Editing Pecos Classification (section)

==Current classification==

Although the original classification has been significantly debated and sometimes modified over the years, the split into [[Basket]]maker and Pueblo period still serves as a basis for discussing the culture of the [[Ancestral Puebloans]] of the [[Four Corners]] area. The following classification is based in part of the Revised Pecos Classification for the Mesa Verde Region.

===Archaic–Early Basketmaker (8000 – 1500 BCE)=== 
{{main|Archaic–Early Basketmaker Era}}

The pre-Ancestral Pueblo culture that moved into the modern-day [[Southwestern United States]] after the big game hunters departed are called ''Archaic''. Little evidence for extensive habitation before 8000 BC exists.  From evidence near [[Navajo Mountain]], they were [[nomad|nomadic people]], [[hunter-gatherer]]s traveling in small bands.  They gathered wild foods when in [[season]], and hunted with stone-tipped spears, ''[[atlatl]]s'', and [[Dart (missile)|dart]]s. Game included [[rabbit]]s, [[deer]], [[antelope]], and [[bighorn sheep]].

The original classification postulated a '''Basketmaker I Period''' which was subsequently discredited due to lack of physical evidence.  It was combined with the '''Archaic Period'''.

This period was called [[Oshara tradition]]. There was a trend toward a sedentary lifestyle, with small-scale cultivation of plants beginning 1000 BC.

===Early Basketmaker II (1500 BCE – 50 CE)=== 
{{main|Early Basketmaker II Era}}

The early Ancestral Pueblo camped in the open or lived in caves seasonally. During this period, they began to cultivate gardens of [[maize]] ([[flint corn]] in particular) and [[squash (vegetable)|squash]], but no [[beans]]. They used ''manos'' and ''[[metate]]s'' to grind corn, and the women made baskets for numerous uses.

===Late Basketmaker II (50 – 500)=== 
{{main|Late Basketmaker II Era}}

The people constructed primitive storage bins, [[cist]]s, and shallow [[pit-house]]s. At this stage, evidence suggests that the beginning of a religious and decision-making structure had already developed. [[Shaman]]istic cults existed, and [[petroglyph]]s and other rock art indicate a ceremonial structure as well. Groups appear to be increasingly linked into larger-scale decision-making bodies.

===Basketmaker III (500 – 750)=== 
{{main|Basketmaker III Era}}

Deep pithouses were developed, along with some above-ground rooms.  The bow and arrow replace the atlatl and spear. Plain [[bisque (pottery)|bisque]] and some painted black-on-white pottery is made. Cultivation begins of beans, available due to trade from Central America, and edible due to slow cooking in pottery vessels.  Wild [[amaranth]] and [[pinyon pine]] were also staples. People of this period may have domesticated [[Turkey (bird)|turkeys]].

The prototype ''[[kiva]]s'' were large, round, and subterranean.

===Pueblo I Period (750 – 900)=== 
{{main|Pueblo I Period}}

The [[Pueblo I Era|Pueblo I Period]] saw increasing populations, growing village size, social integration, and more complicated and complex agricultural systems typified this Period.  The construction and year-round occupation of pueblos begins; the people constructed reservoirs and canals to deal with scarce and irregular water resources.  Large villages and great kivas appear, though pithouses still remain in use. Above-ground construction is of [[jacal]] or crude [[masonry]]. Plain gray [[Bisque (pottery)|bisque]] predominates in pottery, though some red bisque and pottery decorated in black and white appears.

===Pueblo II Period (900 – 1150)=== 
{{main|Pueblo II Period}}

By AD 1050, [[Chaco Canyon]] (in present-day [[New Mexico]]) was a major regional center, with a population of 1,500–5,000 people. It is surrounded by standardized planned towns, or ''great houses'', built from the wood of more than 200,000 trees. Thirty-foot-wide ({{convert|30|ft|m|disp=output only}}) [[road]]s, flanked by [[berm]]s, radiate from Chaco in various directions. Small blocks of above-ground masonry rooms and a kiva make up a typical [[pueblo]]. Great kivas were up to {{convert|50|-|70|ft}} in diameter.  Pottery consists of corrugated gray bisque and decorated black-on-white in addition to some decorated red and orange vessels. The people imported shells and [[turquoise]] from other cultures through trading.

During the 12th century, populations began to grow after a decline at the end of the [[Pueblo II Era|Pueblo II Period]].  More intense [[agriculture]] was characteristic, with [[terrace (agriculture)|terracing]] and [[irrigation]] common.

===Pueblo III Period (1150 – 1350)=== 
{{main|Pueblo III Period}}

[[town|Settlements]] consist of large pueblos, cliff dwellings, towers and turkey pens. Most villages in the Four Corners area are abandoned by AD 1300.  The distinction between the ''[[Hohokam]]'' and Ancient Pueblo people becomes blurred.

===Pueblo IV Period (1350 – 1600)===
{{main|Pueblo IV Period}}

Typically, large pueblos are centered around a [[plaza]]. Socially, this was a period of more conflict than cooperation, which is thought to have led to abandonment of settlements at Mesa Verde. The people began making [[kachina]]s for religious and ritual purposes. Plain pottery supplants corrugated. Red, orange and yellow pottery is on the rise as the black-on-white declines.  [[Cotton]] is introduced and grown as a commodity.

The Puebloans are joined by other cultures.  As early as the 15th century, the Navajo were in the process of migrating into the region from the north.  In the next century, the [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|Spanish]] colonists first came in the 1540s from the south.

===Pueblo V Period (1600 – present)=== 
{{main|Pueblo V Period}}

The Spanish dominate and take over sites such as the [[Acoma Pueblo]]. Their arrival sends Pueblo subcultures underground.