2013 Mission Accomplishments

American Indian Initiatives

 The Native American Advisory Group worked on revisions to Crow Canyon’s Policy on the Treatment of Human Remains and Associated Funerary Artifacts. A draft of the policy was sent to the executive committee.

 The Hopi Farmers continued their work with the Pueblo Farming Project. LeeWayne Lomayestewa, Donald Dawahongnewa, and Ronald Wadsworth worked with the Crow Canyon staff to plant corn, beans, and melons in the five campus gardens this May. Donald Dawahongnewa, Stewart Koyiyumptewa, Owen Numkena, and Ronald Wadsworth harvested the gardens October 14–15.

 Dr. Mary Evelyn LoRė from Isleta and Ohkay Owingeh pueblos accepted a position on the Native American Advisory Group. Mary is an associate professor emerita at the Institute for American Indian Education and Department of Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies at the University of New Mexico–College of Education.

 The Southern Ute Tribe committed to three programs at Crow Canyon. The Southern Ute Montessori and Vail Mountain School cultural exchange program occurred in March. The Southern Ute Leadership Academy and the Southern Ute Youth Group participated in programs the week of June 9.

 Drs. Tessie Naranjo and Joseph Suina were the scholars for the National Endowment for Humanities 2013 summer institute for teachers, Bridging Cultures: Diversity and Unity in the Pueblo World. Ohkay Owingeh tribal members Pete and Joe Garcia, Benny Lujan, and Dolly Neikrug-Naranjo from Santa Clara Pueblo gave presentations to the educators in their home communities.

 Jim Enote, the director of the Ashiwi Museum at Zuni Pueblo hosted the High School Field School students. The students worked in the corn fields, toured the pueblo, and visited the museum the weekend of July 13.

 The Leadership Institute at the Santa Fe Indian School is collaborating on two initiatives with Crow Canyon. Two students from their Summer Leadership Academy participated in the High School Archaeology Program. Next summer, an art and archaeology program is planned with high school students, American Indian artists, and Crow Canyon staff.

1  American Indian scholars were an important voice in the cultural explorations programs this year. Fifty-four American Indians were involved as scholars. Dr. Joseph Suina was the lead scholar for the cultural explorations program, Pueblos of the Rio Grande, the week of July 28.

 The Pueblo Indian Curriculum Project is nearing completion. The new lessons were distributed to the Cochiti Pueblo Keres high school language programs and sent to History Colorado State Historical Fund for review.

 Inspiring Students: An Educational Alliance between Pueblo Indian Communities and Crow Canyon Archaeological Center is proposed. It addresses the advisory group’s recommendation to create culturally relevant programs that address traditional culture and language and build economic opportunities.

Archaeology

 Conducted the third year of the Basketmaker Communities Project: Early Pueblo Society in the Mesa Verde Region. The 2013 field season started in March, with the first participants joining the field crew the week of May 5; participants worked in the field through October 9. Excavation is in progress or was completed at four sites on Indian Camp Ranch: the Dillard site, Switchback site, TJSmith Site, and Shepherd site.

 Taught 403 participants in field programs and conducted site tours for 925 people.

 Remote sensed 18,400 m² this year; eight additional pit structures have been located.

 Integrated remote sensing survey and mapping exercises into adult and teen programs.

 Worked with Woods Canyon Archaeological Consultants to conduct a resurvey of 71 habitation sites as part of the National Science Foundation – BCP grant.

 On October 12, Crow Canyon and the Indian Camp Ranch Homeowners Association met and reaffirmed their agreement to extend the Basketmaker Communities Project through December 2014.

 The lab processed over 700 flotation samples to collect materials for chronometric and ethnobotanical analyses from the light fraction and small artifacts, and faunal remains from the heavy fraction.

 Paul Ermigiotti and Kari Schleher developed and delivered (with Greg Wood) a new adult research seminar (A Study in Clay) that focused on pottery replication and experimental analyses; the program was offered in August.

 Taught 512 participants in laboratory programs—377 school children and 135 adults (including the seven adults who participated in the new adult research seminar, A Study in Clay.

 Jamie Merewether and Kari Schleher developed a new focus on Basketmaker III ornaments for the alum Archaeology Lab Program offered in October.

2  Carole Graham completed analysis of the lithic materials from the Darkmold site under a State Historical Fund subcontract with Fort Lewis College.

 The lab archaeologists continued the Pottery Resource Survey with high school and adult participants to locate clays and temper materials that might have been used by Basketmaker III potters.

