THE MOGOLLON CULTURE
GENERAL REMARKS
Writing about the Mogollon Culture is rather like dealing with a time
bomb. It is impossible to ignore it, but one has the uncomfortable
feeling that whatever one does about it is likely to be wrong. In the
relatively few years which have elapsed since it was first suggested
that it was a separate entity[89] and not just a regional variation of
the Basketmaker-Pueblo pattern, there have come to be many
theories.[102] Many archaeologists are convinced that it must be given
the status of a basic culture comparable to that given to the Anasazi
and the Hohokam,[50][84] but there are some who feel that it should be
regarded as a variant of the Anasazi, and others who consider it the
result of an early fusion of Anasazi and Hohokam.[99] Unfortunately, too
few sites have been excavated to evaluate fully all the conflicting
theories. It has been said that “The Mogollon appears to be an
illegitimate whose paternity is still under scrutiny.”[1]
We do know that a group of people lived in west-central New Mexico and
east-central Arizona who were largely contemporaneous with the Anasazi
and the Hohokam and shared some traits with both cultures, particularly
the former. At least during the earliest periods, however, they had a
culture distinctive enough to cause many archaeologists to feel that it
is impossible to equate them with any other group.
Although the origins of the Mogollon are still shrouded in mystery, one
likely theory, which has been advanced by those who favor the belief
that the Mogollon is a basic culture, is that the Mogollon people may be
descendants of the eastern branch of the ancient food gatherers of the
Cochise Culture.[54] Their stone work is similar, and, while the
earliest Mogollon people did practice agriculture and hunting, they too
seem to have had an economy based to a great extent on the gathering of
wild plant foods. Apart from the problem of origins, there is the
further consideration of determining to what extent the early Mogollon
people were influenced by other people and to what extent they
influenced others. This is one of the most important questions with
which Southwestern archaeologists are struggling today.
Much further work will be necessary before even a partially satisfactory
answer is found. For the present, there are a few facts and innumerable
conjectures. In a publication of this nature, all that may be attempted
is to outline the available factual material and indicate some of the
theories to which it has given rise.
[Illustration: Fig. 54—Map of the Southwest showing sites referred
to in Chapter V.]
1. Bear Ruin
2. Cameron Creek Village
3. Galaz Ruin
4. Harris Village
5. Mattocks Ruin
6. Mogollon Village
7. Starkweather Ruin
8. SU site
9. Swarts Ruin
The name assigned to the culture was derived from the Mogollon range of
mountains which lies in the district in which many of the chief ruins
have been found. The principal sites which have been excavated lie in
the valleys of the San Francisco and Mimbres rivers in west-central New
Mexico, in the Forestdale Valley of Arizona, and in southeastern
Arizona. It is probable that, as further work is done, the geographical
range of the culture may be further increased. The area in which
Mogollon remains have already been found is a large one, equally as
extensive as the Basketmaker. Proponents of the theory that the Mogollon
is a basic culture point out that it is an important fact that it has
geographic substance.[59]
It would be pleasant to be able to divide the Mogollon into clear-cut
periods with established dates and full lists of the traits which
characterize each stage. Unfortunately, this cannot be done. It has been
possible to determine, in a general way, the stages of cultural
development in certain sites in New Mexico where there was some degree
of uniformity. In other areas, however, conditions were different, and
it is impossible to say that at any given time all the Mogollon people
had the identical type of culture, although there are enough points of
similarity to permit us to assign them all to the same general group. It
seems probable that, as further work is done, separate regional
chronologies will be worked out as has been done for the Pueblo sequence
where we recognize significant differences between cultural centers such
as Chaco, Mesa Verde, and Kayenta.[59] For the present these regional
variations add to the complexity of the problem. A further complication
arises from the fact that even those who recognize the Mogollon as a
basic culture feel that it is only during the earliest times that they
are dealing with a relatively pure culture, and that after 700 or 800 A.
D. the Mogollon Culture was beginning to be assimilated by the Anasazi,
and that there were also Hohokam influences.
