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People and the Wash
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| Clovis
Point discovered May 2000 |
Prehistoric People
Archaeological
sites along the Las Vegas Wash suggest that the area's water,
plant, and animal resources made the locale an attractive habitation
area since around AD 600, and possibly earlier. The discovery
of a fluted spear point, lying on a terrace north of the Wash,
offers tantalizing evidence that human use of the area may extend
back in time 12,000 years.
A good temporal
framework of the prehistory of Las Vegas Valley has been elusive.
Elsewhere in the Great Basin and the Southwest, archaeologists
have had the advantage of chronological "Rosetta stones"
to decipher regional prehistories. Usually a region's "Rosetta
stone" is a cave or rock shelter that was occupied over most
of prehistory. Careful excavation of the buried cultural deposits
allows archaeologists to identify stylistic differences in artifacts
that can be correlated to blocks of time. Ceramic decoration styles,
projectile points, and basketry are all time-sensitive artifacts
- that is, they change through time. The distribution of complexes
of similar artifact styles through time and space allows archaeologists
to identify prehistoric "cultures" (Prehistoric cultures
are groups of similar artifact types and should not be equated
with true cultures or ethnic groups).
Based upon
recent work, a culture history specific to the Las Vegas Wash
and Las Vegas Valley has been developed by Roberts, Seymour, and
Ahlstrom (2000). The cultural chronology summarized on the following
table uses some period names from previous studies in nearby regions,
but has been updated to focus on the Las Vegas Basin and more
specifically the Las Vegas Wash.
Chronological Sequence for Las Vegas Wash
These points would have been hafted to a thrusting spear, and used
to kill now-extinct large mammals, or megafauna, including mammoths,
horses, and bison. A Clovis point recently found near Las Vegas Wash
is the first evidence of the Clovis tradition in Clark County. Other
Paleo-Archaic period evidence has been found at the Tule Springs area,
northwest of Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Wash; the remains of mammoths,
camels, and stone tools have been found in this area.
Paleo-Archaic Period (10,000-5,500 BC)
This period covers the terminal Pleistocene and first several millennia of the Holocene
epochs. Today Great Basin archaeologists generally distinguish two artifact traditions
within the Paleo-Archaic period: the Fluted Point (Paleo-Indian) and the Stemmed Point
(Lake Mojave) traditions. The Fluted tradition's most characteristic artifact is the
large, distinctive Clovis point.
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Photographs
of a Clovis point basal
fragment found near the Las Vegas Wash
in May 2000. Clovis points are diagnostic
of the early portion of the Paleoindian
period, which began about 12,000 years
before the present. This tool was hafted
to a thrusting spear and used to hunt
now-extinct large mammals, including
mammoths, horses,
and bison. Photo: Jeffrey Flenniken
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Archaic Period (5,500 BC-AD 300)
The Archaic period is characterized by a hunting-and-gathering lifeway based on the exploitation
of wild animals and plants. The Archaic tradition is characterized by a broad-spectrum adaptation to
the animal and plant resources of the Holocene - that is, more or less modern - environment. It has
been divided into Middle and Late subperiods. Characteristic artifacts of these Archaic periods include
large projectile points that would have been hafted to darts that were propelled with atlatls. Grinding
tools appear to be an important part of tool assemblages dating to the Middle period, and they are common
in Late period assemblages. Although Middle Archaic period sites are not abundant in Southern Nevada,
several sites located along Duck Creek in the Las Vegas Valley have components that appear to date to
this time. Late Archaic period sites are more common than Middle Archaic sites in Southern Nevada, and
several have been investigated within a few miles of the Las Vegas Wash.
Ceramic Period (AD 300-1850)
The Ceramic period sees the introduction of a mixed farming and hunting-gathering lifeways to Southern
Nevada. In the past, this period was defined and subdivided into phases specifically referenced to the
Virgin Anasazi (Puebloan) cultural traditions, however this did not take into account strong Southern
Paiute and Patayan presences in Southern Nevada. Recent research shows that half of all pottery in this
area is affiliated with the Patayan (Seymour 1997 and 2000). To avoid the problems associated with
focusing on only one culture group or borrowing terms from other areas chronologies, the Ceramic
period culture history has been divided into the Early, Middle and Late subperiods. The Early Ceramic
subperiod can be characterized by the appearance of Gray Ware pottery. At the turn of the millennium
and the Middle Ceramic subperiod, Great Basin Brown and Lower Colorado Buff Wares first make their
appearance in the Las Vegas Area. By the Late Ceramic subperiod, only Great Basin Brown Ware is
predominantly found. Radiocarbon dating and analysis of ceramics from sites along the Las Vegas
Wash has shown occupation of the area during all three subperiods.
(Roberts, Heidi and Richard V. N. Ahlstrom 2000 Fragile Past: Archaeological Investigations
in Clark County Wetlands Park, Nevada. HRA, Inc., Archaeological Report 00-03. Las Vegas.)
