Pueblo IV Period
The Pueblo IV Period was the fourth period of ancient pueblo life in the American Southwest. At the end of prior Pueblo III Period, Ancestral Puebloans living in the Colorado and Utah regions abandoned their settlements and migrated south to the Pecos River and Rio Grande valleys. As a result, pueblos in those areas saw a significant increase in total population.
The Pueblo IV Period is similar to the "Regressive Pueblo Period" or, referring to the Ancient Pueblo People of Colorado and Utah, the "Post Pueblo Period."
Architecture
Puebloan villages in Arizona and New Mexico had multi-storied pueblos of up to a thousand clustered rooms. The New Mexico villages were generally larger than those of western region, which had large plazas with long, rectangular kivas.Communities
The great migration out of Colorado and Utah at the end of the Pueblo III Period resulted in an influx of people into the Rio Grande and Little Colorado River valleys. Within Arizona and New Mexico there was an aggregation of people from outlying sites to larger pueblos. The puebloan territory of the Pueblo IV Period also included the White Mountains, Verde Valley, Anderson Mesa, and Pecos areas.- Rio Grande valley. Many puebloan people were found in the Rio Grande Valley, including the Acoma Pueblo and Zuni Pueblo areas, when the Spanish arrived about 1540.
- Bandelier area pueblos experienced considerable construction, increased population and improved standard of living after 1300. Black-on-white pottery excavated at Bandelier was indistinguishable from that of the Mesa Verde National Park, indicating that at least some of the new residents came from Mesa Verde.
- Abandoned communities. Many of the sites of the early Pueblo IV period were abandoned by the 15th century, such as those in the White Mountains, Verde Valley, Middle Little Colorado River and Anderson Mesa. Petrified Forest villages were generally abandoned by the late 16th century. The land continued to be used for its resources and for travel.
Spanish colonization
Culture and religion
- The people of the Frijoles Canyon in Bandelier area in the 14th century had black hair and red-brown skin and were short in stature, an average of about 5 feet and 4 inches tall for men. Women were about 5 feet tall. Generally, couples had a few children. Domesticated dogs were often part of a family's household.
- Religion. The Ancient Pueblo People integrated Kachina religious rituals into their lives by 1300. This helped to integrate diverse groups of people who migrated into the area and inhabited the large pueblos. The culture inspired a life of mutual cooperation, food sharing and religious rituals, such as rain-making. Kachina images appeared in murals in kivas, pictographs and petroglyphs. The Kachina religion was foundational for modern Zuni and Hopi people.
Agriculture
Small game and birds were hunted or trapped and seasonal wild plants were gathered to supplement the diet:
- Spring - beeweed and mustard greens
- Summer - chokecherries, currants, gooseberries and raspberries, yucca fruit
- Fall - seeds, nuts, juniper berries and prickly pears
Pottery
Other material goods
Emerging material goods during this period were small triangular projectile points and piki stones for making bread.Cultural groups and periods
The cultural groups of this period include:- Anasazi - southern Utah, southern Colorado, northern Arizona and northern and central New Mexico.
- Hohokam - southern Arizona.
- Mogollon - southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico and northern Mexico.
- Patayan - western Arizona, California and Baja California.
Notable Pueblo IV sites
| Arizona | Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico | Other New Mexico |
| Awatovi Ruins Bailey Ruin Casa Grande Mesa Grande Oraibi Pueblo Grande | Acoma Pueblo Cochiti Pueblo Isleta Pueblo Jemez Pueblo Kewa Pueblo Laguna Pueblo Nambé Pueblo Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo Picuris Pueblo Pojoaque Pueblo San Felipe Pueblo San Ildefonso Pueblo Sandia Pueblo Santa Ana Pueblo Santa Clara Pueblo Tesuque Pueblo Taos Pueblo Zia Pueblo Zuni Pueblo | Puye Cliff Dwellings Bandelier area Pecos area |