z-logo
open-access-imgOpen Access
Athapaskan migration to the North American Sout
Author(s) -
Magdalena Lewandowska
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
polish contributions in new world archaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2080-8216
DOI - 10.33547/cnwa.12.05
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , navajo , the arctic , archaeology , history , arctic , geography , ethnology , genealogy , ecology , linguistics , geology , oceanography , biology , philosophy
The arrival of the ancestors of the Apaches and Navajo to the North American Southwest, the so-called Apachean migra-tion is one of the most widely discussed issues in American archeology. Since the 19th century, after connections were disco-vered between the Athabaskan language family, potential routes and directions of migration between the Arctic and Subarctic region (inhabited by the Northern Athabaskans) and the Southwest (inhabited by the Southern Athabaskans) began to be con-sidered. During the 1930s, the Edward Sapir’s linguistic research made it possible to determine that the migration flowed from north to south, but this conclusion merely sowed the seed of research on Apachean migration, which has since blossomed with archaeological discoveries from the last 20 or 30 years. Today, we are able to pinpoint what prompted the Athabaskans’ journey; we also know of cultures such as Promontory (around the Great Salt Lake) or Dismal River (Great Plains), which we associate with the presence of the Apachean people on both sides of the Rocky Mountains. Still, many questions remain unanswered, and previous hypotheses are being verified in the light of new discoveries. No less interesting proved the results of research into some auxiliary sciences of archeology: genetics and linguistics, and the analysis of historical sources and oral tradition.The following article aims to introduce the reader to the most important and recent discoveries related to the issue of Apachean migration, and present hypotheses that have recently emerged in the scientific community, both in the context of the migration route itself and arrival in the Southwest, as well as the dates associated with them.

The content you want is available to Zendy users.

Already have an account? Click here to sign in.
Having issues? You can contact us here