HISATSINOM Monthly Newsletter of the Montezuma Valley Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society

Website: www.coloradoarchaeology.org/Hisatsinom E-Mail: [email protected]

or write to P.O. Box 1524 Cortez CO 81321-1524

VOLUME 25

JULY 2013

ISSUE 7

JULY MEETING 7 pm Tuesday, July 2 First United Methodist Church The Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeology Society is pleased to present Dr. Mary L. Gillam and Dr. Lillian D. Wakeley as they discuss Are Utah’s Sand Island “Mammoths” Late Pleistocene? A Geologic View. In their presentation, they will investigate two petroglyphs on a cliff near Bluff that have been interpreted as images of living mammoths and thus late Pleistocene in age. Evidence for erosion of the cliff is not consistent with this age interpretation. Also, partial erosion of younger petroglyphs shows that very old petroglyphs are unlikely to be preserved on such weak stone. The petroglyphs are on a 20-m cliff cut into Navajo Sandstone by the San Juan River after the last glaciation. The river first undercut the cliff, causing rockfall. After enough talus accumulated at the cliff base to protect it from the river, cliff erosion continued by fracturing, scaling and grain removal. Slow erosion by surface runoff and by moisture seeping through the rock erodes the rock surface continually even though the “mammoths” are beneath a slight overhang. Geologic dating suggests that the cliff face

beneath the “mammoths” stabilized during middle to perhaps early Holocene time, long after mammoths and mastodons became extinct around 13,000 to 12,500 years ago. Some elements of these petroglyphs resemble mammoth anatomy. Yet their interpretation must be based on all available evidence, including the geologic setting. Further work on the petroglyphs and their geo-environment may resolve scientific questions but could take years or be inconclusive, partly due to cost and other limitations. Meanwhile the “mammoth” interpretation remains a hypothesis, not settled fact. Mary Gillam is a consulting geologist with specialties in geomorphology, young sediments, and surface soils. She has worked for approximately 25 years on research and applied studies in most western states, including projects concerning archaeology or river geomorphology in the Four Corners region. Her degrees include a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado and an M.S. and B.S. from Stanford University. She has also taught introductory geology at San Juan College and is a “friend of the geosciences” at Fort Lewis College. Lillian Wakeley is a consulting geologist with world-wide research experience in nearsurface soil properties, desert and river geomorphology, specialty geo-materials, interpreting paleo-environments, and science for the public. She holds an M.S. from Utah State University (where she is an adjunct faculty member) and a D.Ed. from Penn State. Previously, she spent 27 years as an engineering and environmental geologist for the Corps of Engineers, where she led a geologic study of the “Kennewick Man” site. *********************************************************************************************** ***** Tom Yoder of KSJD (91.5 FM) is scheduled to interview Dr. Gillam on the Zine Thursday, June 27, at 8:30 am. It will then be available online. To find the replay of an interview, go to www.KSJD.org, look for “Audio” on the toolbar at the top of the Home Page, then scroll down to "Zine" in the program list. Once there, look for the speaker's name and click “Download File” under the name. The file will then replay the interview. If you miss a meeting, many of our speakers participate in “on air” interviews with KSJD prior to their presentations. If you miss the on-air interview, we have arranged with Tom to have the interview available for replay online. They will usually be available for replay later on the day of the interview. KSJD radio is located at 91.5 FM. ****************************************************************************************************

Upcoming Speakers Tuesday, August 6, 7pm – Jason Chuipka – “Whiskey is for Drinking, Water is for Fighting: Water Projects and Archaeology in the Desert West 1950-present” Wednesday, September 11, 7pm – Steve Lekson – “Chaco Canyon, Capital of the Northern Southwest” At the Anasazi Heritage Center as part of the Four Corners Lecture Series

