“The Mission of the Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society is to further the education, opportunities and experiences of its members, students and the general public by partnering with and serving the archaeological, avocational archaeological, and related scientific communities of the Montezuma Valley, the Four Corners area and the State of Colorado.”

VOLUME 27 SEPTEMBER 2015 ISSUE 9

September Meeting

7pm Tuesday, September 22

At the Sunflower Theatre, NE corner of Main and Market in Cortez – doors open at 6:30!

David Lee will discuss his work, Closer Than We Know: Comparing the Rock-Art of Australia and Western

David Lee is a longtime researcher based in Bishop, CA. Much of his work is through the BLM in that area, but he and his wife annually journey to northern Australia to record rock art sites and associated traditional knowledge. More on this speaker and his topic closer to the presentation date!

Upcoming Meetings

October 6, Tuesday 7pm – Chuck LaRue and Laurie Webster, “Ancient Woodworking, Animal Use, and Hunting Practices in Southeastern Utah: New Insights from the Study of Early Perishable Collections?” November 3, Tuesday 7pm – Sheila Goff and Ernest House, Jr., “NAGPRA at 25: Colorado’s Implementation Present and Future” Both presentations are part of the 2015 Four Corners Lecture Series and will be at the Sunflower Theatre in downtown Cortez

New Members

Jan Tankersley - Durango Barbara and Eric Terrell – Highlands Ranch and Cortez

______THE TROWEL AND THE GAVEL A view from the President’s Bench By Larry R. Keller, JD September, 2015

Greetings friends and fellow archaeology enthusiasts:

I recently attended the 2015 Pecos Conference along with many of you, held outside of Mancos, where I had the privilege of presenting a poster with local archaeologist Tyson Hughes. Tyson is presently an educator at Crow Canyon, but I met him at the Anasazi Heritage Center this spring where he was a contract worker in curation assigned to the Dolores Archaeological Program rehousing and database update project. I have had the good fortune of working for the past several years on this DAP project as a volunteer at AHC specifically assigned to cataloging and updating the database with regard to the projectile points excavated during the DAP, and other collections curated at the AHC.

During my inventory of projectile points and provenience information related to them, I discovered a document pertaining to six alleged Folsom points by one Stephen Harmon dated Aug. 10, 1987. It had a reference to one Tony Baker (graduate student at the University of Colorado) who had identified these specimens as “McCormick Fake” Folsom points. Harmon concurred with Baker’s assessment. Tony Baker, who went on to pioneer new research in defining the involved with producing a Folsom point, stated that he knew of at least three museums that had exhibited McCormick’s work unknowingly. I brought this information to the attention of AHC Collections Manager Tracy Murphy and Curation Director Bridget Ambler, and they asked me to research the issue. They felt what I discovered was important enough to other curators and archaeologists that they asked me and Tyson to present a poster at Pecos on the matter. The following is a synopsis of the poster.

A substantial portion of the collections at the Anasazi Heritage Center (AHC) in Dolores, Colorado were donated privately by the Chappell family in 1982. This collection was the second accession for the museum that had not yet been built. When the Anasazi Heritage Center was opened in 1988, the Chappell collection was a major part of the exhibit that illustrated a lifetime of excavating and trading for artifacts in southwestern Colorado by Clifford and Ruth Chappell. Among these thousands of artifacts were these six projectile points, pictured below, presented as Folsom specimens and given to Ruth Chappell by one Harry Ender who obtained them in Springfield, Colorado.

McCormick “Folsom fakes” (suspected)

Folsom projectile points are a type identified as being representative of a late period (approximately 10,300 to 11,000 B.P.) which hunter-gatherer groups primarily created on the High Plains of the western United States and are very rare. Examples of these projectile points are typically found at sites identified as being associated with the hunting and/or processing of a now extinct species of bison (Bison Antiquus). These projectile points are perhaps the finest examples of fluting present in the archaeological record (Justice 2002). Characteristics of this type usually include: •Highly symmetrical profile with uniform edges •Parallel lateral margins with some gently recurved and convex variations •Thin but relatively wide channel flake (flute) removed from both faces- sometimes extending to if not past the distal margin •Serial platform preparation •Fine patterned pressure flaking retouch after removal of channel flake (flute) •Heavily ground base and lateral margins

Actual Folsom Point characteristics—Justice, and Points of the Southwestern United States 2002.

