Archeological Investigations in West-Central New Mexico: Volume 3: Report of the Final Field Season

“During the late prehistoric period, the ancestors of the Zuni and Acoma people occupied the San Augustine Coal Area (SACA) and surrounding region. By Coronado’s
entry into the Southwest in 1539, Native Americans were not living in the area, but continued use it during the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. The SACA was apparently a buffer zone where Chiricahua Apaches, Zunis, Navajos and Acomas hunted and gathered and, with Lagunas and Hopis, collected salt at Zuni Salt Lake. Lagunas, Navajos, Acomas, and Zunis still make pilgrimages to Zuni Salt Lake, gather medicinal plants and clays, hunt, and pick piñon nuts….Native American cultural resources known or expected in SACA include natural landmarks, places for gathering plants or minerals, shrines and offering points; cross-regional roads; sites for hunting eagles, deer, and antelope; piñon-nut gathering camps; and miscellaneous campsites, homesites, and graves.” (from the Abstract, Volume 4)