IN SEARCH OF LOST LANDSCAPES: THE PRE-RESERVATION WESTERN APACHE ARCHAEOLOGY OF CENTRAL ARIZONA.

The Western Apache homeland in eastern and central Arizona is filled with domestic and ritual places, as well as named and unnamed natural places. Despite Western Apache displacement to reservations over a century ago, connections to this pre-reservation homeland remain strong in descendant communities. This paper uses archaeological survey and excavation data, ecological information, historical documents, ethnographic reports, and the accounts of tribal members to study the northern portion of the Western Apache lands between approximately A.D. 1650 and 1850. Multiple sources of information are used to interpret the late-seventeenth-century occupation at Plymouth Landing, which, in turn, is critical to understanding the archaeological signature of early Western Apache sites in this region. The different sources of information about these places, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, enrich our understanding of the past, revealing a largely intact cultural landscape in central Arizona. The project also demonstrates the value of seeking tribal participation outside of the formal consultation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]