Atlatl Cave

Atlatl Cave is an important archaeological site that contains organic evidence of occupation by Archaic North Americans c. 900 BCE. It is located at the west end of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico at an elevation of 1910 meters. During the 1970s, archaeologists[1] discovered corn, beans, squash, a yucca fiber sandal, a variety of different kinds of miniature beads made from juniper,[2] basketry, juniperus monoserma and juniperus scopulorum twigs, pseudotsuga menziesii wood fragments,[3] and fabric made from rabbit fur in the cave. The breaths of the Archaic-age maize pollen grains are significantly larger than Puebloan and present maize pollen.[4] They also found part of an atlatl, or spear-thrower, from which the site got its name. Atlatl Cave is important because unlike most Archaic sites in the canyon, the shelter protected the organic materials inside, which allowed for accurate radiocarbon dating.[5]

References

Citations

  1. "Spelling of ARCHAEOLOGIST". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  2. Baker, Pamela (2009). "ANOTHER LOOK AT 29SJ1156, ATLATL CAVE, IN CHACO CULTURE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK, NEW MEXICO" (PDF). Utah Rock Art. Volume XXVIII: 34 – via Google Scholar.
  3. Betancourt, Julio L.; Van Devender, Thomas R. (1981). "Holocene Vegetation in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico". Science. 214 (4521): 656–658. ISSN 0036-8075.
  4. Hall, Stephen (23 Jun 2010). "Early maize pollen from Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, USA". Palynology. 34, 2010 - Issue 1: 1 – via Taylor & Francis Online.
  5. Vivian & Hilpert 2012, pp. 61–62.

Bibliography

  • Vivian, R. Gwinn; Hilpert, Bruce (2012), The Chaco Handbook: An Encyclopedic Guide (2 ed.), University of Utah Press, ISBN 978-1-60781-195-4
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