and traditions of its southern neighbors. The collapse of Fremont culture began in the second half of the 10th century and was completed in the 14th century. Upon the arrival of the Spaniards, the region was captured by a tribe of Shoshone hunters.

Pataya

The archaeological culture district of Patayan occupies the western part of Oasisamerica. It includes the modern states of California and Arizona in the United States, as well as Baja California and Sonora in Mexico. The Patayans were a peripheral culture, the development of which was probably influenced by Hohokam’s neighbors in the east. From them, they learned about the Mesoamerican ball game, cremation methods and ceramics production methods. Patayan culture declined in the fourteenth century. When the Spaniards arrived in the region, the valley of the Colorado River was captured by the Queens .

• Mesoamerica
• Aridoamerica
• Paleo-Indians

• Mexico's Indigenous Past . - Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2005. - ISBN 978-08061-3723-0 .