When Clifford and Ruth Chappell performed their many excavations and trades, they kept journals that included sometimes painstakingly intricate and accurate pen drawings of ceramic vessels that they had obtained. In one of these journals are notations regarding the acquisition of the six specimens in question. The first five “Folsoms” were given to Ruth in 1950, the sixth in 1954 and came from the same individual. All six were from Springfield, Colorado which is only 19 highway miles away from Pritchett, Colorado where Marvin McCormick’s farm was located. The first five points share many physical traits and are completely intact. The sixth point, though clearly different than the first five in several ways, including an apparent proximal break that was retouched, still lacks traits (i.e. basal grinding) that would more concretely confirm it as a legitimate Folsom . The rarity of finding an intact Folsom , even in excavation at Folsom sites, is so extreme that it is highly unlikely that five could be found in one place at one time. Without the documentation curated with the Chappell collection, there would be little evidence of provenience beyond an obscure 28-year-old memorandum claiming that these items were likely McCormick’s work.

Marvin McCormick, a farmer in Pritchett, Colorado, is said to be the first modern flintknapper to recreate a Folsom point. McCormick is also credited as being one of the first modern flintknappers to use heat treatment on lithics for . Others who struggled with farming practices during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression found that selling artifacts from the desiccated landscape in southeastern Colorado was an effective way to supplement income. McCormick quickly realized that a market for his craft was emerging and began selling his work as authentic artifacts. By as early as 1929 McCormick had figured out how to successfully reproduce Folsom type points, which around the same time had been identified as a projectile point type at in New Mexico just across the border from his farm in extreme southeast Colorado.

McCormick produced hundreds and perhaps thousands of “Folsom” points until his death in the 1970s and produced as many as 14 projectile points per day. McCormick is said to have placed his fake Folsom projectile points on his property and charged people money to find their own artifacts to keep. Since he lived in nearly the same environment as where the first Folsom Points were found, he was able to deceive people into believing his fakes were real. A market still exists for McCormick’s work; and experts have stated that McCormick fakes are valuable in their own right as well-produced replicas. Since McCormick created these points to deceive people, archaeologists refer to them as “fakes”; but when properly identified and distributed to others, they are known as “replicas” or “reproductions”. The problem is that many museums in the western U.S. may be exhibiting McCormick fakes as legitimate Folsom points; and the purpose of our poster was to encourage museum curators and archaeologists to reexamine those projectile points they believe are authentic Folsoms.

As Tyson’s and my research delved deeper into the enigmatic character of Marvin McCormick, processes to identify his tangible signatures on these pieces became more complex and equally less productive. Metric comparisons with documented intact Folsom points yielded little discernable differences. McCormick became very good at what he did. It is noteworthy to point out that archaeological evidence indicates that the failure rate of Paleoindians in fluting true Folsom points may have been as high as 80%; and they are very difficult even today for flintknappers to accurately reproduce. Attempts to confirm the presence of heat treatment to the materials used resulted in no scientifically conclusive results. Though Marvin McCormick is said to have used almost exclusively metal , only one flake scar on one of the six points exhibited any evidence of metal residue from tooling. He may have used stone tools for the first few years to create his fake Folsoms.

Our conclusion from our research is that the “smoking gun” to determine McCormick fakes was the provenience information provided by the Chappell notes, which made the authenticity of these projectile points very suspect. Perhaps it is only by examining archival material related to provenience associated with Folsoms in museum collections that museums may be able to differentiate McCormick fake Folsoms from actual Folsoms. However, one additional indicator from our research is that five of the six alleged Folsom Points in the AHC Collections were perfect; no damage whatsoever, despite the fact that they are supposedly more than ten thousand years old; and although one had a broken and reworked tang, it too was otherwise perfect. Further, no patina or weathering whatsoever was evident on any of these six points. We concluded that there certainly is no substitute for documented provenience and educated observation when it comes to identifying legitimate Folsoms.

The Pecos Conference was great this year, and I hope all of you who may not have had the experience of attending will have a chance to attend one in the future. They are held every year, and next year the conference will be held in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, administered as one national forest, on the Mogollon Rim in Arizona.

