I was 6 years old when I first learned about Native American peoples. My family moved to lakefront property in Northeast New Jersey. Indian Lake honored the Lenni Lenape tribal peoples who had occupied those lands for many centuries.
Later in life, I gratefully participated in the tradition of land acknowledgement that honors the Indigenous peoples who are the original stewards of the lands.
I arrived in the Patagonia area in 1996. In about 2000, I bought unoccupied property on a ridge and built a home. During my time on that property, I discovered many artifacts: plain and decorated sherds (sherds are ancient fragments of pottery) as well as tools and projectile points. I moved from that property in 2009, and I was sad to leave ancestral occupied lands. In 2012 I moved onto property within the town borders. In order to deal with a flooding situation during heavy rains, a trench was dug. The person digging the trench brought me some pottery sherds. I was delighted and grateful that the ancestors again honored me with their memories.
Fast forward to mid-June 2026 and a visit from archeologist Dr Hunter Claypatch. Dr. Claypatch currently serves as the President for the Arizona Archaeological Council and as a professor in the Department of Anthropology and History at Pima Community College. Dr Claypatch’s conclusion after examining the sherds found on my property in town is that there is a mixture of Hohokam and Trincheras pottery with a production period of 900 to 1300 CE, which suggests possible occupation before the known occupation at the location of the Patagonia Museum. The mixture of Hohokam and Trincheras pottery also suggests distant trade and interaction, which Dr. Claypatch says is unique to southern Santa Cruz County.
The energy of the ancestors remains with me and part of my “end of life” planning is a designation that all the pottery sherds are to be given to a museum designated by Dr. Claypatch and/or the Arizona Archaeological Council.
Artifacts found on private property that you own belong to the landowner, although state law makes it illegal to disturb or possess human remains without authorization. Collecting or disturbing artifacts on any state, federal, or public land is a serious violation of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act.
Learning about the ancestors who lived by our rivers, mountains, and valleys deepens our sense of place and honors the original stewards of the lands we are now honored to call “home.”