Ndee (Apache) Archaeology

Despite abundant historical interest in Apache subjugation and early reservation periods, Apache persists as a lacuna in Southwest archaeology. Vexing conceptual and practical challenges to site identification and analyses, coupled with a lack of research specifically focused on Apache histories, regions, and material cultures, have retarded the creation of archaeological knowledge comparable or even complementary to the richness and diversity of Apache oral traditions and ethnographies. These challenges are being confronted as archaeologists integrate ethnographic data and collaborations with Apache culture bearers and community leaders to address Apache chronologies, identities and ethnogeneses, landscapes, and heritages. This chapter selectively reviews Southern Athapaskan culture history and previous research, then provides a data-based discussion of pre-reservation Western Apache archaeology. The conclusion recommends problem-focused and collaborative studies of interest to both Apache and academic scholars.