Aridoamerica is a

cultural Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and ecological region spanning

Northern Mexico Northern Mexico ( ), commonly referred as , is an informal term for the northern cultural and geographical area in Mexico. Depending on the source, it contains some or all of the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua (state), ...

and the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

, defined by the presence of the drought-resistant, culturally significant

staple food A staple food, food staple, or simply staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for an individual or a population group, supplying a large fraction of energy needs an ...

, the tepary bean ('' Phaseolus acutifolius'').Pratt and Nabhan 419 Its dry, arid climate and geography stand in contrast to the verdant

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

of present-day central Mexico into Central AmericaCordell and Fowler 85 to the south and east, and the higher, milder "island" of Oasisamerica to the north. Aridoamerica overlaps with both. Because of the relatively hard conditions, the

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

people in this region developed distinct cultures and subsistence farming patterns. The region has only to of annual precipitation. The sparse rainfall feeds seasonal creeks and waterholes.Bye and Linares 273 The term was introduced by American anthropologist Gary Paul Nabhan in 1985, building on prior work by anthropologists A. L. Kroeber and Paul Kirchhoff to identify a "true cultural entity" for the desert region. Kirchhoff first introduced the term 'Arid America' in 1954, and wrote: "I propose for that of the gatherers the name 'Arid America' and 'Arid American Culture,' and for that of the farmers 'Oasis America' and 'American Oasis Culture'". Mexican anthropologist Guillermo Bonfil Batalla notes that although the distinction between Aridoamerica and Mesoamerica is "useful for understanding the general history of precolonial Mexico," that the boundary between the two should not be conceptualized as "a barrier that separated two radically different worlds, but, rather, as a variable limit between climatic regions." The inhabitants of Aridoamerica lived on "an unstable and fluctuating frontier" and were in "constant relations with the civilizations to the south."''''

Subsistence

The Chichimeca, an umbrella term for several tribes used by the Nahua people, were

hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...

s in Aridoamerica grasslands. They gathered magueys, yucca flowers, mesquite beans, chia seeds, and cacti, including the paddles of fruits of nopal cactus. The century plant (''

Agave americana ''Agave americana'', commonly known as the century plant, maguey, or American aloe, is a flowering plant species belonging to the family Asparagaceae. It is native to Mexico and the United States, specifically Texas. This plant is widely cultiv ...

'') is a particularly important resource in the region. Despite dry conditions, Aridoamerica boasts the greatest diversity of wild and domesticated tepary beans ('' Phaseolus acutifolius'') and is a possible site of their domestication.

Maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

cultivation reached Aridoamerica by about 2100 BCE.Herr, Sara A. "The Latest Research on the Earliest Farmers." ''Archaeology Southwest'' Vol. 23, No. 1, Winter 2009, p.1 Archaeologists disagree whether the plant was introduced by Uto-Aztecan migrants from Mesoamerica or spread either northward or southward from other groups by cultural borrowing. In

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

, fishing and hunting provided food, as did harvesting acorns, nopal, pine nuts, and other native plants. Historically, people of Aridoamerica coppiced willows, that is, tree trunks were cut to a stump to encourage the growth of slender shoots. These willow shoots were woven tightly to produce waterproof, cooking baskets. Fire-heated rocks were plunged into a gruel in the baskets to cook.

Deserts

The elevation in the Chihuahuan Desert varies from 1970 to 5500 feet, as there are several smaller mountain ranges contained in the area, namely the San Andres, Doña Anas, and Franklin Mountains. The Chihuahuan is a "

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

" desert, formed between two mountain ranges (the Sierra Madre Occidental on the west and the Sierra Madre Oriental on the east) which block oceanic precipitation from reaching the area. The Chihuahuan Desert is considered the "most biologically diverse desert in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most diverse in the world", and includes more species of cacti than any other desert in the world. The most prolific plants in this region are agave, yucca, and creosote bushes, in addition to the ubiquitous presence of various cacti species. When people think of the desert southwest, the landscape of the Sonoran Desert is what mostly comes to mind. The Sonoran Desert makes up the southwestern portion of the Southwest. Rainfall averages between 4–12 inches per year, and the desert's most widely known inhabitant is the saguaro cactus, which is unique to the desert. It is bounded on the northwest by the Mojave Desert, to the north by the Colorado Plateau and to the east by the Arizona Mountains forests and the Chihuahuan Desert. Aside from the trademark saguaro, the desert has the most diverse plant life of any desert in the world, and includes many other species of cacti, including the organ-pipe, senita, prickly pear, barrel, fishhook, hedgehog, cholla, silver dollar, and jojoba. The most northwest portion of Aridoamerica is covered by the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

. In terms of topography, the Mojave is very similar to the

Great Basin Desert The Great Basin Desert is part of the Great Basin between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Range in the western United States. The desert is a geographical region that largely overlaps the Great Basin shrub steppe defined by the World Wildlife ...

, which lies just to its north. The Mojave gets less than six inches of rain annually, and its elevation ranges from 3000 to 6000 feet above sea level. The most prolific vegetation is the tall Joshua tree, which grow as tall as 40 feet, and are thought to live almost 1000 years. Other major vegetation includes the Parry saltbush and the Mojave sage, both only found in the Mojave, as well as the creosote bush.

