ndividuals maintained collections
that can now bee seen in the Smithsonian, and other museums, who sent
individuals out to acquire collections in the nearby Mimbres Valley during the
early 1900s. Others dug into the ancient sites and used the pottery they found
for target practice—something that occurred into the 1930s according to oral
histories. Collecting, and the looting of Mimbres Mogollon sites did not stop
with archaeological research conducted on private lands during the 1920s,
1930s, and 1970s, nor with the passage of the New Mexico "Burial Law"
in 1989. Sadly, unlawful looting continues to this day, and many prehistoric
sites have been badly damaged or completely obliterated.
The Apaches occupied areas in the vicinity
of Silver City beginning in the late 1500s to early 1600s based on
archaeological evidence
