Peoples of the Mesa Verde Region

Acknowledgments

This newest revision of Peoples of the Mesa Verde Region expands on earlier versions published by the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in 2006 and 2008. The 2006 publication, titled From Mammoth Hunters to Farmers: Peoples of the Mesa Verde Region, focused on the Paleoindian through Pueblo III periods; the 2008 revision, published under the current title, was greatly expanded to include the history of the region to the present day. In this, the 2011 version of the chronology, we have revised the Paleoindian through Pueblo III periods to reflect the results of ongoing research being conducted by archaeologists at Crow Canyon and throughout the United States.

The current text was written and edited by Mary Etzkorn and Shirley Powell; Shirley also served as the primary archaeological advisor for both the 2008 and 2011 versions. In addition, many other Crow Canyon staff members have contributed their expertise to this project over the years. Fumi Arakawa, Grant Coffey, Jamie Merewether, and Jonathan Till identified diagnostic artifacts and/or retrieved specimens from Crow Canyon's temporary collections for photography. Jennie Akers, April Baisan, Ben Bellorado, Jill Blumenthal, Karen Carlson, Josie Chang-Order, Margie Connolly, Paul Ermigiotti, Jeanne Fitzsimmons, Elaine Franklin, Shaine Gans, Rebecca Hammond, Kristin Kuckelman, Deloria Lomawaima, Lew Matis, Josh Munson, Scott Ortman, Louise Schmidlap, Jonathan Till, and Mark Varien reviewed various versions of the text, graphics, or both.

Credit lines for maps, other line drawings, and photographs may be viewed by passing your computer mouse over each image; detailed source information is provided in a separate list of illustration credits. Special thanks to Marcia Hadenfeldt and Deborah Westfall of Edge of the Cedars Museum in Bluff, Utah, for making the museum's collections available to Crow Canyon and assisting in artifact photography, and to Mesa Verde Pottery in Cortez, Colorado, for allowing us to photograph pottery vessels in their inventory. Victoria Atkins and Tracy Murphy of the Anasazi Heritage Center, Duane Beyal of the Navajo Times, Jeanne Brako of the Center of Southwest Studies, Catherine Cocks of the School for Advanced Research Press, Coi Gehrig of the Denver Public Library, Michelle Kim of the Autry National Center, Daniel Kosharek of the New Mexico History Museum, David McNeece of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, and Jennifer Vega of the Colorado Historical Society were extremely helpful in facilitating the use of images from the photo archives of these institutions. Thanks, too, to the following individuals who provided printed or digital photographs and/or maps from their personal or corporate collections: archaeobotanical consultant Karen Adams, Paul Evans of the Ute Mountain Ute Farm and Ranch Enterprise, Steve Fuller and Leslie Sesler of La Plata Archaeological Consultants, Rand Greubel of Alpine Archaeological Consultants, Colorado Supreme Court justice and water-use expert Greg Hobbs, photographer Wendy Mimiaga, and Bill Proud of Bill Proud Photography.

The colorful scenes at the top of the "Overview" pages for the Paleoindian through Pueblo III periods were drawn by Theresa Breznau of Living Earth Studios and are used here courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management, Anasazi Heritage Center (Crow Canyon modified some of her original drawings to tailor them to the text). The various regional maps were drafted by consultant Neal Morris and Crow Canyon's graphic design specialist Joyce Heuman Kramer, and the stunning reconstruction of Sand Canyon Pueblo that appears in the Pueblo III housing section is the product of a unique collaboration between architect Dennis Holloway and landscape photographer Adriel Heisey. Lee R. Schmidlap, Jr., created the excellent pen-and-ink drawings of animals, as well as a number of renderings of pottery vessels and other artifacts; additional illustrations were created by Paul Ermigiotti, Joyce Heuman Kramer, and Lew Matis. Joyce also provided technical support in the reproduction and modification of photographs and other illustrations for the Web, designed the "cover" graphic, and took the striking photograph of Mesa Verde that appears in the top banner of all the main pages. Special thanks to current and former staff members Joyce Alexander, Grant Coffey, Jeanne Fitzsimmons, Kristin Kuckelman, Rebecca Hammond, and Shirley Powell for driving around Montezuma County to take much-needed photographs, often on their own time.

Web production for the original 2006 publication was provided by consultant Sam Fee, with technical assistance from Sujan Bryan and volunteer Sandy Tradlener; Sandy also provided proofreading assistance for the 2008 and 2011 chronologies. Louise Schmidlap, director of communications and publications, constructed the Web pages for the 2008 and 2011 versions of the chronology and revised both the look and navigation of the work as a whole.

Finally, Crow Canyon extends its appreciation to all of the Center's many supporters—the Board of Trustees, the Native American Advisory Group, program participants, and donors—who believe in the Center's mission and in the importance of learning and teaching about the past.

On Behalf of the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
Deborah Gangloff
President and Chief Executive Officer
February 2011