Issued by Crow Canyon Archaeological Center and Hovenweep National Monument

For Immediate Release: April 12, 2005   Media photo provided below.

For Additional Information: see the Goodman Point Project Press Kit

Contact at Crow Canyon:
Melinda Burdette (970) 564-4359   mburdette@crowcanyon.org

Contact at Hovenweep:
Corky Hays, Superintendent (435) 692-1234, ext. 15   Corky_Hays@nps.gov

Cortez, Colorado
Crow Canyon Archaeological Center and the National Park Service have recently partnered on a six-year project that will allow Crow Canyon’s archaeologists to conduct, beginning in April, 2005, a study of the Goodman Point Ruins Group Unit of Hovenweep National Monument. This innovative partnership between the National Park Service and the highly acclaimed not-for-profit organization will enable both in-depth research and public education to take place on this 142-acre parcel of public land. Set aside for federal protection in 1889, seventeen years before Congress passed the Antiquities Act and established Mesa Verde National Park, no substantive research has ever been undertaken below the modern ground surface on this site.

Researchers will address several of the most important questions in the archaeology of the San Juan region in their study of the Goodman Point Unit, one of the best preserved remains of an ancient community center and cultural landscape in the country. Evidence suggests that occupation of Goodman Point extended for seven centuries, with a large and continuous occupation between A.D. 1050 and 1300, when the Goodman Point community came to an end.

According to Mark Varien, Crow Canyon’s director of research, Goodman Point Pueblo contains approximately 500 domestic structures. "On the basis of density of settlement and the presence of public architecture we hypothesize that the Goodman Point Unit was the center of one of the largest Pueblo communities ever occupied in the region," Varien posits. The National Park Service will use Crow Canyon’s research results to enhance a new management plan and to develop interpretive materials for the Goodman Point Unit and Hovenweep National Monument.

Since its founding in 1983, Crow Canyon has created a unique and successful synergy between long-term archaeological research in the American southwest and active participation by the public in the research process. Over the course of the Goodman Point Archaeological Project, Crow Canyon will educate more than 20,000 students and adults about archaeology, cultural heritage, and the role and responsibility of citizens in preserving America’s treasured cultural resources.

Crow Canyon’s Native American Advisory Group and other American Indian consultants will also contribute to various facets of the project. The historical and anthropological topics of interest suggested during tribal consultations last summer will be an important focus of Crow Canyon’s investigations.

"The public benefit from the project will be enormous," says Ricky Lightfoot, Crow Canyon’s president and CEO. "Through our meticulous research, detailed documentation and analysis, thorough reporting which will be published on our web site, and careful curation of artifacts and records, Crow Canyon will make important contributions to the scientific knowledge of Pueblo Indian history."

Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, located at 23390 Road K, Cortez, Colorado, is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization whose mission is to initiate and conduct archaeological research and public education programs that advance knowledge of the human past in partnership with American Indians, individuals, and organizations with common interests. Crow Canyon’s programs and admissions practices are open to applicants of any race, color, nationality, or ethnic origin.

The photo below may be used by the media to accompany this press release. No other use is authorized. Photographer credit and copyright notice is required.

Crow Canyon researchers and National Park Service staff work on logistical details for the Goodman Point Archaeological Project. Photo by Bill Proud. Copyright © 2005 Bill Proud.