Reevaluating Mobility and Sedentism in Classic Mimbres and Salado Villages, Southwest New Mexico

Abstract

Fourteenth-century Cliff phase Salado (AD 1300–1450) villages in southwest New Mexico show interesting contrasts with earlier villages in the same region from the Classic Mimbres period (AD 1000–1130). One of the most intriguing differences is that although people in both time periods relied heavily on maize agriculture, Salado period villagers may have employed a more mobile land-use strategy in comparison to Classic Mimbres period residents of the same areas. Researchers in the 1980s suggested that “short-term sedentism” characterized Salado period sites but had limited comparative data. This study reexamines evidence for mobility and sedentism in the Classic Mimbres and Salado periods using burial and architectural data from 49 excavated archaeological sites in the Mimbres region, including recent work on Salado villages.