Summer Potluck! Marcie Ryan is hosting a members’ pot-luck party on Saturday, July 13, from 5-7 pm at her home. At least one grillmaster is needed! Please RSVP by Wednesday, July 3. Email – [email protected] or phone 970-882-3391 to reply and for directions. Let’s celebrate summer!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Field Trip News There are two spaces left (before a waiting list is started) for the Yucca House field trip on Tuesday, July 9 Trip Leader Bob Bernhart has arranged for archaeologist Scott Ortman to lead us through Yucca House, a small unexcavated unit of the National Park Serv ice/Mesa Verde that lies just southwest of Cortez. This is Scott’s last tour with us for a while as he is moving out of the area. We will meet at 8 am for the short drive to the site. Email (preferred) your request or questions to Jane Williams at [email protected]. Or call Jane at 970-565-9600. Note: Scott will have copies of his book, Winds from the North: Tewa Origins and Historical Anthropology, available for purchase at a reduced cost for members and will be pleased to sign your copy.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> June Hisatsinom Meeting 7 pm, Tuesday, June 4 President Bob Bernhart opened the meeting, attended by 79 people, at 7 pm. Terri Hoff displayed a Teec Nos Pos weaving that will help provide a scholarship fund for Colorado students majoring in anthropology. Raffle tickets are available for $3 or 4/$10. Linda Sand donated the rug, which has a value of $700 to $900. Terry Woodrow announced that the PAAC class in Cortez will be on Lithics, November 1-4. Geologist and past president of the Durango Chapter of CAS, John Sanders, also a reciprocal member of Hisatsinom, died recently in Durango. John was beloved by many and will be greatly missed. Marcie Ryan, treasurer, said that 2013 memberships are now available for half price, and to sign up with her. Jane Williams, field trip coordinator, announced that sign-up for a trip to Yucca House, to be led by Scott Ortman, begins on Tuesday, June 18th. There are 20 spots open for the short hike. Scott is leaving the area soon to begin his position as a professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Diane McBride introduced Colorado State Archaeologist Richard Wilshusen, who discussed “History and the Navajo Homeland: The Creation of Dinetah”. Dr. Wilshusen, an archaeologist in the Southwest for over 30 years, is known for his work in the early Pueblo period. He “counts his lucky stars that he has made his living as an archaeologist”. Using oral history, Spanish documents and the archaeological record, he

suggested that a clearly defined Navajo ethnic identity was not evident until A.D. 16001650. In past investigations, archaeological researchers have assumed that the Navajo arrived in the Southwest as a fully formed group by 1450. In contrast, Wilshusen uses old histories and new archaeological evidence to support his position that the emergence of the early Navajo has been more gradual and more complicated than previously proposed. Only in the early seventeenth century are the Navajo clearly distinguishable from the closely related Apache groups of the Southwest. Wilshusen suggested that culture is who you are, what you call yourself, how you identify yourself. The Navajo, Athapaskan speakers, built Pueblitos and forked-stick hogans, more like brush shelters. Their wickiup dwellings, by 1620, became ethnic identifiers: “This is our kind of house.” Archaeologist and dendrochronologist Jeff Dean, from “the great lab”—the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona-, used tree-ring dating to provide precise dates from AD 1620 to 1630 for the leaning log hogans found in Dinetah, the new Navajo homeland. The unique local Gobernador polychrome pottery dating from 1700 to 1750 has contributed to our understanding of the Navajo timeline. “We are seeing ethnogenesis here.” Corn agriculturalists, the Navajo as a sedentary people, were a vulnerable population when Ute raiders arrived in the late 1600s. When the Navajo moved south, they left their former identity on the landscape. The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 pm. Gail LaDage, Recording Secretary. ______________________________________________________________________

Welcome New Members: Michael Barham – Dutch Flat, CA Linda Farnsworth – Mancos, CO Diane Sangster – Elk Grove, CA

MCAFEE SURVEY The McAfee Survey team has been out once or twice a week the last month. Below are some of the interesting finds by different team members. On left: 6/4/13, Dolores Corner Notched, Expanding Stem, AD600-1000 Isolated Find On right: 6/4/13, spiralincised sherd, Early Whiteware Isolated find

San Jose Archaic dart point, 4500-1500 BC, 6/14/13 Site ST1S4

Uinta projectile point, side notched, straight base, AD 850-1200, CCAC Type 1 AD9001300, chert. 6-14-13 ST1S4

Dolores Corner-Notched, Straight-stemmed projectile point, AD600-1000, non-local chert, 6/14/13, Site ST1S4

