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ARCHAEOLOGICAL CRIME FIGHTERS • ANASAZIABANDONMENT • GREAT PLAINS CONTROVERSY american archaeologySUMMER 2006 a quarterly publication of The Archaeological Conservancy Vol. 10 No. 2 SummerSummer Travel:Travel: A Tour of Amazing Earthworks $3.95 american archaeology a quarterly publication of The Archaeological Conservancy Vol. 10 No. 2 summer 2006 31 COVER FEATURE 31 THE WONDERS OF THE OHIO MOUNDBUILDERS BY KRISTIN OHLSON Our summer travel article takes you on a tour of central Y and southern Ohio to see amazing prehistoric earthworks. MURRA E . 12 WHERE THE TRAIL OF TEARS BEGAN J O E BY MIKE TONER In the 1830s the Cherokee were forced to leave their homelands and travel on the Trail of Tears. An archaeologist is documenting the trail’s origins in southwest North Carolina. 19 A CONTROVERSY ON THE GREAT PLAINS BY MONI HOURT Is the Hudson-Meng Bone Bed site one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the world? 25 ARCHAEOLOGICAL CRIME FIGHTERS BY ELAINE ROBBINS JR Want to solve a crime? Forget TV’s CSI. Hire a forensic TY archaeologist. MAR 38 EXAMINING THE ABANDONMENT OF THE FOUR CORNERS 25 R I C H A R D BY JULIAN SMITH Why did the Anasazi leave their homelands in the late 2 Lay of the Land 13th century? 3 Letters 44 new acquisition 5 Events MAJOR VILLAGE SITE PRESERVED IN THE WESTERN MOJAVE DESERT 7 In the News A great diversity of resources attracted people to the area. Massive Pyramid Revealed in Mexico City • First NAGPRA Reburial of Human 45 new acquisition Remains at Mesa Verde • Jamestown DE SOTO’S FINAL ENCOUNTER well discovered The Conservancy obtains a mound center built by the people Soto met before his death. 50 Field Notes 46 new acquisition 52 Reviews GUARANTEEING FUTURE RESEARCH AT BROKEN K 54 Expeditions A major Southwest pueblo is preserved. 48 point acquisition COVER: Serpent Mound is one of the most remarkable THE FIRST ARCHAIC SITE earthworks in Ohio. It was preserved by the renowned archaeologist Frederic Putnam in 1888. The Conservancy acquires the Lamoka Lake site Photograph by Richard Alexander Cooke, III in New York state. american archaeology 1 Lay of the Land Examining a Mystery s the American Southwest strug- them. There are many theories but gles to deal with yet another few answers. A severe drought, it reminds us of It wasn’t the weather that forced past droughts that may have brought everyone to leave. The Mesa Verde about the fall of the Anasazi culture region could easily have supported in the Four Corners region of New thousands of people even in the Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Col- worst drought. The San Juan and orado. In this issue (see page 38), Ju- Animas Rivers would have provided lian Smith examines the contentious plenty of water for a smaller, but still and baffling matter of how and why sizeable population, so there must POORE all the pueblo people of the Four have been other things going on in Corners left between A.D. 1250 and the 13th century. The key to getting D A R R E N 1300. This migration saw thousands at the answers to this conundrum is MARK MICHEL, President of people moving hundreds of miles, new research with new approaches. never to return again. Except for the A fresh generation of archaeologists search. We hope the answers are not newly discovered pueblo ruins in is tackling this problem, and the too far away. southern New Mexico, we have little Conservancy supports their work by or no evidence of what became of preserving sites and supporting re- 2 summer • 2006 Letters Curious Date Sending Letters I must tell you how Editor’s Corner much I enjoy your to American Archaeologists have made many con- magazine. We are Archaeology tributions to our knowledge of the inundated with past and of ourselves. But it seems news about the rest American Archaeology welcomes that’s not enough to satisfy some of of the world, so it is great that there your letters. Write to us at the science’s practitioners. They have is a magazine devoted exclusively to the history 5301 Central Ave. NE, Suite 902, branched out into the fields of solv- and archaeology of the Americas. Albuquerque, NM 87108-1517, ing crimes and investigating mass In the article “Asian Origin Demonstrated for or send us e-mail at disasters. It may come as a surprise New World Bottle Gourds” in the Spring 2006 [email protected]. We reserve the that the very training and experience issue, the caption that appears with the painting right to edit and publish letters that archaeologists employ in the ex- states that the work was done in 1585. Since the in the magazine’s Letters amination of ancient sites also ap- department as space permits. inscription is written in what appears to be Eng- plies to the investigation of recent Please include your name, lish, either the year is