Lab News

2007 Fall Lab: Turkey Bones, Rim Sherds, and Vessel Reconstruction

by Jonathan Till, Laboratory Analysis Specialist
November 12, 2007

The Crow Canyon lab staff extends a hearty thank-you to all the participants in our 2007 Fall Lab programs, held from September 23 to October 6. They accomplished an enormous amount of work and once again made our own jobs more enjoyable and interesting. Two back-to-back, one-week programs focused on materials from three ancestral Pueblo sites: Sand Canyon Pueblo, Albert Porter Pueblo, and Goodman Point Pueblo.

	Reconstructing a corrugated gray jar.
	A reconstructed bowl from Albert Porter Pueblo.
	A McElmo Black-on-white bowl from Albert Porter Pueblo.

Sand Canyon Pueblo, a late Pueblo III village excavated by Crow Canyon between 1984 and 1993, yielded an abundance of turkey bones, which were the subject of a new animal bone study begun by Fall Lab participants. Research volunteer Robin Lyle and Collections Manager Jamie Merewether led this analysis as part of a long-term study that uses bone-measurement data to address the evolution of turkey husbandry in ancestral Pueblo history. The bones are on loan from the Anasazi Heritage Center, where materials from all Crow Canyon excavations are permanently curated. Fall lab participants examined and measured hundreds of bones, about one-third of the sample assemblage.

During Fall Lab we also put the finishing touches on an analysis of rim sherds from white ware bowls recovered from Albert Porter Pueblo, a multicomponent great house site investigated by Crow Canyon from 2001 to 2004. Data from this analysis will help lab archaeologists address broad research issues related to chronology and social organization at this important site. Earlier in the year, participants in Crow Canyon’s Adult Research programs had assisted in the analysis of about 6,500 sherds as part of this study. Fall Lab participants not only completed this analysis, but also began examining several hundred bowl rim sherds from Goodman Point Pueblo, the large Pueblo village that is the current focus of Crow Canyon’s fieldwork.

In another important research activity, our Fall Lab crews reconstructed pottery vessels from both Albert Porter and Goodman Point pueblos. Vessels complete enough for us to take measurements and make a variety of other observations are useful to the investigation of ancient subsistence patterns, social organization, and site and/or structure function. During Fall Lab, several pottery vessels from both sites were reconstructed. These ranged from the most graceful of Mesa Verde Black-on-white serving bowls to more-workaday cooking jars.

Fall Lab is an important program for Crow Canyon. Not only do participants make great progress on specific analyses that are crucial to our research, but they give our staff a chance to consider and discuss the study of material culture with people who have a sincere interest in this aspect of archaeology. I’m sure I speak for Jamie, Robin, and myself in saying that we learn at least as much during these Fall Lab weeks as do the participants in the program. Thank you!

Read about Crow Canyon's lab program!