DINETAH-PHASE OCCUPATION AND THE TWIN WAR GODS ON THE JICARILLA APACHE RESERVATION: Excavations along NM 537, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Yvonne R. Oakes Office of Archaeological Studies Museum of New Mexico AN 344 2007 MUSEUM OF NEW MEXICO OFFICE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES Dinetah-Phase Occupation and the Twin War Gods on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation: Excavations along NM 537, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Yvonne R. Oakes with contributions by Richard G. Holloway M. Steven Shackley Mollie S. Toll John A. Ware C. Dean Wilson Dorothy A. Zamora Timothy D. Maxwell, Ph.D. Principal Investigator ARCHAEOLOGY NOTES 344 SANTA FE 2007 NEW MEXICO Administrative Summary The Office of Archaeological Studies (OAS), occupation during the Dinetah phase Museum of New Mexico, excavated two sites (1620–1650). A nearby Gallina-phase tower struc- within the right-of-way of NM 537 on Jicarilla ture with attached rooms, a component of LA Apache Nation land in Rio Arriba County, New 143324 (the Site of the Ancients), contained corn- Mexico. A nearby tower structure and a picto- cobs left by Dinetah-phase people, as indicated graph of the Twin War Gods, components of LA by a radiocarbon date of about AD 1640. A picto- 143324 (the Site of the Ancients), were also inves- graph of the Twin War Gods is on the cliff wall tigated. The archaeological work was completed near the tower unit. The Navajos who left the between September 16 and October 24, 1991. The corncobs and drew the pictograph may have two excavated sites, LA 71263 and LA 76270, had occupied LA 71263. been previously investigated during a testing LA 76270 consisted of a sparse sherd and lith- program conducted by OAS at the request of the ic artifact scatter that could not be dated except New Mexico Department of Transportation by the presence of Dinetah Gray sherds. It may (NMDOT). have been a temporary campsite used by a LA 71263 was occupied during the Gallina Navajo group during the Dinetah or subsequent period (AD 1050–1300) and between AD 1300 Gobernador phase (ca. 1600–1775). and 1700, as indicated by the occurrence of Jemez These sites are extremely important to our Black-on-white pottery. Excavations revealed a knowledge of the little-known Navajo occupa- burned Navajo hogan and a nearby storage pit tion of Rio Arriba County. LA 71263, in particu- associated with Dinetah Gray utility sherds, lar, confirms the presence of early Navajo peo- Jemez Black-on-white, glaze-on-yellow, and sev- ples on the eastern edge of traditional Dinetah eral other minor pottery types. The burned wood lands and permits us to compare the site with in the structure and its hearth allowed for radio- other early Navajo occupations in northwestern carbon and dendrochronological dating of the New Mexico in terms of subsistence and settle- site. Three of the dates confirmed an early Navajo ment systems. Submitted in fulfillment of Joint Powers Agreement D04322 between the New Mexico Department of Transportation and the Museum of New Mexico, Office of Archaeological Studies. NMDOT Project No. FLH-1352(8), CN 2067. MNM Project No. 41.485 (Jicarilla). BIA Permit No. AAO-91-001. NMCRIS No. 85917. Jicarilla Apache Nation permit issued June 24, 1988. Administrative Summary iii Contents Administrative Summary . iii Introduction . 1 Environmental Setting. 3 Physiography. 3 Soils and Vegetation . 3 Climate . 3 Wildlife . 5 Prehistory and History of the Area. 7 Prehistory . 7 The Navajos . 9 The Jicarilla Apaches . 15 Research Proposal . 17 LA 71263. 17 LA 76270. 17 Chronometric Studies. 18 Occupational Patterns . 18 Cultural Affinity . 18 Descriptions of Excavated Sites . 21 LA 71263 (Los Ojitos) . 21 LA 76270 (Sand Hill) . 33 LA 143324 (The Site of the Ancients) . 39 Gallina Tower Ruins. 39 Cavate . 40 Pictograph of the Twin War Gods . 40 Second Rock Art Panel. 44 Ceramic Artifacts . 53 Methodology . 53 Temper . 53 Paint Pigment . 53 Surface Manipulation . 53 Vessel Form . 54 Ceramic Types . 54 Ceramic Dating of Navajo Period Sites . 56 Pottery Trends of the Navajo Occupation. 57 Vessel Use. 57 Lithic Artifacts . 59 Chipped Stone Research Orientation. 59 Chipped Stone Reduction Strategy . 59 Material Selection . 64 Thermal Alteration . 66 Tools . 68 Summary . 68 Ground Stone Analysis ..