Larry R. Keller, President

Tyson Hughes and Larry Keller presenting their poster at the 2015 Pecos Conference

Many chapter members attended this year’s close-to-home Pecos. And several chapter members presented, including Marcia Simonis, Kari Schleher, Don Simonis, and Bernard Bell.

______

FOUR CORNERS LECTURE SERIES (September events)

September 12 Saturday, 10:30am Starr Tafoya – Demonstration, Firing, and Sale Visitor and Research Center,

September 18 Friday, 7pm Paul Morey – The Elk of Mesa Verde Far View Lodge, Mesa Verde National Park

September 22 Tuesday, 7pm David Lee - Closer Than We Know: Comparing the Rock-Art of Australia and Western North America Sunflower Theatre, Cortez (hosted by Hisatsinom/CAS)

September 24 Thursday, 7pm David Lee – Honoring Ancient Ancestors: How We Can Use the Lessons of the Past to Build a Better Future Far View Lodge, Mesa Verde National Park

September 26 Saturday, 2pm David Lee – Closer Than We Know: Comparing the Rock-Art of Australia and Western North America Edge of the Cedars Museum, Blanding

September 26 Saturday, 7pm Steve Lekson - Chaco, , and PostClassic North America Sunflower Theatre, Cortez (hosted by SCCA) <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Canyon Chronicles Thursday, September 3 at 8:30am on KSJD To access any and all of previous Canyon Chronicles episodes, go to http://ksjd.org/programs/canyon-chronicles

Fracking Chaco?

Hard to believe those two words are adjacent, but yes, it’s come to that. The sprawl of drillers across public lands has given rise to several websites where one may donate money to preserve Chaco Canyon from the damage of drilling.

Bob Bernhart contacted “friend-of-the chapter” and Chaco scholar Paul Reed for his advice on which group to use. Paul said he'd checked with the folks at Archaeology Southwest, and they will be happy to receive donations to the "Archaeology Southwest Preserving Chaco" fund. Donated funds will be earmarked for support of Chaco - a lot of which will likely go toward Paul's efforts.

Donations can be made online at www.archaeologysouthwest.org or can be mailed to Archaeology Southwest, 300 North Ash Alley, Tucson, AZ 85701, Attn: Bill Doelle or Linda Pierce. Enclose a note indicating that the funds are specifically for the Archaeology Southwest Preserving Chaco fund. PS: Archaeology Southwest is a 501c3, so the donation is tax deductible.

Thanks Bob!

Message from the Treasurer

- Renew your membership now and avoid the rush. The membership form is online linked to this page: https://sites.google.com/site/hisatsinomchapter1/membership - Paper copies will be available at the September 22 evening meeting. - CAS is developing an online renewal system, but at present we are still operating with paper forms, checks, and mail. Thanks for your patience. - Lillian Wak eley

Current Chapter Survey Ends

The survey team just completed a survey of a 100-acre private property on the east side of Trail Canyon in a heavy P-J forest. A total of 11 trips were made to the property beginning April 12 and finishing on August 23. We averaged 5 people per trip. The team recorded a total of 31 sites which included: rock shelters, camps, room blocks, , check dams, kilns, large and more. The state forms are being completed and a final report is being prepared for the landowner and History Colorado. Diane and I wish to thank our loyal and talented Hisatsinom team members for their hard work and dedication to the preservation of this archaeological data for future generations. They are: Bob Bernhart, Dale Diede, Nancy Evans, Patricia Lacey, Dave Melanson, and Marcie Ryan.

We have several surveys lined up for the future, and we plan on offering a one-day training session in October for chapter members willing to commit to joining us at least 50 percent of our scheduled survey days (weather permitting) during the fall, winter, and next spring. Contact Bob at [email protected] or 970-565-9637 for info or to sign up.

