Prelude: SALADO
Who or what is Salado?
At Archaeology Southwest, we use the term “Salado” to describe people and a process of cultural change—a process of becoming those people.
Beginning in the 1200s, ancestral Puebloan people from what is now northeastern Arizona migrated to the southern Southwest, which was already well populated. Those ancestral Puebloan people are known to archaeologists as the Kayenta. The local groups they encountered include peoples known to archaeologists as the Hohokam and Mogollon.
The challenges of establishing a new community, joining an established community, or taking in new community members were resolved in different ways in each of the places the migrants arrived. Those differences are of particular interest to researchers.
Over the next few generations, as these once socially distant people began to live together in large communities, a new, overarching cultural identity emerged across the southern Southwest. This inclusive identity is what we call “Salado.”
When is Salado?
The emergence of the Salado identity happened in the fourteenth century—the 1300s. Its florescence continued until about 1450.
Where is Salado?
Kayenta migrants moved in several waves to different valleys in the southern Southwest.
Over time, many of these places, and many of these people, became Salado. Although these communities shared this overarching identity, the way it was expressed sometimes varied among regions.
What does Salado look like?
Archaeologists associate specific types of decorated pottery with Salado. These are called Roosevelt Red wares, or Salado polychromes. There are many distinctive kinds of pottery within that group; some vary regionally, and some vary through time. The overall style originated with the Kayenta. It changed as it was adopted and used by the communities in which the Kayenta settled. The presence of Salado polychromes at an archaeological site, especially in relatively great quantities, is a marker of Salado.
Another important piece of ceramic evidence, though unpainted, is a specific kind of pottery-making tool: the perforated plate. When archaeologists find these or pieces of them at a site, they can infer that a potter of Kayenta heritage was in the community.
Archaeologists also associate obsidian from a specific group of sources in New Mexico with Salado. Obsidian is a volcanic glass that was used to make very sharp-edged tools. Using a method called X-ray fluorescence, scientists are able to identify the geological source from which a piece of obsidian came. Archaeologists believe that the group of sources near Mule Creek, New Mexico, was controlled by Kayenta migrants and their descendants during this time period. In fact, the circulation of obsidian among communities in the Southwest increased dramatically. The presence of Mule Creek obsidian at an archaeological site, especially in relatively great quantities, is another marker of Salado.
Other aspects of Salado sites, including adobe architecture and compound (shared-wall, or apartment-like) settlement layouts, are more variable across the landscape of the southern Southwest.
What is happening to Salado sites and Salado artifacts?
So much of what Archaeology Southwest is learning about Salado comes from our work with endangered sites and existing museum collections. Archaeology Southwest works with private landowners and other stakeholders to design and implement case-specific site protection strategies. We also advocate for expanded research use and ongoing care of artifacts and archives in a variety of institutional settings.
