Antelope Creek Cultures, No Man's Land Historical Museum ~ Goodwell, Oklahoma
Antelope Creek Phase (A.D. 1200 - A.D. 1500)
The Antelope Creek Phase villages were occupied in this area during the Plains Village Period Antelope Creek Phase and Odena Phase are the most southwestern occurring Plains Village group.
Antelope Creek societies lived along tributaries to rivers during an arid period in the area. Despite the aridity, the Ogallala Aquifer was high enough to keep springs flowing that fed the rivers. The villagers used a hunter-gatherer strategy along with agriculture. They hunted small game such as antelope and deer, but they preferred bison. Wild plants such as hackberry, plums, prickly pear varied the diet, and crops such as corn and squash were raised as well.
Three classes of architecture have been identified at Antelope Creek Phase sites.
1. Multiple family dwellings with twenty or more residential rooms were the oldest form of architectures.
2. Single family dwellings.
3. Field huts that lacked residential rooms.
Residential buildings were typically large with a low, extended entry way facing eastward, sloping to plastered floor that was usually a foot or more below ground level. A depressed channel in the central third of the floor extended from east to west. This channel was flanked by slightly elevated benches that might have pits or bins. The adobe or masonry walls of the building were usually set on stone slab foundations. Often, they used four interior roof support posts around a central hearth to bear the weight of a roof.
Antelope Creek cultures may have incorporated trade goods into their lives. This was a strategy that helped to ensure their survival until the drought worsened and Apachean groups entered the area in A. D. 1500, forcing the Antelope Creek Phase people to leave.
The panorama portrays one site that was an extensive village. The village was probably occupied over a number of years with indications of buildings built over the remains of previous buildings. The residents used a variety of bones and chert tools in their daily lives.
*Illustration: Artist Conception of the Site Houses
*Article: Pottery, Flint, & Bones Tools found in the Slab Dwelling Ruins near Optima
Antelope Creek Cultures, No Man's Land Historical Museum ~ Goodwell, Oklahoma
Antelope Creek Phase (A.D. 1200 - A.D. 1500)
The Antelope Creek Phase villages were occupied in this area during the Plains Village Period Antelope Creek Phase and Odena Phase are the most southwestern occurring Plains Village group.
Antelope Creek societies lived along tributaries to rivers during an arid period in the area. Despite the aridity, the Ogallala Aquifer was high enough to keep springs flowing that fed the rivers. The villagers used a hunter-gatherer strategy along with agriculture. They hunted small game such as antelope and deer, but they preferred bison. Wild plants such as hackberry, plums, prickly pear varied the diet, and crops such as corn and squash were raised as well.
Three classes of architecture have been identified at Antelope Creek Phase sites.
1. Multiple family dwellings with twenty or more residential rooms were the oldest form of architectures.
2. Single family dwellings.
3. Field huts that lacked residential rooms.
Residential buildings were typically large with a low, extended entry way facing eastward, sloping to plastered floor that was usually a foot or more below ground level. A depressed channel in the central third of the floor extended from east to west. This channel was flanked by slightly elevated benches that might have pits or bins. The adobe or masonry walls of the building were usually set on stone slab foundations. Often, they used four interior roof support posts around a central hearth to bear the weight of a roof.
Antelope Creek cultures may have incorporated trade goods into their lives. This was a strategy that helped to ensure their survival until the drought worsened and Apachean groups entered the area in A. D. 1500, forcing the Antelope Creek Phase people to leave.
The panorama portrays one site that was an extensive village. The village was probably occupied over a number of years with indications of buildings built over the remains of previous buildings. The residents used a variety of bones and chert tools in their daily lives.
*Illustration: Artist Conception of the Site Houses
*Article: Pottery, Flint, & Bones Tools found in the Slab Dwelling Ruins near Optima