 Worked with 11 lab volunteers throughout the year (Bob Bernhart, Nan Carman, Karen Carlson, Jane Dillard, Ed Grein, Larry Keller, Robin Lyle, Bob McBride, Diane McBride, Karon Myers, and Mary Schultz).

 Grant Coffey, Kristin Kuckelman, and Susan Ryan continued work on four major research reports (see below for additional information): Goodman Point Community Testing, Goodman Point Pueblo Excavations, Albert Porter Pueblo, and Shields Pueblo.

 Processed and catalogued artifacts; conducted laboratory analyses (including specialized analyses), data input, and data checks for Goodman Point Unit sites and Basketmaker Community Project sites; continued developing and implementing new analyses for Basketmaker III pottery.

 Processed samples for specialized analyses on pollen, phytoliths, obsidian, and INAA (instrumental neutron activation analysis) pottery analyses.

 Worked on Northern Rio Grande collections from Ponsipa for the Village Ecodynamics Project II.

 Continued clean-up work on the archaeology databases, including the GIS, photography, and library databases; began remote data entry with iPads.

 CNN (Cable News Network) filmed archaeological activities in October at the Dillard site and in the laboratory for a spot to be aired on their airport channel.

 Continued work on the National Science Foundation Project, the Village Ecodynamics Project II.

 Worked with education department staff to develop two new research-based educational programs: A Spoonful of Dirt and Agricultural Techniques.

 Numerous researchers participated as scholars on trips sponsored by Cultural Explorations (Shanna Diederichs, Rebecca Hammond, Ricky Lightfoot, Scott Ortman, Susan Ryan, Mark Varien); the lab and field staff helped with campus visits for several CE trips.

 Ten archaeology interns received training and experience in fieldwork, labwork, and archaeobotanical analysis: Toby Austin, Nikki Berkebile, Cherise Bunn, Anna Dempsey, David Henceman, Jonathan Schwartz, Kelsey Reese, Emilio Santiago, Megan Smith, and Michelle Turner.  Completed the sixth season of the experimental gardening project, the Pueblo Farming Project.

 Hosted biannual gathering of Big MACC (Big Meeting at Crow Canyon) on February 25; approximately 110 people attended to hear the 24 presentations by archaeologists from throughout the region.

3  Eight members of the archaeology staff made presentations at the annual meetings of the Society for American Archaeology (see citations below).

Status of Archaeology Reports

 Goodman Point Community Testing: Most field data from the project have been entered into the database and an initial consistency check has been completed. Some analyses from the project are currently ongoing, including temper and faunal studies. By the end of the year, drafts of the vegetal and human remains portion of the final report will be completed, and first drafts of all AutoCAD maps from the project will have been compiled and checked.  Goodman Point Pueblo Excavations. Kristin Kuckelman data-checked second and final drafts of AutoCAD maps; these 180 maps are available on the CCAC intranet. Analysts’ chapters on the faunal and vegetal remains are in final draft form, and progress was made on the human remains chapter and the introduction chapter of the site report. All descriptive and interpretive information has been entered into the research database, and the database for Goodman Point Pueblo excavations is ready for online publication.  Albert Porter Pueblo: All analyses are complete, the excavation database and maps are complete, and Susan Ryan has written (or overseen the writing) of all chapters. The database links will be cross-checked by Louise Schmidlap. Report chapters are currently being copy edited by Kristin Kuckelman. Jamie Merewether completed preparation of the collection for curation and the materials were transferred to the Anasazi Heritage Center on October 1, 2012. Susan Ryan will submit a final state permit report by the end of the year.  Shields Pueblo: All analyses are complete, the excavation database and maps are complete, and there are drafts of all chapters. Online report chapters will be copy edited in 2014. The database links will be cross-checked by Louise Schmidlap. Susan Ryan will submit a final state permit report by the beginning of next year.

Education

 Kathy, Becky, and Shirley conducted outreach to Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute tribes’ education departments. Becky exhibited at the Southern Ute Career Fair. Kathy and Shirley met with the Ute Mountain Ute education director regarding grant collaboration, and Becky, Kathy, and Beth brought six teachers from the Academy of Urban School Leaders to Towoac to exchange dialog on at-risk students.  Becky taught the first Southern Ute Leadership week-long program.  Vangee Nez (University of New Mexico) and Savannah Davenport (Western Michigan University) joined us as on-call educators. Dr. Beth Stone departed Crow Canyon in late summer for a museum position.  Nichole Tramel was our first intern educator in several years. Nichole updated two of our lesson plans while she was here. One lesson was a scavenger hunt used for participants’ visit to the Anasazi Heritage Center; the other was a plant-walk lesson.  Greg Harpel joined the education team as enrollment manager, and Bronwyn Strickland became the part-time enrollment assistant.  Outreach to local schools:  Greg and Paul participated in Shiprock’s High School Career Fair.

