Ten Hispanic homestead sites in southeastern Colorado

Abstract

The U.S. Southwest represents a frontier where different cultural groups have encountered one another in the past and present. Native Americans, Euro-Americans and Hispanics have their place in the history of this region and each approached the use of the landscape differently, based on their perceptions of how to best run a household. This thesis examines the land use patterns of ten Hispanic homestead sites in southeastern Colorado within the framework established by researchers as part of the Hispanic Cultural Landscapes Project. Directed by Richard Carrillo, Minette Church and Bonnie Clark, this group has proposed that meaningful differences exist between Hispanic and Euro-American land use patterns. It uses as evidence domestic site architecture, support structures, artifact assemblages and site placement and organization to distinguish between both groups. Ultimately, the fieldwork performed by the author aimed to test the hypothesis of the research group. The current study can be interpreted as being generally supportive of some of the group’s findings concerning architecture, hearth type and hearth placement while not being particularly supportive of their model for material culture or site placement. A discussion of how the current study fits with previous work by the aforementioned researchers along with additional sources will be undertaken as well.