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High School Archaeology Survey: "The proposed archaeological excavation project at the new Cortez High School site, located behind Walmart, has been cancelled due to lack of funds earmarked for this project. The grant for the construction of the new high school does not include sitework, and the board found the costs to be prohibitive. Instead, the one significant site with architecture in the northeast corner of the property will be avoided during construction, so it will not require mitigation. The Hisatsinom Chapter was to be involved by providing volunteers to assist Woods Canyon Archaeological Consultants with excavation efforts." (thanks to Marcie Ryan for this update) FOUR CORNERS LECTURE SERIES Saturday/Sunday, June 29/30 (@11, 12, 2, 4), new Mesa Verde Visitor Center: Traditional Hopi Dancers Sunday, June 30, 1pm, AHC – James Peshlakai: The Navajo Way Friday, July 19, 7pm, Far View Lodge, MVNP – Julie Coleman: The Worst and Best of Durango Archaeology, Falls Creek Revisited Tuesday, July 23, 7pm, Far View Lodge, MVNP – Patricia Crown: A Brief History of Theobroma cacao (aka chocolate) in the American Southwest

__________________________________________________ Event News May 25, Monument Site Steward trip: CANM archaeologist Vince MacMillan took a group on the Monument – Mockingbird Mesa. Stewards eligible for the trip visited rarelyseen sites including Seven Towers and Parallel Wall House. Chapter members enjoying the day included Bob and Karen Bernhart, Bob and Diane McBride, and Rich Robinson. May 26-31, the International Federation of Rock Art Organizations (IFRAO) held its meeting in Albuquerque. IFRAO is a consortium of more than fifty international rock art research associations. The local hosting organization was the American Rock Art Research Association (ARARA). Chapter member Janet Lever-Wood attended and was a vendor at the event. Member Gail LaDage attended part of the weekend and pronounced the displays “stunning”. May 31-June 3, the Mitchell Springs field school, run by chapter member Dave Dove, hosted 36 excavators. Chapter members attending included Tom and Terri Hoff, Gail LaDage, Joe Lantz, Rich Robinson, Larry and Sandy Tradlener, and Susan Underwood. June 1, the Southwest Colorado Canyons Association provided a booth at the Dolores River Festival. Chapter members Nancy Evans, Ken Geiger, and Bob and Diane McBride answered questions and signed new members during the day. June 2, the SCCA provided a field trip for its founding members led by retired CANM archaeologist Linda Farnsworth. The group began at Lowry Ruins, and Linda explained

current work on fuels reduction, information on CO2 leases and land acquisitions. Chapter members attending included Bob and Karen Bernhart, Larry Keller, and Bob and Diane McBride. June 2, the 4CLS presented Joe Pachak at the AHC. His presentation, The Bluff Mammoth Petroglyphs, drew a large crowd including many chapter members. June 6/7, Santa Fe field trip report (thank you, Marcie Ryan) Four members of Hisatsinom (Bob and Karen Bernhart, Jerry and Marcie Ryan) visited the Indian Arts Research Center's collection of historic and contemporary Indian art and artifacts. We were able to tour two vaults containing over 12,000 pieces. Their ceramics collection is quite impressive, with vessels dating from Pueblo I time up to the present. Collections were separated by Pueblo, and we were able to compare and contrast the styles and designs used by the various Rio Grande Pueblos. Upstairs, we saw wonderful examples of textiles, beadwork, and paintings - all very carefully curated. Our docent was very knowledgeable about the collection and gave us a very thorough tour lasting approximately 1.5hours. (There was dinner out in Santa Fe, and a trip to the Flea Market the next day before returning home.) ______________________________________________________________________

P.A.A.C. Schedule Please contact Terry Woodrow for information at 560-1318 or [email protected].

The PAAC schedule has now been finalized for the 2nd half of the year. Our chapter will have the Lithics class in early November. Note that Montrose will be hosting the class in Historical Archaeology, and Durango will have Principles of Excavation. Please call or email [email protected] to sign up for the Lithics class. More details available in September.

