Hawkins Preserve is a property within the city limits of Cortez, Colorado. It is protected by a conservation easement held by the Montezuma Land Conservancy.
The property for the preserve was donated to the Cortez Cultural Center in the 1990s by Jack Hawkins which includes: Biological and botanical resources in a pinion-juniper woodland that is bounded by sandstone potholes and McElmo Creek. Prehistoric archaeological sites.
Nature preserve
Hawkins Preserve is a natural museum on 120 acres including seven ecological zones: Piñon-juniper woodland or Pygmy forest Sagebrush steppe Slickrock Pothole Rimrock Alluvial bottomland Riparian corridor and intermittent streams Post-disturbance and dunes
History
Early people
Hunter-gather 8,000 B.P. to AD 1
Evidence from the Hovenweep National Monument, west of Cortez, indicates that there were Paleo-Indians hunter-gatherer and people of the Archaic period as early as 8,000 years ago. The ancestors of the Mesa Verde Pueblo people hunted and lived in a difficult terrain, traversed deep canyons and areas of few animals and limited vegetation, and managed limited access to water - which made life difficult and limited the size of their hunt groups. They gathered seeds and fruit from wild plants to supplement their diet.
Basket Makers AD 1 to 550
The people living in the Four Corners region were introduced to maize and basketry through Mesoamerican trading about 2,000 years Before Present Able to have greater control of their diet through cultivation, the hunter-gatherers lifestyle became more sedentary as small disperse groups began cultivating maize and squash. They also continued to hunt and gather wild plants.
They were named "Basket Makers" for their skill in making baskets for storing food, covering with pitch to heat water, and using to toast seeds and nuts. They wove bags, sandals, belts out of yucca plants and leaves - and strung beads. They occasionally lived in dry caves where they dug pits that they lined with stones to store food. These people were ancestors of the pueblo people of the Hovenweep pueblo settlement and Mesa Verde.
Hawkins Preserve residents
Modified Basket Makers 550 to 750
This era resulted in the introduction of pottery which reduced the number of baskets that they made and eliminated the creation of woven bags. The simple, gray pottery allowed them a better tool for cooking and storage. Beans were added to the cultivated diet. Bows and arrows made hunting easier and thus the acquisition of hides for clothing. Turkey feathers were woven into blankets and robes.
Developmental Pueblo 750 to 1100
Pueblo buildings were built with stone, windows facing south, and in U, E and L shapes. The buildings were located more closely together and reflected deepening religious celebration. Towers were built near kivas and likely used for look-outs. Pottery became more versatile, including pitchers, ladles, bowls, jars and dishware for food and drink. White pottery with black designs emerged, the pigments coming from plants. Water management and conservation techniques, including the use of reservoirs and silt-retaining dams also emerged during this period.
Like the people at Hovenweep National Monument, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, and the Mesa Verde village communities moved from mesa tops to the heads of canyons about 1100.
Great Pueblo period 1100 to 1300
People, generally considered part of the Mesa Verde branch of the northern San Juan Pueblo (Anasazi) culture, transitioned from their disperse housing and began building pueblos in the late 12th century alongside springs or other water sources near or at the canyon heads. Most of the pueblo building was conducted, about the same time as the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings, between 1230 and 1275 when there were about 2,500 residents. The Hovenweep architecture and pottery was like that of Mesa Verde.
About 1160, area residents, such as those at Mesa Verde and Hovenweep, began building larger pueblo residential complexes, up to 3 story towers, dams, and reservoirs. They moved their fields into areas where water could be controlled. They also built large stone towers, living quarters and other shelters to safeguard springs and seeps. The stone course pueblos and towers exhibit expert masonry skills and engineering. The builders did not level foundations for their structures, but adapted construction designs to the uneven surfaces of rock slabs. These stone pueblos were referred to as castles by 19th-century explorers.