Dates for Mogollon sites are very difficult to determine, for only a few
tree-ring dates are available. One find tends to suggest a considerable
antiquity for the culture. At Snaketown, in the earliest Pioneer level,
was found a polished red ware, which, through petrographic analysis, has
been shown to contain materials not used at Snaketown, but identical
with those of wares from Mogollon sites.[31]^d This pottery is better
made than the early Hohokam pottery and would suggest that the Mogollon
people had been making pottery for some time prior to the beginning of
the Christian era. Another possibility which has been suggested is that
both they and the Hohokam obtained pottery from some other source which
has not yet been identified.[99]
BLUFF RUIN[58]
The earliest dendrochronologically dated Mogollon site yet found lies in
the Forestdale Valley of Arizona. Tree-rings indicate that it was
occupied about 300 A. D. As far as it is possible to judge on the basis
of the very meager information available in publications at this time,
the people who lived at this site, which is known as Bluff Ruin, had a
very simple culture. They lived in round pit houses which were entered
through the side. The little pottery which has been found is plain brown
ware.
THE PINE LAWN PHASE[84][85]
At present the Mogollon in New Mexico is divided into four periods. To
the first has been assigned the name _Pine Lawn Phase_. It is known only
from one location, the SU site which lies about seven miles west of
Reserve, New Mexico. The site name was taken from a local cattle brand.
No wood suitable for dating has been found, so it has been necessary to
estimate the time of occupation on typological evidence. On this basis,
it is thought that the SU site was inhabited prior to 500 A. D.
Most of the inhabitants of the SU site lived in very shallow pit houses.
These were so irregular in shape, and there was such variation in size
and construction, that it has been suggested that the indications are
that house building was a relatively new trait. The greater number of
the pit houses were entered by inclined passageways opening to the east.
There were no deflectors such as are found in Basketmaker houses.
A few surface houses with wattle-and-daub walls have also been found.
They are similarly irregular in shape and size. House floors, both in
pit and surface structures, contained pits. There were usually several
of these and in one case as many as eight. The largest were over three
feet in diameter. Most were empty, and it is thought that they served as
storage spaces, but a few contained burned stones and bones and may have
been used for cooking. Few houses contained fire pits such as are
normally found in Anasazi dwellings.
Pottery consisted of three undecorated wares which, like all early
Mogollon pottery, were produced by a coiling and scraping technique and
fired in an oxidizing atmosphere. Included are a burnished buff to
reddish-brown ware, a thick unpolished brown, and a polished red. All
were made of the same type of clay and this argues against the polished
red pottery having been of foreign manufacture as has sometimes been
suggested.
Stone and bone artifacts were not very carefully worked, and many
materials seem to have been utilized without much modification. Stone
tools and implements strongly resemble ancient Cochise specimens. Many
grinding stones were found and quite a number of them were basin-shaped
types such as were used in the preparation of wild plant foods. There
were some simple paint-grinding stones. Little unworked bone was found
and this bears out the theory that no great amount of hunting was done.
Worked specimens were largely made from the long bones of deer. They
include pinlike objects and awls. Some of the latter had notches cut in
the side.
A total of forty-six burials has been uncovered. Some bodies were buried
outside of the houses and some within the walls. These were usually
flexed and most of them had been placed in pits. Only a few artifacts
were found with the skeletons, and it appears that the practice of
burying offerings with the dead was not well established. The skeletons
were poorly preserved and have not yielded much information. Deformation
of the skull was rare, and, when present, was very slight. It has been
suggested that the poor condition of the bones, as compared with animal
bones from the same site, may reflect deficiencies in the people’s diet.
The succeeding periods have been found best represented at Mogollon
Village,[50] about ten miles north of Glenwood, New Mexico; at Harris
Village,[50] a quarter of a mile east of Mimbres, New Mexico; and at
Starkweather Ruin,[99] three and a half miles west of Reserve, New
Mexico.
The excavation of these sites has yielded evidence of occupation by
prehistoric people who practiced agriculture but who were more dependent
on hunting than their neighbors to the north and west. Corn was
cultivated, but there is no evidence of beans or squash. They used the
atlatl or dart-thrower, as well as the bow and arrow. There is no
evidence that turkeys were domesticated, although bone remains indicate
that they were hunted.
THE GEORGETOWN PHASE
The earliest period represented at these sites is known as the
_Georgetown_. The estimated dates are from 500 to 700 A. D.[50] Some
archaeologists do not agree, and feel that 700 A. D. is the earliest
date which may be given for the first Mogollon settlements in New
Mexico.[99] During Georgetown times dwellings were small, roughly
circular, pit houses which were entered by inclined passageways. A fire
pit lay midway between the center of the room and the entrance. Roofs
were supported by a main pole in the center of the structure and
secondary poles along the walls. One larger pit house was found at
Harris Village which, it is thought, may have been used for ceremonial
purposes. It did not contain the deflector, sipapu, or benches which
characterize most Pueblo kivas. It differs from the Georgetown
domiciliary structures not only in size but in the greater length of the
entrance passage and the possession of a straight front wall.
