BETWEEN MIMBRES AND HOHOKAM: THE SAN SIMON BASIN DURING THE PIT STRUCTURE PERIOD

Abstract

The complexities of peoples’ interactions with one another can be masked by terms such as hinterlands and heartlands. Although archaeologists might easily think of the San Simon Basin in southeastern Arizona as a hinterland, the concept does not do justice to the area during prehistory, especially in the Late Archaic (1500 B.C. to A.D. 100) and Pit Structure (A.D. 100–1050) periods. People there may have played a critical role, especially during the latter period, in social relationships between people in the Hohokam region on the west and the Mimbres Mogollon area to the east, especially in absorbing people from both areas. Equally fascinating is the very early (about A.D. 1050) and very complete abandonment of the basin after relatively high population numbers during the Late Archaic and Pit Structure periods. If the San Simon Basin then became a hinterland, how and why did this happen? I also present data and interpretations supporting a scenario of constant, small group migration into and out of the San Simon Basin to account for some of the patterns that we observe.