National Historic Landmark

Point of Pines

Morenci, Graham County, Arizona
Listed
October 14, 1966
Type
Site
Period
Listed
Ref No.
66000182

About this property

The Point of Pines Sites are a set of archaeological sites on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in the U.S. state of Arizona. Located around the settlement of Point of Pines, they are significant for associations with Ancestral Pueblo, Mogollon and Hohokam cultures. The sites were chosen as a field school location by Dr. Emil Haury because of the unusual presence of all three major prehistoric cultures of Arizona. The field school ran from 1946 to 1960, collecting large amounts of evidence from numerous sites. The site were collectively declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964. American anthropologist Richard B. Woodbury participated in the field school. Point of Pines is a region in the eastern interior area of the San Carlos Reservation, occupying a high plain bounded by the Nantack Ridge and the Willow Mountains. The Nantack Ridge is a deeply folded escarpment, and it and the plain above have extensive evidence of prehistoric occupation for an extended period of time. Due to this wealth of archaeological material, it also a good location for continuing research that had begun by the University of Arizona at Kinishba and Forestdale. For most of its early history the sites in the area fit the model of the Mogollon Culture identified by Haury and others. Later on, after the 13th century there was apparently an influx of Anasazi from the Colorado Plateau and possibly the Hohokam of the Safford region. The presence of Jeddito ware, a pottery type associated with the Hopi heartland, indicates at least trade with that area if not actual movement of people. Terah Smiley, a student of Haury's at Point of Pines, excavated and identified the rectangular Western Pueblo style kiva, forms of which are still in use today, at several of the sites.

Location

Morenci, Graham County, Arizona

Categories

PREHISTORIC
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Overview
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The Land
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Geology
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LiDAR Terrain
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Conflict & War
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The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
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Rivers & Rail
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Notable People
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Finds & Access
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Questions about this property

When was Point of Pines listed on the National Register?

Point of Pines was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 14, 1966.

What type of historic resource is Point of Pines?

Point of Pines is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Point of Pines a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Point of Pines has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for Point of Pines?

The period of significance for Point of Pines is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Point of Pines?

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