Most pottery was undecorated. Only four sherds of painted pottery, which
consisted of a crude gray ware with broad red lines, were found. The
predominant types were a plain buff or brown ware and a polished red
ware such as were found at the SU site. A few of the former fall in the
category of textured pottery. This is pottery which has been embellished
through techniques, such as scoring, incising, or punching, which change
the character of the surface. There are no corrugated types in the early
Mogollon, but a few pieces have banded necks, or have been scored.
Textured pottery became increasingly common in later periods.
Metates were made of unshaped stone blocks and were basin-shaped.
Projectile points were short and broad stemmed. Large stemmed blades and
stemmed drills were also made. Pipes were made of clay. They were short
and were formed in one piece.
Little is known of the physical type of the people and their burial
customs, since only one grave has been found which may be attributed to
this period. This contained the skeleton of an adult male with a
slightly deformed skull who had been buried beneath the floor of a
Georgetown house at Starkweather Ruin.
THE SAN FRANCISCO PHASE
Following the Georgetown in New Mexico comes the _San Francisco_ stage
for which the dates 700 to 900 A.D. have been tentatively suggested.[50]
A few datable logs have been found in structures assigned to the latter
part of the period. The approximate age is given in round numbers with
the terminal date as 900, although two logs gave dates of 927. The
terminal date for the Georgetown and the beginning date for the San
Francisco stage are by no means firmly established.
There are such distinct changes between Georgetown and San Francisco
times, particularly as regards architecture, that an intervening period
has been postulated. Excavations in Arizona are thought to provide
evidence to substantiate this belief, but there are as yet no published
accounts. It has also been suggested that the marked changes were due to
outside influences, possibly both Anasazi and Hohokam. Still another
theory advanced to account for the architectural changes at the
beginning of the San Francisco stage is that the culture was modified by
the addition of a Colonial Hohokam house type.[99] It is generally
agreed that after about 700 or 800 A.D. the Mogollon was a highly mixed
culture, but there are many questions which cannot be answered until
more evidence is available. Whatever the explanation, many culture
traits, notably house types, did change.
[Illustration: Fig. 55—Postulated reconstructions of the dwelling
units of the three Mogollon phases represented by the houses in the
Harris Village. (After Haury.[50] Courtesy Gila Pueblo.) a.
Georgetown.]
[Illustration: b. San Francisco.]
[Illustration: c. Three Circle.]
The small, roughly circular houses were replaced by deep rectangular pit
houses with roofs supported by a main center pole and auxiliary poles
along the long axis. Most had side entrances, but in some cases the
entrance was through the roof. Some of the wood taken from these houses
has yielded tree-ring dates. At Mogollon Village four houses, believed
to have been occupied at the close of the period, contained datable
logs. The dates fell between 896 and 908 A.D. At Starkweather Ruin, a
house attributed to the San Francisco phase yielded two logs with dates
of 927 A.D.
In addition to the domiciliary structures, there were larger houses
thought to have been of a ceremonial nature. These were kidney-shaped as
a result of the drawing in of the sides at the entrance. They did not
have ventilators. Storage pits were rare in houses but occurred
frequently between the structures. They were usually undercut, so that
they were wider at the bottom than at the top.
The same pottery types found in the Georgetown phase continued to be
made and red-on-brown and red-on-white painted wares were also produced.
Textured pottery increased in importance and included banded, punched,
and scored forms.
Basin-shaped metates persisted, but there were also troughed forms,
closed at one end. Grooved mauls are found in San Francisco levels.
Grooved axes are not found in all sites, but some were obtained from the
San Francisco horizon at Starkweather Ruin. Other stone work included
broad-bladed hoes, roughly shaped stone vessels and both long and short
pipes. Projectile points, blades, and drills were like the earlier
types. A distinctive implement, and an important feature of the Mogollon
culture, was a form of bone awl with a notch cut a short distance below
the head. Shell work was rare, but a few beads and bracelets made of
this material have been found.
