2008 Pecos Conference Field Trips In general the field trips are planned for Sunday morning so people on their way home can participate in one if they so choose. Participation may be limited, so sign up early! We have designed trips to go north, east, south and west from the Pecos camp ground and have planned the meet times supposing people can get going from there by about 7:00 am.
NORTH 1. Wupatki/Citadel/Lomaki/Box Canyon Ruins, Wupatki National Monument Led by Todd Metzger, National Park Service Meet: Wupatki Visitors' Center on SR 89 north of Flagstaff Mall at 7:30 am. Limited to 13 people. Sponsored by the NPS and NAU.
This tour will focus on recent architectural research at Wupatki National Monument, with an emphasis on evidence for inter-group conflict and the role of ethnic boundaries in the settlement of the Wupatki area. We will start with a walking tour of Wupatki Pueblo, where we will discuss results of recent NPS-sponsored research on the architectural history of Wupatki. New information on the chronology of Wupatki, contents of the pueblo, and its construction sequence will be discussed. The tour then moves to the Citadel/Lomaki/Box Canyon ruins, where recent mapping and excavation projects have provided new information on the nature of architecture, settlement patterns, agricultural practices, and ethnic boundaries in that area. Archaeological evidence for conflict will be discussed, along with recent theories about the possible functions of Citadel and other sites in the area. The tour will be conducted on established NPS trails, no special transportation is required. The sites are located at 4400 to 5500 ft. elevation, expect warm temperatures for the latter part of the tour. The tour will conclude before noon. For further information contact Todd Metzger at 520- 526-1157, x222.
2. Hopi Led by Kelley Hays-Gilpin, Museum of Northern Arizona and Northern Arizona University, and staff of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office
Destination, meeting time & place TBA
EAST 3. Two Kivas and Other Sinagua Sites Led by Chris Downum, Northern Arizona University Meet: Winona exit of Interstate 40 (#311) east of Flagstaff at gas station at 9:00 am.
This tour will begin at Winona village, a site traditionally believed to have had a strong Hohokam presence in the period immediately following the Sunset Crater eruption in the late AD 1000s. The tour then moves on to Ridge Ruin, a major Sinagua pueblo (AD 1080 to 1175) with a substantial pit house component and twin ballcourts. The tour concludes at the Two Kivas site, excavated by John McGregor of the University of Illinois in 1962 and 1964. We will describe and discuss unpublished results from the ’62-’64 excavations, as well as Dr. McGregor’s interpretations of the site. John McGregor was convinced that Two Kivas was occupied by residents of Ridge Ruin, who moved their settlement about a mile to the north around AD 1170.
4 Chavez Pass Locality Led by Peter J. Pilles, Coconino National Forest Meet: Meteor Crater exit of Interstate 40 at gas station at 9:00 am
Details TBA.
5. Chevelon Ruin Led by Richard Lange, Arizona State Museum Meet: McDonald’s parking lot, Winslow, AZ, (exit #253 on Interstate 40) at 9:00 am
People should plan to get off at Exit 253, at the North Park Drive exit (which is also where the exits are for WalMart on the North side of I-40 and McDonalds and Basha's on the south side). Take North Park Drive south about 2 blocks. We can plan to meet at 9:00 am at the big parking lot behind the McDonalds, and slightly over toward the Basha's. That way people can grab a late snack for breakfast and a pit stop before heading out to Chevelon. Chevelon Ruin will be about a 40-minute drive from Winslow, and should be accessible to almost any vehicle. We can car pool a little at McDonalds if someone is really worried. The only problem might come with an active monsoon season that would make parts of the road in to Chevelon Ruin impassable to anyone, so we might have to go to Plan B if that happens (eg, going to Homolovi 1 and Homolovi 2, or just one of those, etc.).
SOUTH 6. Sycamore Canyon and Hackberry Basin south of Camp Verde Led by Jerry Ehrhardt, Verde Valley Archaeology Society Meet: McDonald’s at Camp Verde exit (#287) of Interstate 17 at 9:00 am.
A field trip to Sycamore Canyon near Camp Verde (50 miles south of Flagstaff) will include an overview of the full coverage archaeological survey of the canyon. Over 150 sites were found and recorded along a seven-mile stretch of this canyon. We’ll start at an easily accessible prehistoric racetrack site on State Route (SR) 260 south of Camp Verde to point out the survey area and several Honanki Phase (AD 1150-1300) hilltop pueblos on the south side of the canyon. We will discuss the regional trails, the line-of- sight network, and the location of the habitation structures and agricultural fields. From the stop on SR 260, we’ll drive 5 miles south of Sycamore Canyon on Fossil Creek Road to Hackberry Basin where we will hike about 2 miles roundtrip to a 75-room pueblo called Dorens Castle which dates in the period AD 1250-1330. You will need a high clearance vehicle to drive to the Hackberry Basin location. Car pools can be arranged from the McDonalds located on the southwest corner of Interstate (I 17) and SR 260. For those who can stay longer, another racetrack in Hackberry Basin and associated Honanki-phase sites can also be seen.
Needed: High clearance vehicle; hat; water; lunch; good hiking boots
7 Perry Mesa Agricultural Landscapes Led by Hoski Schaafsma, Arizona State University Meet: Bloody Basin Road exit of Interstate 17 (exit #259) south of Cordes Junction at 9:00 am on the east side.
From the meeting point we can caravan along Bloody Basin Road to the site of Bull Tank Farm where some of the most extensive contiguous agricultural terracing that we have mapped is easily accessible. At this site we can tour two linear “racetrack” features, extensive Perry Mesa-style agave gardens, two small stone masonry sites and sundry other features. For people who would like to see more, we can hike to La Plata Ruin (an 80-room pueblo dating to the AD 1300-1425 period) through the ancient fields or drive over and tour the ruin. Hoski imagines that this will take two or three hours. If people are interested in seeing more of Perry Mesa you can have lunch and then head south and then west to Pueblo Pato to see the 200 acres of agricultural features surrounding those ruins including grid-gardens, terraces and agave fields. Hoski will have maps of everything we have mapped up to that point and information handouts regarding our overall work on Perry Mesa.
Needed: Lunch; water; more water (it is likely to be hot); sturdy hiking shoes due to the rocky nature of Perry Mesa; hat and sunscreen
WEST 8. Cohonina Archaeology of Sitgreaves Mountain Region Led by David R. Wilcox, Museum of Northern Arizona, and Neil Weintraub, Kaibab National Forest Meet: Pitman Valley Road exit (#278) of Interstate 40 west of Flagstaff, north side (at Route 66 interpretative sign) at 9:00 am.
We will drive north on Pitman Valley Road (paved) to a good gravel road and stop first to see a typical Cohonina site with a diversity of architecture dating in the early and middle AD 1000s. Using his geographic information system (GIS) Neil will show us the larger regional context of this site and we will discuss Cohonina archaeology in general. We will then drive in on a dirt road and stop to hike about 1/3 mile one way to the regional ceremonial center of Walavudu, a walled plaza site dating in the early and middle AD 1000s. We will also go farther in to see where the Rolling Rock site was excavated by the MNA/NAU Archaeological Field School and the Verde Valley Archaeology Society. Its three pithouses and two jacal structures and the 30 tree- ring dates recovered will be discussed with handouts. After lunch, for those who can stay longer, we will drive around to the northeast and Neil will conduct us to the RS Hill obsidian source and to a hilltop site located nearby.
Needed: Lunch; hiking boots; water; hat.