- Bob McBride

Patricia Lacey studying 5MT22167 Site 30. Facing south, collapsed northwest wall of the northwest room (center) and curved standing wall (right), duff covered dividing wall (center yellow line, 8-21-15

5MT22169 IF12, vertical slabs in circular alignment, 1.2 meter tape extension, 8-21-15

Thanks to Bob McBride for both photos

MITCHELL SPRINGS FIELD TRIP

On Aug 1, 14 members of the Hisatsinom Chapter of CAS went to Mitchell Springs, as have many before. This location, as well as the Montezuma Valley, has been occupied by people since the time of the Paleoindian period. During these 10,000 years of occupation, the people of this area had characteristics similar to those described as Paleoindian, Archaic, Basketmaker II, III, and I, II, III societies. Even the people of recent history had similar life styles, as was common in the western United States. There were wagon roads, agricultural fields, schools, and more recently satellite TV, smart phones and yes, drones.

Many people of the region, even the founders of the community of Cortez, came to Mitchell Springs for its water. However the primary draw for T. Mitchell Prudden was the large number of archaeological sites, which prompted him to establish the archaeological unit structure called the “Prudden Unit”, a block of rooms, a tower with a tunnel connected to a . The most recent owners of Mitchell Springs, previous residents of Arizona, the late Don Dove and son David were also interested in property with great potential for archaeological sites. Don was very active in Arizona in the archaeological community, working to reduce vandalism and educating avocational archaeologists thru the Arizona Archaeological Society.

Dave, as his father did, has provided an opportunity for many interested people to learn and participate in a supervised excavation at the Mitchell Springs site. During many years of sessions, they have recorded, presented, and published their findings while continually consulting experts in the field. Meticulous excavation and related activity of this large site, occupied continually for some 450 years, has determined that the top unit was built on top of other sites including pit houses, and the incorporation of a previous PI tower as part of the PIII tri-wall great-house kiva. This site, as well as the entire area, was abandoned prior to 1300, and there is strong evidence of a formal closure ceremony as evidenced by the burning characteristics of the site and the positioning of many dogs, turkeys, and two mountain lions at their time of death.

Dave has added a drone aircraft to assist in photographing the site, which has also provided high-quality photographs which can be printed in large formats and provides excellent measurement scaling capacities.

Despite all this activity, a major question continues about this site and applies to many other sites in the Southwest. Why did previous societies choose to continue to live at the same location over several generations? Was it the proximity to natural resources (such as water and agricultural lands), the availability to recycle products of their culture (such as building materials), capturing spiritual powers, or ------? Dave is developing a wonderful theory about this re-use of sites and should go to print soon.

Our visit was cut short by rain, and hopefully Dave will be able to accommodate our return to see the excavation in progress during the mid-September session. Each of us would like to thank Dave for his time and his willingness to share information and keeping us informed of the current events happening at this important site.

- Richard Robinson

August Meeting Minutes August 4, 2015

Larry Keller called the meeting to order at 7pm in the Sunflower Theatre and welcomed the seventy-seven people in attendance. He reminded everyone that the September meeting would be on Tuesday September 22, also in the Sunflower Theatre and would David Lee talking about rock art. The October meeting will also be held in the Sunflower Theater, but will be on the regular meeting date of October 6, the first Tuesday of the month. He mentioned that Karen Bernhart was at a rear table selling raffle tickets for the Alice Hamilton scholarships, and that this was an important CAS project. He also noted that the Hisatsinom picnic will be held on Saturday, August 29. Lastly, Larry introduced Mark Varien from Crow Canyon Archaeological Center who introduced the speaker, Kyle Bocinsky. The title of his talk was "Can Pueblo Corn Save Ethiopian Farms? Deploying 1400 Years of Agricultural Knowledge in Service of the Future”.

Bocinsky started out talking about Crow Canyon's Village Ecodynamics Project which is a synthesis of knowledge about past environments. It has a database of 25,000 sites and, using tree-ring data, can reconstruct precipitation and temperature. Adding data on soil type, the VEP has a computer model which puts people in micro-environments and can determine their probable agricultural productivity. In the current US model, this area of the Southwest is projected to have a six-degree temperature rise due to global warming, which will turn it into a virtual desert. The rest of the U.S. is projected to rise between two and six degrees, but unlike the Southwest, will also be wetter! Global warming will of course affect worldwide food production and food prices. Much of Africa is dependent on rain to grow crops, but due to poverty, floods, and drought, there has been increasing aridification, though there has been tremendous variability over the last several years. Ethiopians, like most Africans, are mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture. Millet, ensete, and maize are the traditional crops, with maize providing 26% of crop yield in Ethiopia. And, Ethiopia is the second largest corn producer in Africa. Today increasing rainfall in parts of Ethiopia is spreading disease among most of these traditional crops. Maize however is generally grown as a rainfed crop with little fertilizer at higher elevations (5500 feet). These higher elevations are projected to get even drier over the coming years, and so the challenge is fairly clear: can Pueblo corn save Ethiopian farms?