Graves are usually found scattered between the structures, although at
Starkweather Ruin two adult burials were found below a house floor.
Offerings were scarce, but in some cases vessels were broken and the
pieces scattered in the grave. This foreshadows the practice of
“ceremonial killing” of pottery which became so marked later. It is
believed that this was done to permit the release of the spirit or soul
of the pottery. While inhumation was the chief method of disposing of
the dead, cremation was practiced in a very few cases and the ashes and
unconsumed bones placed in pits. This trait may have been derived from
the Hohokam to the west. A study of the skeletal remains indicate that
the people had relatively low, broad heads and did not practice
deformation.
BEAR RUIN[53]
In the seventh and eighth centuries another site of great interest was
occupied in east-central Arizona. This site, which is known as the Bear
Ruin, lies in the Forestdale Valley some eight miles south of Showlow.
Tree-ring dates were obtained from three beams. The dates fall in the
middle of the seventh century. These logs may have been cut at any time
during the building period, however, and it is only through finding
pottery of known age that archaeologists have arrived at the dates of
600 to 800 A.D. for the estimated age of occupation.
Bear Ruin is important because it shows hybridizing and blending of
Mogollon and Anasazi traits. Probably the Mogollon was the original
culture on which were superimposed certain Anasazi traits. Eventually
the former is thought to have been so completely overlaid by the latter
as to practically disappear, not only here, but also in other parts of
the territory.
The people who lived in Bear Ruin, in the days when it was not a ruin
but an inhabited village, were equally dependent on hunting and
agriculture. They lived both in round and rectangular pit houses.
Seventeen of these have been excavated, and it is thought that this may
represent about fifty per cent of the village.
Most of the houses resemble those of the Anasazi area, yet some are like
Mogollon houses and others show a combination of Anasazi and Mogollon
elements. None contained either masonry or slab linings. A large kiva
was found on the outskirts of the village. It contained a grooved
trench, dug into the floor, which, it is thought, may have provided a
fastening for the lower beams of looms.
Cooking was apparently done over large rock hearths in and about the
houses. The technique employed may have been to fill pits with rocks
which were then heated. Food wrapped in some insulating material, such
as grass, was then placed in the pit and covered with hot rocks topped
with earth. This trait is one of those which, it has been suggested, may
have been derived from the ancient Cochise people.
The Bear Ruin people did not make any painted pottery, but this must
have been a matter of choice, for they were familiar with the painted
wares of the Anasazi, Mogollon, and Hohokam, which they imported. A
great percentage of the indigenous pottery was the plain buff to
reddish-brown ware so plentiful in all early Mogollon sites. One
distinctive type of pottery found in the Forestdale Valley is
characterized by a black interior and a brown or reddish-brown exterior
marked by black fire clouds. These clouds or smudges are the result of
pottery coming in contact with fuel during the firing process. Another
Forestdale type is a gray to light-brown ware which may represent a
fusion of Basketmaker gray ware and Mogollon buff ware. A third is a
red-brown pottery mottled by fire clouds.
The dead were buried in shallow pits scattered throughout the village.
Bodies usually lay on the back in a semi-flexed position with the heads
to the northeast. Most of the graves contained mortuary offerings,
usually pottery. One child was found buried with seventeen vessels. Nine
of these were miniatures and were possibly his toys. Due to soil
conditions, bones were poorly preserved. What evidence could be obtained
from them indicates the presence of a mixed population, such as would be
expected on the basis of the mixture of traits shown in the material
culture.
THE THREE CIRCLE PHASE
In New Mexico further changes took place during the _Three Circle_ stage
which followed the San Francisco. Pit houses were somewhat smaller and
shallower and were all rectangular and often stone-lined. Roofs were
usually supported by four main posts placed near the corners. Sometimes
the supports were incorporated in the wall. In some cases, the side
entrances were short and sometimes started with a step. Besides the
domestic structures, there were also larger rectangular pit houses with
long inclined entrances which are thought to have been of a ceremonial
nature.
Troughed metates entirely replaced the basin-shaped variety. Manos were
shaped and four-sided in form. Axes were sometimes notched and sometimes
grooved for hafting. Stone vessels were still simple, but were sometimes
ornamented with incised patterns. Serrations on both edges characterized
the arrow points which were long and narrow-stemmed. Stone palettes
appear in this horizon. They may have been inspired or introduced by the
Hohokam, or they may have evolved from the simple paint grinding stones
such as those found in the SU site. Stone pipes and short clay pipes
with fitted stems have been found.