incorrect or the inscription crime and disaster scenes. address and telephone number was written on the picture in later years. Our feature “Archaeological with all correspondence, Eudice Gersten Crime Fighters” (see p. 25) covers including e-mail messages. Fair Lawn, New Jersey the topic of forensic archaeology. Though law enforcement agents are trained to solve crimes, many of them lack the skills that an experi- enced forensic archaeologist pos- sesses. Knowing how to map a site, detect soil disturbances, and identify human bones can be crucial to solv- ing crimes or recovering important evidence in mass disasters like 9/11. “Beyond a shadow of a doubt [forensic archaeologists] help a lot,” observed Mike Riddle of the Wiscon- sin State Crime Laboratory. Riddle has worked with forensic archaeologist Leslie Eisenberg on a few cases. “Sometimes we might miss a bone because we don’t know what it is,” he added. In such a case, the expert- ise of someone who, like Eisenberg, can identify human bones is essential. Nonetheless, many law enforce- ment agencies don’t use forensic archaeologists. The reasons for this are several, ranging from an igno- rance of what archaeologists can offer to a lack of money to pay for their services. american archaeology 3 WELCOME TO ® THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL 5301 Central Avenue NE, Suite 902 CONSERVANCY! Albuquerque, NM 87108-1517 • (505) 266-1540 www.americanarchaeology.org he Archaeological Conservancy Board of Directors is the only national nonprofit Vincas Steponaitis, North Carolina, CHAIRMAN organization that identifies, Cecil F. Antone, Arizona • Carol Condie, New Mexico acquires, and preserves the most Janet Creighton, Washington • Janet EtsHokin, Illinois significant archaeological sites in the Jerry EtsHokin, Illinois • W. James Judge, Colorado t • United States. Since its beginning in Jay T. Last, California Dorinda Oliver, New York 1980, the Conservancy has preserved Rosamond Stanton, Montana • Dee Ann Story, Texas more than 325 sites across the nation, Stewart L. Udall, New Mexico • Gordon Wilson, New Mexico ranging in age from the earliest Conservancy Staff habitation sites in North America to Mark Michel, President • Tione Joseph, Business Manager a 19th-century frontier army post. Lorna Wolf, Membership Director • Sarah Tiberi, Special Projects Director We are building a national system of Shelley Smith, Membership Assistant • Valerie Gonzales, Administrative Assistant Yvonne Waters, Administrative Assistant archaeological preserves to ensure the survival of our irreplaceable Regional Offices and Directors cultural heritage. Jim Walker, Vice President, Southwest Region (505) 266-1540 5301 Central Avenue NE, Suite 902 • Albuquerque, New Mexico 87108 Why Save Archaeological Sites? Tamara Stewart, Projects Coordinator • Steve Koczan, Site-Management Coordinator The ancient people of North America Amy Espinoza-Ar, Field Representative left virtually no written records of their Paul Gardner, Vice President, Midwest Region (614) 267-1100 cultures. Clues that might someday solve 3620 N. High St. #307 • Columbus, Ohio 43214 the mysteries of prehistoric America are Terry McQuown, Field Representative still missing, and when a ruin is destroyed by looters, or leveled for a Jessica Crawford, Southeast Region (770) 975-4344 shopping center, precious information is 225 Crawford Rd. • Lambert, Mississippi 38643 lost. Gene Hurych, Western Region (916) 399-1193 By permanently preserving endangered 1 Shoal Court #67 • Sacramento, California 95831 ruins, we make sure they will be here for future generations to study and Andy Stout, Eastern Region, (301) 682-6359 enjoy. 8 E. 2nd. St. #200 • Frederick, Maryland 21701 Isaac Emrick, Field Representative How We Raise Funds: ® Funds for the Conservancy come from membership dues, individual american archaeology contributions, corporations, and PUBLISHER: Mark Michel foundations. Gifts and bequests of EDITOR: Michael Bawaya (505) 266-9668, [email protected] money, land, and securities are fully tax ASSISTANT EDITOR: Tamara Stewart deductible under section 501(c)(3) of the ART DIRECTOR: Vicki Marie Singer, [email protected] Internal Revenue Code. Planned giving provides donors with substantial tax Editorial Advisory Board deductions and a variety of beneficiary Scott Anfinson, Minnesota Historic Preservation • Jan Biella, New Mexico Deputy SHPO possibilities. For more information, call Todd Bostwick, Phoenix City Archaeologist • Linda Derry, Alabama Historical Commission Mark Michel Mark Esarey, Cahokia Mounds State Park • Barbara Heath, Poplar Forest at (505) 266-1540. Trinkle Jones, National Park Service • Peggy McGuckian, Bureau of Land Management Sarah Neusius, Indiana University of Penn. • Claudine Payne, Arkansas Archaeological Survey The Role of the Magazine: Douglas