Overview of Southwest (United States of America): History

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Human settlement in the Southwest dates back over 12,000 years, and is preserved today by the rock art, cliff dwellings, and other archaeological remains found throughout the region. The Pueblo (sometimes known as the Anasazi) people inhabited the area for well over one thousand years, but disappeared during the 12th or 13th century AD. The Athabascan people (Navajo and Apache) began arriving as early as 1000 AD and remain the largest indigenous group in the area to this day. In the 1500's Spanish explorers arrived and remained a dominant military force for nearly three hundred years. The area became part of Mexico in 1821 after Mexico won its independence from Spain. By the mid-1800's the expanding United States established a presence, and in 1848, after a war with Mexico, much of the area became United States territory.

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