With the exception of red-on-brown pottery, wares already described
continued to be made. A black-on-white pottery, which apparently shows a
Pueblo influence from the north, was added to the assemblage. Textured
pottery became more important.
Shell was widely used as a material, although only a few species were
represented. Olivella shells and double-lobed pieces of cut shell were
used as beads. Thin bracelets were made of glycymeris shell. Some beads
were tubular forms made of bone. Others were made from hackberry seeds,
and one infant was found buried with hundreds of these.
In general, burials were like those of the preceding period. Cremations
continued to be very rare.
THE MIMBRES PHASE
More and more the Mogollon people were affected by outside cultural
influences. By about 950 or 1000 A.D. their culture had been so greatly
altered and was submerged to such an extent that the resulting blend may
be considered a new entity and given another name. This phase or culture
is called the _Mimbres_. It was named after the Mimbres River, for this
valley seems to represent the focal point of the culture. The greatest
development centers in Grant County, New Mexico, where excavated sites
include the Swarts Ruin,[21] the Mattocks Ruin,[98] the Galaz Ruin,[8]
and Cameron Creek Village.[6]
In these sites is found evidence of rapid changes in the construction of
dwellings. The earliest houses were Mogollon-type pit houses, sometimes
slab-lined. These were followed by semi-subterranean and single surface
houses with rubble masonry. In the latest stage, houses were built
entirely above the surface. They were one-story pueblolike buildings
consisting of clusters of rooms. In some cases there were no more than
five rooms, in others there were more than fifty. The larger structures
sometimes had inner courts or plazas and at Swarts Ruin, where there are
two big houses, there was a large dance plaza between the two buildings.
Walls were built of masonry, often made of river boulders. Roofs were
made of beams covered with brush, grass, reeds, and adobe. Some
contained trap-doors, covered with stone slabs, which provided a means
of entrance. In one architecturally advanced building there were
windows. In the rooms were fireplaces and rock-walled storage bins.
Kivas were rectangular, underground chambers.
One interesting trait of the Mimbreños was the practice of burying the
dead under the house floors, although the houses continued to be
occupied. In one room a total of thirty-two, sub-floor burials were
found. Although this practice was the most common one, it was not always
followed, for there were some burials outside of the houses and in the
fill of unoccupied rooms, and a few cremations have been found.
Archaeologists are very grateful to the ancient Mimbres people for their
habit of burying pots with the dead, for it is to this that we owe our
knowledge of some of the most beautiful and interesting pottery that has
ever been made. A few old people and children were buried without
offerings, but most bodies had one or more bowls placed over the head.
Metates and manos were also often placed in women’s graves, and there
was some jewelry. One interesting feature of burial pottery, apart from
the magnificent skill which went into its decoration, was the presence
of a hole, usually punched into the pot with a sharp instrument, or
sometimes drilled. It is believed that this was done to release the
spirit or soul of the vessel which was thought to be a part of the
maker. The ceremonial killing of pottery probably took place at the
grave, for the piece knocked out of a pot is often found associated with
it in the burial. Metates were often similarly treated.
The plain burnished-buff and polished-red wares of the Mogollon
continued to be made, but black-on-white pottery assumed the greatest
importance, and fine corrugated cooking ware began to be produced. There
is also some polychrome ware with red and black designs on a white
background. It was in the field of black-on-white ware that the ancient
Mimbreños reached an artistic peak which has seldom, if ever, been
surpassed in the medium of pottery. The black-on-white color combination
at once suggests Pueblo influence. Certain design elements are
reminiscent of the Hohokam, however.
Bowls were the usual shape. Designs were sometimes positive, sometimes
negative. They were of two types, geometric and naturalistic. Both are
equally remarkable. The geometric designs are very beautiful and are
characterized by an extraordinary sureness of touch which is revealed by
the accuracy of spacing and the precision of line. In one case, for
example, twenty-seven parallel lines are to be found in a band less than
two inches in width. The bowls with naturalistic designs show the same
fine sense of composition. Some depict charming, surrealist creatures
which Dali might be proud to claim, but others are quite realistic. The
forms shown include birds, insects, quadrupeds, fish, and human beings.
