Long ago, people lived in the desert.
They built homes in big rocks. Some homes were even dug into the ground. They made beautiful pots with birds on them.
These people were very smart. Can you imagine living in a rock house?
Long ago, people lived in the desert.
They lived in many lands. Some built homes in the ground. These homes were round or oval.
Later, they built houses on the ground. These houses used rock and earth. Some people even lived in cliffs. They also grew food like corn. They made very pretty pots.
These pots had birds and people on them. It was a very special way of life.
The Mogollon people lived long ago in the desert.
They lived in parts of New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico.
How they lived changed over time. At first, they were foragers. This means they searched for food. Later, they grew more food like corn. They used water control to help their crops grow.
Their homes changed too. Early on, they lived in pithouses. These were homes dug into the ground. They had roofs made of sticks and thatch. Later, they built pueblos. These were houses on the ground made of rock and earth. Some people even lived in cliff-dwellings.
The Mogollon made beautiful pottery. One famous group was the Mimbres.
They painted black designs on white bowls. These designs showed animals and people. They painted birds, fish, and humans. Some people even found these bowls in graves. Often, a small hole was punched in the center.
Scientists still study these sites today. They learn about how these people lived and worked.
The Mogollon culture was a group of Native American peoples.
They lived in a large area long ago. This area included parts of southern New Mexico and Arizona. It also covered northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico. It even reached into western Texas. The Mogollon people flourished for a very long time. Their culture lasted until about 1450 or 1540 CE. This was when Spanish explorers arrived in the region. Today, we study them to learn about ancient life.
Mogollon life changed as the years passed. At first, people were foragers who searched for food. Later, they began to rely more on farming. They grew crops like maize in the dirt. To help their plants, they used water control features. Their homes changed as their villages grew larger. Early people lived in pithouses dug into the ground. These had roofs made of sticks and thatch. By the 11th century, they built pueblos on the surface. These were houses made of rock and earth. Later, some people lived in cliff-dwellings.
Scientists have worked hard to name this culture. An archaeologist named Emil Haury defined it in 1936. He studied sites like Harris Village in Mimbres, New Mexico. He also looked at the Mogollon Village on the San Francisco River. Haury found that Mogollon tools and buildings were unique. They were different from the Hohokam or Ancestral Pueblo cultures. He noticed their special brown-paste pottery and coil-and-scrape style. He also saw their deep, semi-subterranean pit-houses. Many big museums still study these findings today.
The history of the Mogollon is divided into periods. One expert, Joe Ben Wheat, named five periods in 1955. The first period began around 200 CE. The last period ended around 1450 CE. There is also a famous group called the Mimbres. The Mimbres branch is a subset of the Mogollon. They are known for very special black and white pottery.
These bowls often had beautiful paintings on them. Some bowls had small holes punched in the center. These were often found near people who had died. Scientists also found many different regional branches of the culture. These included the Jornada, Forestdale, and Reserve branches.
Mogollon art tells us stories about their world. They painted many things on their white pottery. You can see birds like turkeys on the bowls. They even painted fish from the Gulf of California.
Some designs showed humans with diamond-shaped eyes. These paintings suggest they had a rich ceremonial life. Their art was so famous that people copied it later. Between 1936 and 1970, railroad china used Mimbres designs. This shows how much their beautiful work still matters. We can still see their history in the rocks and the earth today.
The Mogollon culture was a significant prehistoric archaeological culture of Native American peoples.
Their territory covered a vast area in the American Southwest and northern Mexico. This region included southern New Mexico and Arizona, as well as northern Sonora, Chihuahua, and western Texas. The northern part of this territory is known as Oasisamerica. The southern part is known as Aridoamerica. This culture flourished from the archaic period until approximately 1450 or 1540 CE. This timing marks the arrival of the Spanish in the region.
Archaeologists identify the Mogollon by specific cultural traits. These traits include brown-paste, coil-and-scrape pottery. They also utilized deeply excavated semi-subterranean pit-houses. Their ceremonial architecture was also unique. These features helped distinguish them from the Hohokam and Ancestral Pueblo cultures. The name "Mogollon" comes from the Mogollon Mountains. These mountains were named after Juan Ignacio Flores Mogollón. He was the Spanish Governor of New Spain from 1712 to 1715. The specific term for this culture was defined in 1936 by archaeologist Emil W. Haury.
There are several theories regarding the origins of the Mogollon people. One theory suggests they emerged from a Desert Archaic tradition. This tradition is linked to the first human occupations in the area around 9000 BC. In this view, cultural distinctions arose as populations grew into larger villages. An alternative theory suggests they descended from migrants from central Mexico around 3500 BC. These migrants may have displaced the descendants of the Desert Archaic peoples. A third theory proposes they descended from the Cochise culture. The Cochise people arrived around 5000 BC. They may have adopted farming from Central Mexico.
Over time, the Mogollon way of life shifted from foraging to farming. Initially, they were foragers who supplemented their diet with small amounts of farming. During the first millennium CE, their dependence on farming likely increased. They used water control features to support their crops.
Their housing also evolved through three distinct stages. The Early Pithouse period lasted from 200 to 550 CE. During the Late Pithouse period from 550 to 1000 CE, houses changed. Finally, the Mogollon Pueblo period occurred from 1000 to 1450 CE. Early homes were circular or oval pits with stick and thatch roofs. Later, they built rectangular houses with rounded corners. By the 11th century, surface pueblos with rock and earth walls became common. By the 13th and 14th centuries, cliff-dwellings became a frequent sight.
Historians often divide Mogollon history into five specific periods. These were proposed by Joe Ben Wheat in 1955. Mogollon 1 occurred from 200 to roughly 400 CE. Mogollon 2 lasted from approximately 400 to 650 CE. Mogollon 3 spanned from 650 to 850 CE. Mogollon 4 took place from 850 to 1000 CE. The final stage, Mogollon 5, lasted from 1000 to 1450 CE. This last period includes the famous Classic Mimbres phase. The Mimbres phase occurred between roughly 1050 and 1200 CE. This subset of the culture is highly recognized today.
The Mimbres branch is perhaps the most famous part of the Mogollon culture.
This branch was centered in the Mimbres Valley. It included the upper Gila River and parts of the San Francisco River. Mimbres people are well known for their black-on-white painted pottery. This pottery featured geometric designs and images of animals or people. Some bowls even depicted marine species from the Gulf of California.
Archaeologists often find these bowls in burials. Some have "kill holes" punched in the center. While often found near the dead, wear marks show these bowls were used in daily life. This pottery was so admired that Santa Fe Railroad used Mimbres designs on china from 1936 to 1970.
Many different regional branches existed within the larger Mogollon occupation. These included the Jornada, Forestdale, and Reserve branches. Other branches were the Point of Pines, San Simon, and Upper Gila branches. The Mimbres branch was much smaller in area than the entire Mogollon culture. However, the Mogollon occupation spanned a much longer time, roughly one millennium. Today, many universities and museums continue to study these sites. They look at everything from ground-stone tools to mortuary treatments. This research helps us understand how these people lived and interacted with their environment.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (10)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🔬 Go deeper
More advanced topics to explore
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.