Wildlife

The region has an extremely diverse bird population, with hundreds of species being found in Aridoamerica. In the Chiricahua Mountains alone, in southeastern Arizona, there can be found more than 400 species. Species include

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

(''Branta canadensis'') and snow geese, sandhill cranes (''Grus canadensis''), and the roadrunner, the most famous bird in the region. Birds of prey include the red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis''), Cooper's hawk (''Accipiter cooperii''),

osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

(''Pandion haliaetus''),

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

(''Aquila chrysaetos''),

Harris's hawk Harris's hawk (''Parabuteo unicinctus''), formerly also known as bay-winged hawk or dusky hawk, and known in Latin America as the peuco, is a medium-large bird of prey that breeds from the southwestern United States south to Chile, central Argent ...

(''Parabuteo unicinctus''), common black hawk (''Buteogallus anthracinus''), zone-tailed hawk (''Buteo albonotatus''),

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

(''Haliaeetus leucocephalus''), Swainson's hawk (''Buteo swainsoni''), American kestrel (''Falco sparverius''), prairie falcon (''Falco mexicanus''), peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), gray hawk (''Buteo plagiatus''),

barn owl The barn owls, owls in the genus '' Tyto'', are the most widely distributed genus of owls in the world. They are medium-sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons. The ter ...

(''Tyto alba''), the western screech owl (''Megascops kennicottii''), whiskered screech-owl (''Megascops trichopsis''), great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), long-eared owl (''Asio otus''), elf owl (''Micrathene whitneyi''), ferruginous pygmy-owl (''Glaucidium brasilianum''), and burrowing owl, (''Athene cunicularia''). among many others. Other bird species include the turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') and black vulture (''Coragyps atratus''); the

northern cardinal The northern cardinal (''Cardinalis cardinalis''), also commonly known as the common cardinal, red cardinal, or simply cardinal, is a bird in the genus ''Cardinalis''. It can be found in southeastern Canada, through the eastern United States fro ...

(''Cardinalis cardinalis'') and its close relative the

pyrrhuloxia The pyrrhuloxia or desert cardinal (''Cardinalis sinuatus'') is a medium-sized North American songbird found in the American southwest and northern Mexico. This distinctive species with a short, stout bill and red crest and wings, and closely ...

(''Cardinalis sinuous''); the blue grosbeak (''Passerina caerulea'') and black-headed grosbeak (''Pheucticus melanocephalus''); the varied bunting (''Passerina versicolor''), house finch (''Carpodacus mexicanus''), and lesser goldfinch (''Spinus psaltria''); the broad-billed hummingbird (''Cynanthus latirostris''), black-chinned hummingbird (''Archilochus alexandri''), Costa's hummingbird (''Calypte costae''), Anna's hummingbird (''Calypte anna''), Rivoli's hummingbird (''Eugenes fulgens''), blue-throated mountain-gem (''Lampornis clemenciae''), and lucifer hummingbird (''Calothorax lucifer''); and the Gambel's quail (''Callipepla gambelii''), common raven (''Corvus corax''), Gila woodpecker (''Melanerpes uropygialis''), gilded flicker (''Colaptes chrysoides''), cactus wren (''Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus''), rock wren (''Salpinctes obsoletus''), and many oriole (''Icterus''), thrasher (''Toxostoma''), gnatcatcher (''Polioptila''), dove (''Columbidae''), rail (''Rallidae''), and tyrant-flycatcher (''Tyrannidae'') species. Mammal species include the bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), coyote (''Canis latrans''), collared peccary (''Pecari tajacu''), black bear (''Ursus americanus''), black-tailed jackrabbit (''Lepus californicus''), desert cottontail (''Sylvilagus audubonii''), desert bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis nelsoni''),

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

(''Odocoileus hemionus''), Coues'

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known Common name, commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North America, North, Central America, Central and South America. It is the ...

(''Odocoileus virginianus couesi''), elk (''Cervus canadensis''), feral horse (''Equus caballus''), ringtail (''Bassariscus astutus''), gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), kit fox (''Vulpes macrotis''),

mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

(''Puma concolor''), river otter (''Lontra canadensis''), long-tailed weasel (''Neogale frenata''), western spotted skunk (''Spilogale gracilis''), pronghorn antelope (''Antilocapra americana''),

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...

