Organization Report for 2009 Archaeology of the Saguache Creek comprehensive record of the structures, features, and cul- Valley, Colorado tural deposits comprising the site and to document their current condition. The field investigation focused on Mark D. Mitchell and Carl R. Falk three main tasks: pedestrian survey to better define site boundaries; mapping and photography to document stone Since its inception, PCRG has carried out archaeologi- structures; and limited subsurface testing to assess the cal and paleoenvironmental research in Colorado. Past depth, extent, and content of cultural deposits actively projects include studies of packrat middens in the San eroding in one part of the site. Field investigations were Luis Valley and on the Routt National Forest and test carried out during a 6-day period in early June by PCRG excavations at the Willow Bunker site on the Pawnee staff and volunteers, and archaeologists from the National Grassland. This SLVPLC. A total of four- year, we continued our com- teen people devoted 64 mitment to fieldwork in the person-days to the effort, Southern Rocky Mountains with more than half of at the Upper Crossing site, a this time donated. large, multi-component lo- The Upper Crossing cality on Saguache Creek in site preserves evidence of the northwest corner of the at least four occupation spectacular San Luis Valley. phases. Intensive use of The site is managed by the the area—represented by San Luis Valley Public a sequence of five super- Lands Center (SLVPLC), a imposed hearths and a “Service First” partnership dense scatter of animal authority between the Bu- bones, stone tools and reau of Land Management flaking debris—began at and the U.S. Forest Service. Photo and plan map of Feature 11 at the Upper Crossing site. least by Middle Archaic Funding for PCRG’s work times, perhaps 4,500 comes from a BLM Assis- years ago, and continued tance Agreement and from a into the Late Archaic pe- State Historical Fund grant riod. A second intensive awarded by the Colorado Upper Crossing occupation, represented 5SH134 by at least 29 stone en- Historical Society. MN Although archaeologists Feature 11 closures grouped into two June 2, 2009 first became aware of the L. Mitson separate clusters, likely many large, complex sites 0 1m occurred between A.D. dotting the Saguache Creek Placed Rock 500 and 1200. The site valley in the 1930s, they re- Outcrop/Boulder was used a third time in main poorly understood to- Horizontal Bedrock the 1700s or 1800s, day. PCRG’s primary objec- Bedrock Spall probably by one or more tives at Upper Crossing, one Tree Ute bands. This occupa- of the best-preserved sites in tion is represented by at the area, were to produce a least 15 peeled ponderosa PaleoCultural Research Group - Organization Report for 2009 pine trees and three possible eagle- Late Prehistoric flintknappers also trapping pits. The fourth and final used bipolar reduction to produce occupation took place in the twentieth small flake tools. century and is represented by the ex- A number of animal species are isting U.S. Forest Service administra- represented in the small faunal as- tive facility, which was built between semblage from the site. Large artio- 1920 and 1927 and originally housed dactyls (bison or elk) are repre- the Supervisor’s office of the Coche- sented by a single identifiable topa Forest Reserve. In addition to specimen, a fragment of a proximal these four major occupations, ephem- phalange. Based on their size, sev- eral evidence points to sporadic use of eral long bone fragments from the the area by Late Paleoindian and Late Prehistoric deposit also are Puebloan groups. likely from large artiodactyls. The artifacts and features docu- Smaller artiodactyls are better rep- mented in 2009 are scattered over an resented in the sample, primarily area of roughly 9 ha (22.2 ac). How- by fragments of metapodials and ever, pedestrian survey beyond the phalanges, but also by hyoid, verte- nominal boundaries of the site reveals bra, and long bone pieces. This re- a complex archaeological landscape, gion of Colorado hosts several indicative of frequent visits by many small artiodactyls: mule or black- different groups, undoubtedly for a A culturally peeled tree at the Upper Crossing tailed deer, pronghorn, and bighorn variety of reasons. A combination of site, probably dating to the nineteenth century. sheep. Thirteen specimens, nearly factors likely drew people to the Sa- all of them burned, are tentatively guache Creek Valley. It is an important travel corridor, identified to the squirrel family (Sciuridae). At least nine linking the Gunnison River Valley and the western slope sciurid species are known from the area, ranging in size of the Rockies with the San Luis Valley. The area en- from the least chipmunk to Gunnison’s prairie dog and compasses a complex ecological mosaic, including an the yellow-bellied marmot. Morphologically, the Upper extensive perennial riparian zone. Numerous sources of Crossing specimens compare well