Atlatl Cave is an important archaeological site that contains organic evidence of occupation by Archaic North Americans . It is located at the west end of the

Chaco Culture National Historical Park Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historic Sites (United States), National Historical Park in the Southwestern United States, American Southwest hosting a concentration of pueblos. The park is located in northw ...

San Juan County, New Mexico San Juan County is located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 121,661 making it the fifth-most populous county in New Mexico. Its county seat is Aztec. The county was created in 1887. San Juan Count ...

, at an elevation of 1910 meters.

History

During the 1970s, archaeologists discovered corn, beans, squash, a

yucca ''Yucca'' is a genus of perennial plant, perennial shrubs and trees in the family (biology), family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40–50 species are notable for their Rosette (botany), rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped Leaf, ...

fiber sandal, a variety of different kinds of miniature beads made from juniper, basketry, juniperus monoserma and juniperus scopulorum twigs, p''seudotsuga'' ''menziesii'' wood fragments, and fabric made from rabbit fur in the cave. The breaths of the Archaic-age maize pollen grains are significantly larger than Puebloan and present maize pollen. They also found part of an atlatl, or

spear-thrower A spear-thrower, spear-throwing lever or ''atlatl'' (pronounced or ; Nahuatl ''ahtlatl'' ) is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in dart or javelin-throwing, and includes a bearing surface which allows the user to store ene ...

, from which the site got its name. Unlike most Archaic sites in the canyon, the shelter protected the organic materials inside, which allowed for accurate radiocarbon dating.

References

Sources

* Archaeological sites in New Mexico Colorado Plateau Chaco Culture National Historical Park Ancestral Puebloans {{NewMexico-geo-stub San Juan County, New Mexico