Patayan facts for kids

The Patayan were ancient Native American groups. They lived in parts of what is now Arizona, California, and Baja California. Their time period was from about 700 AD to 1550 AD. They lived near the Gila River and Colorado River. Their lands also stretched north towards the Grand Canyon.

Patayan Neighbors and Trade

The Patayan culture is also called the Hakataya culture. Their closest neighbors were the Hohokam people. The Hohokam lived in central and eastern Arizona.

The Yuman-speaking people lived in the Patayan region. They were known as strong warriors. They were also active traders. They traded goods with the Pima in southern Arizona. They also traded with tribes along the Pacific Coast in California.

Discovering the Patayan Culture

The name "Patayan" comes from the Quechan language. It means "old people." Scientists do not know much about the Patayan culture. This is because there are not many ancient remains to study.

An archaeologist named Malcolm Rogers first identified the Patayan. He wrote about them in 1945. He found hundreds of sites in the desert. The desert environment makes it hard to find and study old sites.

Most Patayan people moved around a lot. They did not build large structures. They also did not collect many belongings. Some Patayan groups may have grown crops.

Early Patayan Discoveries

Important signs of Patayan culture appeared around 875 AD. Many of their ways of life continued into later times. The Patayan culture may have started along the Colorado River. It stretched from modern Kingman to the Grand Canyon.

These people likely farmed in floodplains. This idea comes from finding manos and metates. These tools were used to grind corn. Scientists also found stone points and other tools. These tools were used for hunting and preparing animal hides. This suggests they both farmed and hunted for food.

Patayan Homes

Early Patayan sites show shallow pit houses. They also had surface "long houses." These long houses were a series of rooms in a line. They had a pit room at one end. This room might have been for storage or special activities. Later sites had less clear house types. They showed different kinds of homes grouped loosely together.

Patayan Art and Pottery

The Patayan people made both baskets and pottery. They started making pottery around 700 AD. Patayan pottery was mostly plain. It looked like the "Alma Plain" pottery of the Mogollon.

However, Patayan pots were made using a special method. This was called the paddle-and-anvil method. Their pot shapes were more like those of the Hohokam. This suggests that people from the Hohokam, or influenced by them, first settled in this area.

Pottery from lowland Patayan areas was made from fine, buff-colored river clay. Upland Patayan pottery was rougher and a deeper brown. Some painted pottery was found. It sometimes used red colors. These painted pots looked very similar to the styles of neighboring cultures.

See also

In Spanish: Pataya para niños