Mogollonspecific

Mogollonspecific is an adjective used in archaeology and related disciplines to describe features, artifacts, or practices that are characteristic of the Mogollon cultural tradition in the southwestern United States, particularly in present-day New Mexico and Arizona. The term helps distinguish Mogollon traits from those of neighboring groups such as the Hohokam and the Ancestral Puebloans and is used when evidence clearly aligns with Mogollon chronology or site function.

Etymology and scope: The word derives from Mogollon, the regional cultural name applied by researchers to sites within the Mogollon Rim area and surrounding basins. Mogollonspecific is thus a attributional label indicating a connection to the Mogollon cultural sphere rather than to a single location.

Usage in research: Mogollonspecific traits may encompass architectural forms (such as early pit houses or masonry housing patterns), ceramic productions with characteristic tempering or decorative styles, and subsistence patterns that combine maize agriculture with local wild resources. In excavation reports, objects, features, or contexts may be described as Mogollonspecific when they are clearly linked to Mogollon chronology, settlement patterns, or site function.

Limitations: The label is descriptive and contextual, and it can be ambiguous when traits are shared through interaction with other groups or across broad timeframes. Therefore, Mogollonspecific should be used in conjunction with comprehensive cultural-historical frameworks and, where possible, absolute dating methods to avoid overgeneralization.

See also: Mogollon culture; Mimbres culture; Southwestern archaeology.