4  Molly helped coordinate the Museum on the Ground for fourth graders which took place at Lowry Pueblo. Both the Anasazi Heritage Center’s educators and Crow Canyon’s educators taught a total of five stations on three separate Thursdays. 221 participants from six local schools attended.  Greg and Molly taught a dendrochronology lesson for the Aspen Science Fair.  Paul presented information on the Pueblo Farming Project on the local radio station.  Bronwyn was interviewed on the local radio station promoting Crow Canyon.  Summer programs included Middle School Archaeology Camp (Becky); High School Archaeology Camp (Paul), and High School Field School (Beth).  A service learning component was added to the field school where students traveled to Zuni Pueblo to work in one of the pueblo fields for a weekend.  Six Academy for Urban School Leadership educators participated in a one-week program led by Becky and Beth.  The National Endowment for the Humanities 2013 summer institute, Bridging Cultures: Diversity and Unity in the Pueblo World, was presented to K–12 educators (Margie Connolly, director, and Kathy Stemmler, codirector).  Lew Matis taught the majority of the Day Programs with assistance from the educators and archaeologists.  Conference presentations and attendance included  National Science Teachers Association (Paul & Molly),  American Indian Engineering Society (Becky),  Kathy attended the Common Core Summit held at the College of Education, Northern Arizona University.  All educators have participated in professional development programs offered via webinars, conferences and/or workshops.  The education team continued the process of evaluating current curriculum, instruction, scheduling, and program delivery. Part of this evaluation process resulted in the Museum Assessment Program and report that was completed in September. This was an external assessment funded by a grant.  Anna Cole updated Crow Canyon’s modules, aligning them with current Common Core and Colorado standards.  Anna, Shirley, and Kathy met with local school administrators and educators regarding a collaboration targeted to support K–12 place-based education in the region. Shirley and Anna collaborated on writing a grant to the State Historical Fund.  New evening programs designed and delivered included  More than A Spoonful of Dirt  The Agricultural Strategies game  The Amazing Atlatl  The Simulated Excavation module for fourth- through sixth-grade non-dig groups was revised to match current archaeological methodology.  Kathy joined the Colorado Distance Learning Association and was elected to their board. She has attended several meetings.  In all we served:  403 participants who excavated at and 925 participants who toured the Dillard Site; Shanna Diederichs, Steve Copeland, Caitlin Sommer, and Amanda Hernandez supervised this work.

5  512 participants who took part in lab programs at the Center; Carole Graham, Jamie Merewether, Kari Schleher, and Megan Smith oversaw this work.  240 adults and children participated in day tours.  1,675 students, teachers, and chaperons participated in school programs at Crow Canyon this past year.  47 students participated in summer camp programs.  25 school teachers participated in the three-week National Endowment for the Humanities summer institute, and six Academy for Urban School Leadership educators participated in a one-week program.  Crow Canyon staff delivered 258 evening programs for our participants.  112 adults and children participated in the Archaeology Research and Family Programs, including four Earthwatch programs.  123 adults participated in cultural exploration programs.

Sponsored Projects Completed Products  We have completed all deliverables for two projects funded by the State Historical Fund: Using Archaeology to Reconstruct a More Inclusive History for Colorado, which funds two collaborative projects with Cochiti Pueblo and the Hopi Tribe, and Remote Sensing of the Basketmaker Communities Project.  We plan to complete all obligations for two additional projects funded by the State Historical Fund: the 2012 Basketmaker Communities Project and the Darkmold site subcontract.  National Endowment for the Humanities: We delivered the 2013 summer institute, Bridging Cultures: Diversity and Unity in the Pueblo World, to 25 schoolteachers.  Canyonlands Natural History Association: We completed the project Ceramic Research and Public Education on the Late Pueblo Occupation of the Goodman Point Pueblo and Unit Sites, Southwestern Colorado.