In order to answer this question, it is necessary to thoroughly understand four things:

1) Local and regional climate change. The village ecodynamic computer model does this very well for the southwest. Based on dendrochronology, it enables an environmental reconstruction for nearly 2000 years. For example, it clearly shows the drought in the different areas of the Mesa Verde area in the 1200s and the good weather in the Pajarito plateau, which corresponds very well with the big population growth there in the late 1200s and 1300s.

2) The impact of climate change. What is the effect of the changing climate on people? When there is a drought, people can move or fight with others for their resources. But when there is a favorable niche for growing corn, then that often leads to population growth. If too many people try to occupy an area, then that often leads to violence and conflict as well.

3) Actual Maize production impact. The village ecodynamic model can, given soil, temperature, and rainfall, simulate crop productivity. For the last three years there have been experiments growing 150 different kinds of corn in different environments, thus showing both actual maize production and the potential of different types of corn under different conditions.

4) Adaptive strength and tempo. Bocinksy stated, “we don't know the answer to this one yet”. How quickly can and do people change to meet changing conditions? Selective strategies for choosing what corn to plant can influence the genetics of the corn. Hopis, to whom corn is important for food, ritual, and trade, have been successful at this for 1,000 years. Others have been less successful. Understanding adaptiveness involves both technological and sociocultural factors.

Answering questions, Bocinsky stated that tree rings are generally good after 600 CE. He also said that he is part of a group of people trying to connect subsistence farmers around the world, learning about and perhaps aiding their adaptations and crops.

Larry thanked the speaker for his interesting presentation, gave him a piece of artwork created by Gail LaDage, adjourned the meeting at 8:10 pm., and turned the stage over to Diane McBride, who held the drawing for the SCCA raffle.

Respectfully submitted, Mary Gallagher P.A.A.C.

PAAC classes in our part of the state thru the remainder of 2015 are: October 10/11 in Durango: a PAAC Board meeting at the CAS annual meeting and a PAAC site form workshop November 6-9 in Dolores: a Ceramics Description and Analysis class

The full PAAC schedule is on the chapter website www.coloradoarchaeology.org click on Chapters, click on Hisatsinom

Contact Terry Woodrow regarding PAAC classes: 560-1318 or [email protected]

Chapter and state membership information is on the chapter website www.coloradoarchaeology.org click on Chapters, click on Hisatsinom

----- To read the CAS state newsletter, THE SURVEYOR, go to www.coloradoarchaeology.org and click on NEWSLETTER ---- THE SURVEYOR is also available as a print copy at the Cortez Public Library. It is in a folder labeled CAS SURVEYOR, lying flat on a shelf in the “archaeology section”, the 930s. It’s not for checkout; you may read it there.

Finances

Treasurer's Report as of 8/15/15

7/15/15 Balance: Expenses: Income: $3290.90 $118.00 - CAS $438.00 8/15/15 Balance: $3610.90

2015 Executive Board

President Larry Keller 882-1229 [email protected] Vice President Kari Schleher 505-269-4475 [email protected] Recording Secretary Donna Keller Mary Gallagher [email protected] Treasurer Lillian Wakeley 560-0803 [email protected] P.A.A.C Coordinator Terry Woodrow 560-1318 [email protected] Field Trip Coordinator Richard Robinson 970-764-7029 [email protected] Newsletter Editor Nancy Evans 564-1461 [email protected] CAS Representative

Copy for the newsletter should reach the editor by the 20th of each month. Submissions are welcome.

Unless otherwise noted, meetings are held the first Tuesday of every month at 7pm at the First United Methodist Church in Cortez.

Contact us: [email protected] or write P.O. Box 1524, Cortez CO

Our website: www.coloradoarchaeology.org click on Chapters, click on Hisatsinom