News From The Field

July 31, 2008

July was a busy and productive month at Goodman Point. Twenty High School Field School students from 16 states—plus one student from England—joined us for three full weeks, assisting in both the field and lab. They were followed by 30 students from 15 states and five from the Virgin Islands enrolled in the week-long High School Archaeology Camp; the Virgin Island students were ORISE (Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education) scholarship recipients. All the kids were excited about archaeology and, with their loads of energy, made a real contribution to our research efforts. Coinciding with the archaeology camp was the Course for Educators, attended by 12 elementary, middle, and high school teachers and one school principal. It was an exceptional group—enthusiastic about archaeology and possessing a real passion for their work with children. Thanks to one and all for the tremendous help—it is truly appreciated!

High school student excavating in the midden at Monsoon House.

Uncovering a tree-ring sample in the Harlan great kiva.

East end of a 12-m trench excavated into the Harlan great kiva, showing layers of midden.

Excavations inside the Harlan great kiva in July revealed more of the upper lining wall (the masonry wall that defines the upper part of the interior of the chamber) and more of the massive masonry column that we first reported on in the June update. It now appears that this column may be part of a more complex feature that includes a floor vault or foot drum. Vaults and foot drums are sometimes seen in great kivas dating from the Pueblo II and III time periods and are thought to have been associated with ritual activity. We also continued to collect numerous pieces of burned wood from the collapsed roof, which will be submitted to the Tree-Ring Laboratory in Tucson for dating.

Finally, we set in one more excavation unit in the southern portion of the great kiva to investigate what appears to be another burned structure, apparently south of the upper-lining wall of the main chamber. It is possible this second structure is actually part of the great kiva—perhaps a semisubterranean southern entry into the kiva—or it may be an earlier pithouse into which the great kiva was later excavated. This is a very intriguing discovery, one that should help us determine building sequence and possible organizational and functional changes over time. Excavation in this test unit will begin soon.

In July Crow Canyon also largely completed test excavations at Bluebird House, a small pueblo near the Harlan Great Kiva site. Excavations in the roomblock suggest there were multiple building episodes, which in turn may indicate that the site was used intermittently from the A.D. 1000s to 1200s. The presence of what appear to be partly dismantled walls underlying other wall segments is evidence of the construction of a later structure on top of the remains of an earlier dismantled roomblock. Excavations in a kiva at the site are still ongoing, but remodeling of the upper masonry wall suggests multiple uses of the structure, and the apparent lack of roofing materials may indicate that wooden elements were salvaged for use in some other construction.

Excavations at yet another site, Monsoon House, began in earnest in July. Though preliminary in nature, artifact and architectural data from this pueblo point to use during different time periods. Testing in one roomblock revealed the presence of what appears to be a virtually completely dismantled room, while in another roomblock, just down the ridge, there are still standing walls, and relatively tall ones at that. This might suggest the reuse of building materials through time, with stone and wood from one roomblock being recycled for use in the construction of another. So far, the pottery evidence—that is, the recovery of both earlier and later pottery types—seems to reinforce this idea.

As the excavations heat up this summer, new discoveries will undoubtedly lead to new understandings about the formation and persistence of the ancient communities at Goodman Point.

Grant Coffey, Supervisory Archaeologist, Director of Goodman Point Archaeological Project Phase II