News From The Field

June 30, 2010

The Crow Canyon field staff was joined by both student and adult excavators in June. We hosted numerous middle school students—some participating in school group programs (University of Chicago Lab School and Hannibal and Holy Family schools from Missouri) and others participating in this year's Middle School Archaeology Camp. We also thank all the adults who attended our Archaeology Research Program in June, contributing much-appreciated labor as we approach the halfway mark in our final season at the Goodman Point Unit of Hovenweep National Monument.

Stone effigy fragment (possibly representing a bird or bighorn sheep) found in the midden at Windy Knob. The fragment is about 1/4 inch long.

Since my last update at the end of May, we have completed much of the testing at both Midway House and Windy Knob, where work began only last month (see the May 28 update). Our excavations at both sites generally confirm the impression reported earlier—that is, both sites were probably occupied from about A.D. 1150 to 1250. This assessment is based on the presence of double-course masonry walls and late Pueblo II and Pueblo III pottery types. One of the more exciting artifact finds of the month was a small, ground-stone effigy found in a midden (refuse deposit) at Windy Knob. The object appears to represent an animal of some sort, possibly a bird or bighorn sheep.

Work continues at the Harlan Great Kiva site. In an excavation unit on the north side of the great kiva depression, we have uncovered what looks like portions of the upper lining wall (the masonry wall that defines the upper part of the interior of the main chamber), as well as a feature that might be an entryway. There seems to be a purposefully constructed "gap" or stairway in this wall that leads to a structure immediately north of the great kiva. Documenting how people would have entered and exited the great kiva will be important in understanding the overall site layout.

Participants in Crow Canyon's Archaeology Research Program excavating in the midden at Windy Knob.

Excavators working in a test unit in the southern berm area of the great kiva depression (but outside the great kiva proper) exposed more of a burned, plaster-walled structure first uncovered in 2009. The stratigraphic profile exposed in the test unit contains evidence of three construction episodes, with the plaster-walled structure being the earliest. On top of this structure is a layer of dense wall rubble—likely building material from a structure built in the same location after the plaster-walled structure was burned. Overlying the rubble layer is the foundation of a double-course masonry wall, which would have been part of a structure built even later than the two underlying structures. This evidence points to extended use of the site, perhaps spanning many generations.

Additional testing at Monsoon House in June also produced interesting new information about the ancient Goodman Point community. Excavations in a large roomblock on the north side of the site have uncovered a double-course masonry wall resting on midden fill, which in turn rests on an upright slab feature. This complex stratigraphy suggests extended use of at least this portion of the site—and is reminiscent of building sequences documented for parts of the Harlan Great Kiva site.

In the upcoming weeks, we will be working with high school students from across the country enrolled in our three-week High School Field School and with 25 teachers, also from across the country, who are participating in a special summer institute funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. So there should be great progress to report at the end of July!

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