(''Procyon lotor''), numerous kangaroo rat (''Dipodomys''), woodrat (''Neotoma''), and pocket mouse (''Chaetodipus'') species, white-nosed coati (''Nasua narica''), jaguar (''Panthera onca''), and Mexican wolf (''Canis lupus baileyae''). There is also a great diversity of bat species in the region. There is a large contingent of snakes native to the region. Among them include: the rosy boa (''Lichanura trivirgata''); several sub-species of the glossy snake (''Arizona elegans''); the Trans-Pecos ratsnake (''Bogertophis subocularis''); several sub-species of shovel-nosed snakes; several sub-species of kingsnake, including the desert kingsnake (''Lampropeltis getula splendida'') and the Arizona mountain kingsnake (''Lampropeltis pyromelana''); the Arizona coral snake (''Micruroides euryxanthus''); the western diamondback rattlesnake (''Crotalus atrox''); the Trans-Pecos copperhead (''Agkistrodon contortrix pictigaster''); the Sonoran sidewinder (''Crotalus cerastes cercobombus''); the Arizona black rattlesnake (''Crotalus oreganus cerberus''); the western rattlesnake (''Crotalus viridis''); the Grand Canyon rattlesnake (''Crotalus oreganus abyssus''), found only in Arizona; several sub-species of the ridge-nosed rattlesnake (''Crotalus willardi''), and the desert massasauga (''Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii''). Other reptiles in the region include lizards and turtles. Lizards are highly represented in the region, the most distinctive denizen being the Gila monster, native only to the American Southwest and the state of Sonora in Mexico. Other lizards include: Sonoran collared lizard (''Crotaphytus nebrius''); several types of geckos, including western banded gecko (''Coleonyx variegatus''), the barefoot banded gecko (''Coleonyx switaki''), and the Mediterranean house gecko (''Hemidactylus turcicus''), the latter species being non-native to the region and confined to developed areas; the desert iguana (''Dipsosaurus dorsalis''); the chuckwalla (''Sauromalus ater''); the greater earless lizard (''Cophosaurus texanus scitulus''); several sub-species of horned lizards (''Phrynosoma''); numerous species of spiny lizards (''Sceloporus''); Gilbert's skink (''Plestiodon gilberti''); the western skink (''Plestiodon skiltonianus''); Trans-Pecos striped whiptail (''Aspidoscelis inornata heptagrammus''); and the Arizona night lizard (''Xantusia arizonae''). Turtles are less numerous than their other reptilian counterparts, but several are found in the region, including: the western painted turtle (''Chrysemys picta bellii''); the Rio Grande cooter (''Pseudemys gorzugi''); the desert box turtle (''Terrapene ornata luteola''); the Big Bend slider (''Trachemys gaigeae gaigeae''); the Sonora mud turtle (''Kinosternon sonoriense''); and the desert tortoise (''Gopherus agassizii''). Amphibians include numerous toads and frogs. Toads which can be found in the region include: the Great Plains toad (''Anaxyrus cognatus''); the green toad (''Anaxyrus debilis''); the Arizona toad (''Anaxyrus microscaphus''); the New Mexico spadefoot (''Spea multiplicata stagnalis''); and the Colorado River toad (''Incilius alvarius''), also known as the Sonoran Desert toad. Frog representation includes: western barking frog (''Craugastor augusti''); the canyon tree frog (''Hyla arenicolor''); the Arizona treefrog (''Hyla wrightorum''); the western chorus frog (''Pseudacris triseriata''); Chiricahua leopard frog (''Lithobates chiricahuensis''); and the relict leopard frog (''Lithobates onca''). There are quite a few salamanders throughout the region, including: the Arizona tiger salamander (''Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum'') and the painted ensatina (''Ensatina eschscholtzii picta'').

Political geography

The current Mexican states that lie in Aridoamerica are: *

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes, is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and with an average altitude of above sea level it is pre ...

* Baja California Sur * Coahuila * Chihuahua *

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

* Nayarit *

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

* San Luis Potosí *

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

The northern parts of: * Hidalgo *

Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

The southern portions of the United States that lie within Aridoamerica are: *

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Aridoamerica cultures

* Acaxee * Aranama ( Hanáma, Hanáme, Chaimamé, Chariname, Xaraname, Taraname), coastal Texas * Caxcane *

Coahuiltecan The Coahuiltecan were various small, autonomous bands of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans who inhabited the Rio Grande valley in what is now northeastern Mexico and southern Texas. The various Coahuiltecan groups were hunter ga ...

, Texas, northern Mexico * Cochimí, Baja California * Cocopá ( Cocopah), Baja California * Comecrudo, Texas, northern Mexico * Cotoname ( Carrizo de Camargo) * Guachichil * Guachimontone * Guamare * Guaycura, Baja California * Huarijio * Huichol * Jumanos, Texas * Karankawa, coastal Texas * Kiliwa, Baja California * Kumiai ( Kumeyaay), Baja California * La Junta, Texas, Chihuahua * Mamulique, Texas, northern Mexico * Manso, Texas, Chihuahua * Mayo * Mogollon culture, ca. 200–1500 CE, also Oasisamerica * Monqui, Baja California * Opata * Otomi * Pai Pai, Baja California * Pame * Pericúe ( Pericú), Baja California * Pima Bajo, Chihuahua and Sonora * Quems, Coahuila and Texas * Solano, Coahuila and Texas * Seri * Tamique, Texas * Tarahumara * Tecuexe * Tepecano * Tepehuán * Teuchitlan tradition * Toboso, Chihuahua and Coahuila * Western Mexico shaft tomb tradition * Yaqui ( Yoeme), Arizona, Sonora * Zacateco

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aridoamerica Indigenous peoples in Mexico Pre-Columbian cultural areas