Projects Funded and In Progress  National Science Foundation: The Village Ecodynamics Project II, which funds computer simulation and archaeological analysis of two study areas, one in the Mesa Verde region and one in the Rio Grande region.  National Science Foundation: Informal Science Education program initiative with Oregon Public Broadcasting and Time Team America and the Science of Archaeology, which funded filming of an episode of the PBS series, Time Team America, and a field school at the Dillard site.  National Science Foundation: Basketmaker Communities Project, which funds 2012–2013 investigations; this project will likely be extended into 2014.  National Science Foundation: Communicating Research to Public Audience, which funds creation of exhibits based on the Village Ecodynamics Project for the History Colorado Center in Denver.  State Historical Fund: The Basketmaker Communities Project, Phase III, which funds 2013 research and public education programs.  The new displays for the History Colorado Center’s Living West Exhibit, funded in part by Crow Canyon’s National Science Foundation CRPA grant (administered by Mark Varien), opened on November 22.

6 Projects to Begin January 2014 or Under Development  Earthwatch: will fund up to 80 Earthwatch volunteers to assist with the Basketmaker Communities Project during four one-week sessions in August and September 2014, plus one group of high school students to attend a two-week field/lab school in late July and early August 2014.  National Endowment for the Humanities: 2014 Landmarks Workshop, Mesa Verde National Park: Convergences and Crossroads in the American Southwest.  State Historical Fund: The Basketmaker Communities Project – Phase III: Field Work, Analyses, and Public Education, which funds 2013 archaeology and public education programs.  State Historical Fund: Basketmaker Landscapes: Early Farming Communities Through Time and Space, which funds 2014 archaeology and public education programs.  State Historical Fund: Our Shared Historical Landscapes: A K–12 Educational Collaborative, if funded, will develop a plan for place- and community-based curriculum for grades K–12 that partners regional schools with community organizations. Learning environments will include the classroom, the field, and on-line for individual students, classrooms, school districts, and regional learning communities.

Publications and Public Presentations

Coffey, Grant D. 2013 The Harlan Great Kiva Site: Civic Architecture and Community Persistence in the Goodman Point Area of Southwestern Colorado. Kiva. In press.

Coffey, Grant D. 2013 Residential Versus Civic Use: A Pueblo Case Study from the Harlan Great Kiva Site in the Goodman Point Area of Southwestern Colorado. Journal of Field Archaeology. In press.

Coffey, Grant D. 2013 Excavations at the Harlan Great Kiva Site in the Goodman Point Unit of Hovenweep National Monument, Southwestern Colorado. Paper presented at the Pecos Conference, Flagstaff, Arizona.

Connolly, Marjorie and Joseph Suina 2103 American Indian Initiatives at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center. Presentation to the March 8 meeting of the New Mexico Language Coalition, Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

Copeland, Steve, Caitlin A. Sommer, and William Volf 2013 Seeing the Unseen: Geophysical Testing Techniques on Basketmaker III Settlements. Poster presented at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Diederichs, Shanna

7 2013 The Neolithic Revolution in the Pueblo World: New Evidence from the Mesa Verde Region, in the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center Smithsonian Associate Lecture Series: Seventh-Century Revolution in the American Southwest, Washington D.C.

Diederichs, Shanna, Scott G. Ortman, Mark D. Varien, and Kari L. Schleher 2013 The Neolithic Revolution in the Pueblo World. Paper presented at the 35th Annual Meeting of the Colorado Council of Professional Archaeologists, Denver, Colorado.

Diederichs, Shanna, Scott G. Ortman, Mark D. Varien, and Kari L. Schleher 2013 The Neolithic Revolution in the Pueblo World: New Evidence from the Basketmaker III Period in Southwestern Colorado. Paper presented at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Diederichs, Shanna, Scott G. Ortman, Mark D. Varien, and Kari L. Schleher 2013 The Search for Ancestral Pueblo Social Institutions: Evidence from Crow Canyon’s Basketmaker Communities Project. Paper presented at the 13th biannual Big MaCC, Cortez, Colorado.

Eckert, Suzanne, David Snow, Kari Schleher, Judith Habicht-Mauche, and W. D. James 2013 Following the Yellow Brick Road: Yellow Slip Clays and the Production of Rio Grande Glaze Ware in North Central New Mexico. Poster presented at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Graham, Carole L., and Sally J. Cole 2013 Basketmaker Occupation of Cottonwood Cave (5MN519)—A New Assessment. Paper presented at the 13th biannual Big MaCC, Cortez, Colorado.

