News From The Field

May 8, 2006—Started the New Season
The second season at Goodman Point Pueblo was officially underway as of April 3, 2006. Members of the field crew, Grant Coffey, Steve Copeland, and project director Kristin Kuckelman, were happy to see that the new field structure, as well as its contents, weathered the winter beautifully and provided for a smooth transition into the 2006 season.

Our initial priority was to look for additional midden deposits because most of the refuse we tested in 2005 was much shallower than we had anticipated. With the help of a small-diameter soil probe, we were able to find and map several new refuse areas. Of particular importance are deposits around Blocks 1100 and 1200 and south of Architectural Block 1000. We're especially excited about finding refuse associated with the great kiva and other nonresidential structures in Block 1200. The assemblages from these middens should provide significant data on the uses of nonresidential structures in the village.

In addition, because of the shallowness of cultural deposits across the site in general, we wrote an addendum to our Goodman Point Project research design that allows for additional testing. This expanded design will enable us to obtain the data we need to answer our research questions, while keeping impact to the site at less than one percent.

The first excavators of the season—middle school and college students from across the nation—helped us kick off the second year of research at the site. We're into another season of exciting and interesting fieldwork that should add greatly to our understanding of thirteenth-century villages in the Mesa Verde region.

Kristin Kuckelman, Senior Research Archaeologist, Project Director, Goodman Point Pueblo Excavation