Arenosa > Zone 4

Zone 4: Middle Archaic Period

Zone 4 at Arenosa dates to the Middle Archaic period, which lasted from 4300 until 1500 B.C. It encompasses the Eagle Nest and San Felipe subperiods defined by Dave Dibble. Zone 4 includes strata 12-31, of which strata 30, 28, 25b, 25a, 23d, 23b, 23, 22b, 21b, 21, 20, 19a, 18, 16, and 14 contained cultural materials.

Artifacts made of antler and bone appear for the first time at Arenosa in Zone 4. The antler tools likely would have been used in the flint-knapping process or to work wood or animal hide. Bone artifacts include both tools (mainly awls) and beads. Painted pebbles also appear for the first time in small numbers in Zone 4.

Dart points were numerous throughout Zone 4. The deeper strata (30, 28, 25b, 23d, and 23b) were dominated by Pandale points. The later strata (23, 22b, 21b, 21, 20, 19a, 18, 16, and 14) contained a wider variety of dart points, mainly Langtry, Val Verde, Montell, Shumla, and Almagre points. Groundstone appeared primarily in the older strata and was heavily concentrated in Stratum 23.

The people who camped at Arenosa during this time made their stone tools with the chert, limestone, and some igneous and metamorphic material from the river gravels along the Pecos and Rio Grande. They also sometimes collected chert from ancient deposits on the uplands or quarried it from outcrops along the margins of the plateau.

Montell dart point found in the thin, merged layers of strata 18-12 within Zone 4 of Arenosa. The later strata of Zone 4 (23, 22b, 21b, 21, 20, 19a, 18, 16, and 14) contained mainly Langtry, Val Verde, Montell, Shumla, and Almagre points.

Painted pebble found in stratum 21 within Zone 4 of Arenosa. Painted pebbles appear for the first time at Arenosa in small numbers in Zone 4.

Langtry dart point found in stratum 21 within Zone 4 of Arenosa. The later strata of Zone 4 (23, 22b, 21b, 21, 20, 19a, 18, 16, and 14) contained mainly Langtry, Val Verde, Montell, Shumla, and Almagre points.

Pandale dart point found in stratum 21 within Zone 4 of Arenosa. Though the older strata of Zone 4 (30, 28, 25b, 23d, and 23b) were dominated by Pandale points, the later strata (23, 22b, 21b, 21, 20, 19a, 18, 16, and 14) contained mainly Langtry, Val Verde, Montell, Shumla, and Almagre points.

Shumla dart point found in stratum 21 within Zone 4 of Arenosa. The later strata of Zone 4 (23, 22b, 21b, 21, 20, 19a, 18, 16, and 14) contained mainly Langtry, Val Verde, Montell, Shumla, and Almagre points.

Zone 4 also contains a number of features. Features 5, 10, 13, 17, and 22 are hearths that consist of concentrations of charcoal surrounded by burned fragments of limestone. Feature 11 is a large grinding slab found with two manos (handstones), and Feature 23 is a fire pit that contained burned rock, charcoal, snail shell, a fragmentary Pandale point, and chipping debris from the manufacture of stone tools.

Feature 17 is a scattered hearth containing burned limestone rocks, charcoal, ash, mussel and snail shell, and chipping debris from the manufacture of stone tools. It was found in the lower part of stratum 30, which dates to about 3450 B.C. TARL Archives.

Feature 11 is a grinding slab found with two manos (handstones). It rests directly atop stratum 23b, which dates to about 2620 B.C. TARL Archives.