PAAC Schedule: July–December 2013 July 27 ................ Cortez ...............................PAAC Board meeting August 3 .................. Denver ..............................Site Forms Workshop 28 ................ Denver ..............................Site Forms Workshop September 7–8 .............. Craig ..................................Archaeological Laboratory Techniques 10, 17 .......... Fort Collins/Greeley ......Rock Art Studies (sessions 1–2 of 7) 20–23 .......... Montrose ..........................Historical Archaeology 24 ................ Fort Collins/Greeley ......Rock Art Studies (session 3) October 1 .................. Fort Collins/Greeley ......Rock Art Studies (session 4) 4–5 .............. Loveland ...........................PAAC Board meeting at CAS annual meeting 8 .................. Fort Collins/Greeley ......Rock Art Studies (session 5)

9 .................. Boulder .............................Ceramics Description & Analysis (session 1 of 7) 12–13 .......... Pueblo ...............................Archaeological Dating Methods 15 ................ Fort Collins/Greeley ......Rock Art Studies (session 6) 16 ................ Boulder .............................Ceramics Description & Analysis (session 2) 19–20 .......... Glenwood Springs ..........Archaeological Practice in Colorado 22 ................ Fort Collins/Greeley ......Rock Art Studies (end, session 7) 23 ................ Boulder .............................Ceramics Description & Analysis (session 3) 24 ................ Denver ..............................Colorado Archaeology (session 1 of 7) 30 ................ Boulder .............................Ceramics Description & Analysis (session 4) November 1–4 .............. Cortez ...............................Lithics Description & Analysis 6 .................. Boulder .............................Ceramics Description & Analysis (session 5) 7 .................. Denver ..............................Colorado Archaeology (session 2) 13 ................ Boulder .............................Ceramics Description & Analysis (session 6) 14 ................ Denver ..............................Colorado Archaeology (session 3) 15–17 .......... Durango ...........................Principles of Archaeological Excavation 20 ................ Boulder .............................Ceramics Description & Analysis (end, session 7) 21 ................ Denver ..............................Colorado Archaeology (session 4) 22–25 .......... Alamosa ............................Basic Site Surveying Techniques December *3–20 .......... Denver ..............................PAAC Laboratory Project 5 .................. Denver ..............................Colorado Archaeology (session 5) 6–8 .............. Colorado Springs ............Perishable Materials *Lab project occurs on intermittent dates at an off-site History Colorado facility in central Denver call or e-mail for information For more information, visit the PAAC website at: http://www.historycolorado.org/oahp/program-avocational-archaeological-certificationpaac

COLLEGE CREDIT FOR P.A.A.C. CLASSES Adam State College’s Extended Studies Program (www.adams.edu/extended_studies/) will now offer credit for PAAC classes. In particular, K-12 teachers may be interested in this program. It is up to those wanting college credit to register with Adams State College in addition to enrol ling through Terry Woodrow, Cortez P.A.A.C. Coordinator.

Other Notable Events: Pecos Conference, August 8–11, Flagstaff, AZ Rocky Mountain Anthropological Conference, September 26–29, Taos, NM Plains Anthropological Conference and Colorado Archaeological Society (CAS) annual meeting, held concurrently October 2–5, Loveland, CO Utah Rock Art Research Association symposium, October 11–14, Moab, UT Paleoamerican Odyssey Conference, October 17–19, Santa Fe, NM

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FINANCIALS (as of 6/24/13) Income: Dues: $23.00 Expense s: State dues: $16. 00 Newsletter: $10.00 Meeting space: $90. 00 (3 months, FMC) Total expenses: $116. 00

Checking: $2799.82 CD: $1052.00 Total assets: $3851.82

MEMBERSHIP

State Membership Type Student $8.00 (No SW Lore) Individual $16.00 Family $20.00 Senior (over 55) Half of Above Category (No SW Lore) Plus Local Membership $10 st New members joining between May 1 and September 30th should pay HA LF the total dues amount, as membership renews in October of eac h year.

2013 Executive Board President Bob Bernhart…………………. 565-0980 Vice President Diane McBride………………… 560-1643 Treasurer Marcie Ryan ................................ 882-3391 Recording Secretary Gail LaDage………………….. 259-8074 C.A.S. Representative Terri Hoff ....................................... 882-2191 P.A.A.C Coordinator Terry Woodrow ............................ 560-1318 Field Trip Coordinato Jane Williams…………………. 565-9600 Newsletter Editor Nancy Evans………………… 564-1461 Assistant (in charge of snail-mail) Marcie Ryan…………………. 882-3391

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Please contact the newsletter editor with suggestions for content. Copy for the newsletter should reach the editor by the 20 th of each month. Hisatsinom Chapter Colorado Archaeological Society PO Box 1524, Cortez, CO 81321