with modern prairie high-quality lithic raw material are located nearby. dog, although several other possibilities, such as Abert’s Laboratory analyses of the artifacts and other materi- squirrel, cannot be ruled out. Four bone tool fragments als collected in 2009 are underway. PCRG is also study- are included in the Archaic period sample. One of the ing a collection recovered during a testing project carried four is a distal fragment of an awl, punch, or knapping out by the U.S. Forest Service in 1999. Analysis of the tool. stone tools and flaking debris shows that the site’s resi- PCRG will return to the Upper Crossing site in 2010. dents used a wide variety of raw materials, including rhy- Information about this year’s investigation and how you olite, chert, quartzite, chalcedony, basalt, and petrified can participate is given on the accompanying Fieldwork wood. Late Prehistoric peoples, responsible for building Opportunities Guide and on our website at the stone enclosures, exploited many of the same sources <www.paleocultural.org/participation.htm>. as their Middle and Late Archaic predecessors, but the technologies they used to produce tools differed dra- matically. Archaic flintknappers spent Four corner-notched much of their time arrow points associ- producing large, ated with Late Pre- well-made bifacial historic stone struc- cutting tools. Late tures at the Upper Crossing site. Draw- Prehistoric technol- ing by Marvin Goad. ogy, by contrast, focused mainly on expedient flake A Late Archaic dart point from the production using Upper Crossing site. unprepared cores. Page 2 PaleoCultural Research Group Organization Report for 2009 Site Reassessment at the Lost Canyon to facilitate long-term management of these sites. Over- Archaeological District, Colorado all, we noted minimal change in site condition, the most common being rodent activity that has destabilized ma- Kimberly Spurr sonry walls. We found little evidence of visitation, and In early June of 2009, PCRG members Kimberly Spurr and Stacey Bennett spent sev- eral days evaluating sites in the Lost Canyon Archaeological District on the San Juan Na- tional Forest in southwestern Colorado. The district was formed in 1988 to encompass more than 25 sites, including one small cliff dwelling containing at least six rooms and a masonry kiva. Most of the sites consist of small masonry habitation units or storage ar- eas within low rock shelters, as well as a few larger open camps and multi-room masonry sites on the mesa top overlooking the canyon. Although several historic ranches are included in the district, most sites date to the late Pueblo II or early Pueblo III period (A.D. 1050 – 1200). Under contract to the San Juan National Forest, the PCRG crew visited and completed condition assessments for 14 prehistoric ar- Kiva wall at Poison Ivy House in the Lost Canyon Archaeological District. chaeological sites in Rock Canyon and Lost Canyon. At each site, we compared the original docu- no vandalism or looting activity. The low visitation may mentation to the current manifestations, took photos to be due to the extremely dense oakbrush that covers the illustrate the current condition of the site and architec- canyon slopes and makes access difficult, even for deter- tural features, took GPS readings to update the site loca- mined archaeologists! tion data, and recorded any recent impacts due to natural As part of the same project, Kim and Stacey took part processes or visitation. Monitoring forms and updated in the 2009 Youth Summit Southwest Archaeology Ex- location information were submitted to the Forest Service perience, a multi-agency field program for high school students from communities throughout Colorado. The program aims to expose stu- dents to various aspects of archaeology, in- cluding research goals, field methods, mu- seum curation and exhibit preparation, and heritage tourism. We spent one day teaching students about archaeological survey and site recording, and how survey data can be used to formulate a focused excavation pro- ject. Other program leaders from the U.S. Forest Service instructed students on site investigation using geophysical techniques, site stabilization, and site interpretation for tourism. The exercise was deemed a success and we had substantial positive feedback despite the unexpected rainstorm that drove us from the field and into the local high school gym, where we repeatedly surveyed the basketball court to locate rubble mounds and a variety of artifacts. Stacey Bennett recording a masonry pueblo overlooking Lost Canyon. Organization Report for 2009 PaleoCultural Research Group Page 3 Chief Looking’s Village Lab Analyses which dates to the late 1500s and early 1600s. Beauti- Mark D. Mitchell and Carl R. Falk fully crafted Le Beau Recurved vessels are especially prominent in both assemblages. The mammal bone sample, which comprises more The Chief Looking’s Village project moved into the than 1400 identified specimens, includes the remains of analysis phase during 2009.