Yuman (Patayan/Mohave):
Based upon pottery and the presence of an intaglio located near the Las Vegas Wash, it is inferred
that the Wash represented an important travel corridor, habitation/camping locale, and resource
procurement area for the Yumans. It has been suggested that these makers of Patayan pottery
focused their settlement along Las Vegas and Duck Creek Washes, relying for subsistence on
the mesquite trees that are to be found in that environment, but also farming there. Intaglios
are large designs created on the ground by scraping away the desert pavement. They occur along
the Lower Colorado and Gila rivers and are generally associated with Yuman groups. An intaglio
has been recorded just south of the Las Vegas Wash, which is one of the few known intaglios in
Southern Nevada.
(Excerpt from Greg Seymour, Archaeologist, Las Vegas Springs Preserve)
Native Americans and the Historic Period (AD 1850 - 1905)
Identity of the people who lived in and around Las Vegas Valley just before the Historical period is
established on archaeological, linguistic, and Native American origin myth sources. There is no
consensus as to how these Numic-speaking peoples came to inhabit the Great Basin, but generally,
there is agreement that peoples who occupied this region were engaged in hunting, gathering, and
foraging practices that were supplemented by horticulture. The culture was flexible in its response
to climatic change, enabling people to change localities to take advantage of temporary increases in
available food supplies, and minimize the negative impacts of decreases.
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Drawing
of a mescal knife, recovered from a rock shelter in Las
Vegas Wash. The knife consists of a stone blade inserted
into a prepared wooden handle and sealed into place with
resin (Brooks and Larson, 1975).
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Social groups were small, primarily composed of kindred, and in periods of extended
drought, an extended family might even fragment into pairs that foraged alone. Historic
and artifactual evidence suggest that Southern Paiute people occupied the Las Vegas Wash
in the Historical and possibly earlier periods. Both Southern Paiute and Mojave tribal members
have identified the Wash as an area of cultural significance.
Paiute/Chemehuevi: The Southern Paiute and the Chemehuevi, an off-shoot of the
Las Vegas Band of the Southern Paiutes, were two bands of Southern Paiute that inhabited
the Las Vegas Valley and adjacent areas. Each had its own territory, but boundaries often
overlapped.
Many believe that, before contact, Southern Paiute culture included a subsistence
regime based on foraging and hunting on seasonal rounds similar to cultures during the
Archaic period. With the addition of horticulture, the Southern Paiutes embraced a lifeway
that continued well into the historic period. The Colorado River and Lower Las Vegas Wash
were significant landmarks for the Las Vegas Valley territory. There were numerous occupation
sites around the Valley, including two on or near Las Vegas Wash. There is more information available on
Native American history.
(Excerpt from Greg Seymour, Archaeologist, Las Vegas Springs Preserve)
Euroamerican History (AD 1500s - 1950)
The Historical period saw the arrival of Euroamericans in Southern Nevada. The
first documented European entry into the Las Vegas Valley was by Antonio Armijo
in 1829. It is believed that Armijo made a stop along the Las Vegas Wash on his
trip along the Spanish trail from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to Los Angeles, California.
Other early explorers such as Jedediah
Smith and James O. Pattie traveled near the Wash on their trapping expeditions down the Virgin
and Colorado Rivers. Blue glass and ceramic trade beads, which were recovered from two sites along
the Las Vegas Wash, may date to this early period.
(Excerpt from Greg Seymour, Archaeologist, Las Vegas Springs Preserve)
Modern Settlers (Early 1900s)
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, known as Mormons, made the first attempt
to settle Las Vegas in 1855. The purpose of the settlement was to teach the gospel to the Indians and to
establish a halfway station between Mormon settlements in Utah and California. Journals kept by Mormon
settlers and explorers suggest that they explored Las Vegas Wash on their journeys to the Colorado River.
After the close of the Mormon settlement, other early ranchers, including the Gass, Kiel, and Stewart
families, settled around the Las Vegas Valley's springs.
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Stairway
and cellar of Bishop Ranch house, after excavation in 1976 (Ferraro
and Ellis, 1982).
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In 1901 the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad was
formed and by 1905 the first train from Salt Lake traveled the
railway through Las Vegas. With the railroad came new prosperity
and land speculation. Between 1900 and 1910 Las Vegas grew from
a sleepy whey point to a bustling railroad town. Mining
also played an important role during this period. The booming
Las Vegas economy drew settlers to Las Vegas Wash. Along the Las
Vegas Wash, the Bishop family established a cattle and horse ranch
in 1905. By 1912 the ranch, also known as the Glendale Farm had
grown to 800 acres, of which 135 acres were under cultivation,
with a house and outbuildings. Ambitious plans for the property
did not materialize, and there is no recorded activity on the
property after 1915.
(Excerpt from Greg Seymour, Archaeologist, Las Vegas Springs Preserve)
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