Conjectures on the Independent Development of the Mogollon Culture

Abstract

In recent years, questions and arguments about the Mogollon culture have grown hotter. Southwestern archaeologists have split into two camps, one pro- and the other anti-Mogollon. The main argument seems to be whether or not the Mogollon culture was ever a separate entity with a development distinct from the Hohokam and Anasazi cultures, and, if the Mogollon was a separate entity, should it be granted the same independent taxonomic status as the Hohokam and Anasazi?Much work remains to be done in the Mogollon culture and one can not make too many dogmatic statements. But in this article, I propose to set forth some conjectures which will at least use the available data and which may clarify the situation somewhat.Much of the discussion about the separateness of the Mogollon has hinged on the problem of dating the earliest known phases of this culture, namely, the San Francisco, the Georgetown, and pre-Georgetown.