Grundtisch, Katie, E., Scott G. Ortman, Timothy A. Kohler, and Carly Fitzpatrick 2013 Population Dynamics and Warfare in the Northern Rio Grande Region. Paper presented at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Huntley, Deborah, Paul Reed, and Kari Schleher 2013 Can the Contexts Provide a Resource for Better Standardizing or Offering Common Issues for Artifact Analysis within a Region? Paper presented at the 35th Annual Meeting of the Colorado Council of Professional Archaeologists, Denver.

Kuckelman, Kristin A. 2013 Subsistence Stress, Warfare, and Mobility in the Northern Southwest. Paper presented at the Archaeology of Food and Warfare Conference, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Kuckelman, Kristin A. 2013 Slipping off the Bubble: Episodes of Ancestral Pueblo Population Movement in the Mesa Verde Region, A.D. 800 to 1300. Paper presented at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Kuckelman, Kristin A. 2013 Ancient Violence in the Mesa Verde Region. In Living the Ancient Southwest: Essays by Anthropologists and Native Americans, edited by David G. Noble. School for Advanced Research Press, Santa Fe. In press.

8 Kuckelman, Kristin A. 2013 Cycles of Subsistence Stress, Warfare, and Population Movement in the Northern San Juan. Paper accepted for publication in a volume titled The Archaeology of Food and Warfare.

Kuckelman, Kristin A., and Elisabeth A. Stone 2013 Osseous Industry in a Terminal Pueblo III Village. Paper presented at the 13th biannual Big MaCC, Cortez, Colorado.

Lyle, Robin 2013 Accident, Grave Goods or Sacrifice? What Role do Newly Hatched Turkey Poults Play in an Elaborated Animal Burial? Paper presented at the 13th biannual Big MaCC, Cortez, Colorado.

Lyle, Robin 2013 Accident, Grave Goods or Sacrifice? Turkey Poults in Ritual Pueblo II Animal Burials. Poster presented at the Pecos Conference, Flagstaff, Arizona.

Mills, Barbara, W. R. Haas, Lewis Borck, Ronald Breiger, Susan Ryan, Meaghan Trowbridge, Jeffrey Clark, Deborah Huntley, and John Roberts 2013 The Dynamics of Social Networks in the Late Prehispanic U.S. Southwest. In Network Analysis in Archaeology, edited by Carl Knappett. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Ortman, Scott G. 2013 Basketmaker III as an Example of Culture Area Formation. Paper presented at the 13th biannual Big MaCC, Cortez, CO.

Ortman, Scott G. 2013Discourse and Human Security in Tewa Origins. Paper presented at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Powell, Shirley, and Mark D. Varien 2013 Establishing the Genetic Distinctiveness of Hopi Corn: A Collaboration between the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office and the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center. Paper presented at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Reese, Kelsey M., R. Kyle Bocinsky, Addy Donyina, Donna M. Glowacki, and Scott G. Ortman 2013 What are Communities, Really? Paper presented at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Honolulu.

Schleher, Kari, Kevin Brown, and Jamie Gray 2013 Experimentation in Pottery: A Preliminary Analysis of Basketmaker III Pottery Production in the Mesa Verde Region. Poster presented at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Sommer, Caitlin A. 2013 Animacy, Symbolism and Feathers from Mantle’s Cave, Colorado. Paper presented at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Honolulu, Hawaii.

9 Sommer, Caitlin A. 2013 Animacy, Symbolism and Feathers from Mantle’s Cave, Colorado. Paper presented at the Pecos Conference, Flagstaff, Arizona.

Varien, M. D. 2013 Migration, Belonging and Identity in the Mesa Verde Region. In Migration and Membership Regimes in Global and Historical Perspective, edited by U. Bosma, G. Kessler and L. Lucassen, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.

Varien, M.D., Scott G. Ortman, Paul Ermigiotti, Timothy A. Kohler, and Leigh Kuwanwisiwma 2013 Modeling Agricultural Potential in the Mesa Verde Region: Combining Computer Simulation and Experimental Gardening, edited by Ronald Towner, University of Utah Press, In Press.

Varien, M.D., and Shirley Powell 2013 Establishing the Genetic Distinctiveness of Hopi Corn: A Collaboration between the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office and the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center. In Hopi Archaeology, History, and Heritage: Twenty-five Years of Collaborative Research with the Hopi Tribe, edited by Leigh J. Kuwanwisiwma and T. J. Ferguson, University of Arizona Press. In Preparation.