From these we can gather certain clues to help us reconstruct something
of the way of life of the people who painted them. Turkeys were among
the birds most commonly represented, but a lack of turkey bones in the
refuse heaps suggests that they were not used for food. Remains of fish,
which are also commonly represented, have not been found, but this may,
of course, be due to the fragility of their bones. Most useful are the
designs showing human beings. There are some narrative scenes which show
such activities as men fighting bears, setting snares, dancing, and
picking bugs from corn plants. From pictures of people, we may learn
something of the clothing which was worn. Men are shown wearing breech
cloths. Women are sometimes represented wearing a fringed sash and
sandals. Some are shown wearing blankets which extend below the waist
and with fringed sashes hanging down in back. Their hair was worn in
whorls on the side, much like the present head dress of unmarried Hopi
girls. We know from burials that skull deformation was widely practiced,
and this adds to our knowledge of the appearance of the people. Jewelry
was rather widely worn. It is shown on human figures painted on bowls,
and examples are found in graves. Beads were made of stone and shell.
Turquoise was used in the manufacture of beads, in inlaying, and in
making pendants which were worn as ear bobs. There were many bracelets
and carved pendants of shell.
[Illustration: Fig. 56—Mimbres black-on-white pottery. Note hole in
center of upper bowl which shows that the vessel has been “killed.”
(Courtesy School of American Research.)]
Stone implements include grooved axes, hoes, large knives, projectile
points, and manos and troughed metates. Some interesting artifacts are
mortars and pestles believed to have been used for crushing nuts and
seeds. Some mortars were holes dug into rock outcrops and boulders. A
considerable number of palettes have been found. Bone was widely used in
the manufacture of awls. Some of these have decorated heads carved in
the form of mountain sheep.
During the twelfth century the Mimbres people left their old haunts. The
culture may have persisted for some time in some of the outlying
districts to the south but the main area was left unoccupied. During
Regressive-Pueblo times it was inhabited for a time by Pueblo people,
but there were no occupied villages at the time of Coronado. Why the
Mimbreños deserted this fertile valley, we do not know. There is no
evidence of warfare and no sign of a hurried departure. When the people
moved they must have had time to gather their belongings together and
take them with them, for only heavy stone artifacts were left behind. We
do not know where these people went after leaving the Mimbres Valley.
The best guess seems to be that they moved south into Mexico where they
were assimilated and absorbed by other groups, and that they lost their
identity among the people of Chihuahua.
SUMMARY
We may summarize the Mogollon problem as follows: In west-central New
Mexico and east-central Arizona have been found certain sites which do
not follow entirely the same pattern as Anasazi or Hohokam sites. There
are a number of possible theories to explain the development of the
culture represented by these sites. It may have been derived from the
Anasazi, it may represent an early fusion of the Anasazi and Hohokam
cultures or, it may be a separate cultural entity which possibly
developed from the eastern branch of the ancient Cochise Culture. During
the earliest periods it had certain traits which, in the opinion of many
archaeologists, make it necessary to consider it a separate basic
culture. Houses were of the pit house type with long sloping entrances.
Agriculture was practiced, but there was a great dependence on the
gathering of wild foods and on hunting. The atlatl was used, as well as
the bow. Pottery was made by a coiling and scraping technique, was fired
in an oxidizing atmosphere, and was usually well polished. A painted
ware with red designs on a brown background and a red-on-white ware were
later added and textured pottery increased in importance. Pipes were
made of clay and of stone. Bone awls were often notched on one side. The
dead were usually buried outside the houses. There were some cremations.
From about 700 or 800 A.D. on, there is evidence of more and more
outside influences. By around 950 or 1000 A.D. there were so many
changes in the Mimbres Valley that the resulting blend is often referred
to as a separate culture. Single pit houses were replaced by
multi-roomed pueblolike structures built above the ground.
Black-on-white pottery was the dominant ware and reached a high degree
of excellence. The dead were usually buried under house floors. Cranial
deformation was widely practiced. The Mimbres Valley was deserted in the
middle of the twelfth century and we can only conjecture where the
people who had inhabited it went.
As may readily be seen, the whole Mogollon problem appears to be very
complex. This is always the case when a culture or an area is first
investigated and the long job of studying it is in its initial stages.
Apparently the Mogollon people influenced their neighbors to the north
and to the west, and were influenced by them, but we are not yet in a
position to evaluate these trends.