July Meeting. James Potter presents, Cowboy Wash Pueblo and Community Organization on the Southern Piedmont of Sleeping Ute Mountain

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1 The Mission of the Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society is to further the education, opportunities and experiences of its members, students and the general public by partnering with and serving the archaeological, avocational archaeological, and related scientific communities of the Montezuma Valley, the Four Corners area and the State of Colorado. VOLUME 28 JULY 2016 ISSUE 7 July Meeting 7pm Tuesday, July 5, at the First United Methodist Church in Cortez James Potter presents, Cowboy Wash Pueblo and Community Organization on the Southern Piedmont of Sleeping Ute Mountain Recent excavations at Cowboy Wash Pueblo on the southern piedmont of Ute Mountain have revealed tantalizing details about the occupation of this late Pueblo III village and its relationship to the larger Cowboy Wash community and cultural landscape of the late twelfth century. This talk will present the long-term objectives at the site by the Ute Mountain Tribal Historic Preservation Office and discuss preliminary results of excavations at the site as part of the joint CU-Boulder/PaleoWest field school in June of The talk will also highlight recent investigations at other sites south of Ute Mountain and frame the southern piedmont as a whole, in light of its history of violence, marginal environment, sensitivity to climate changes, and role as a borderland community James Potter is a Principal Archaeologist with PaleoWest Archaeology. He has been working with the Ute Mountain Ute tribe since 2002, when he became the Principal Investigator for the Animas-La Plata Project, a Ute-administered reservoir project. Subsequent to that project, he was instrumental in helping the tribe establish its Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO), has

2 authored the tribe s first Cultural Resources Management Plan, and has helped the THPO secure grant funding for several large preservation projects, including the Cowboy Wash Pueblo project. View from Cowboy Wash Pueblo of the Sleeping Ute Mountain (photo courtesy of James Potter) July 8, Friday 7pm Hisatsinom is co-sponsoring this event with Crow Canyon Archaeological Center at CCAC. There will be a book sale and signing following the lecture. James Brooks presents, Mesa of Sorrows: Archaeology, History, and the Ghosts of Awat ovi Pueblo Drawing on oral traditions, archival accounts, and extensive archaeological research, Brooks unravels the story of the massacre at Awat ovi Pueblo and its significance. Piecing together three centuries of investigation, he offers insight into why some were spared in the massacre women, mostly, and taken captive and others sacrificed. He weighs theories that the attack was in retribution for Awat ovi having welcomed Franciscan missionaries or for the residents practice of sorcery, and he argues that a perfect storm of internal and external crises revitalized an ancient cycle of ritual bloodshed and purification.

3 Dr. James Brooks is Professor of History and Anthropology at UC Santa Barbara, where he directs the UCSB Public History program and serves as editor of The Public Historian. Brooks is an interdisciplinary scholar of the Indigenous and Colonial past. He is the author of a number of award-winning books, including Captives & Cousins: Slavery, Kinship and Community in the Southwest Borderlands (2002). In this lecture, Brooks will discuss his latest book, Mesa of Sorrows: A History of the Awat ovi Massacre (2016, WW Norton press). New Members Audrey Marnoy - Telluride, CO Mark Jazo Monticello, UT FOUR CORNERS LECTURE SERIES (July events) July 5 Tuesday, 7pm James Potter - Recent Research on the Cowboy Wash Community First United Methodist Church July 9 Saturday, 2pm Carol Patterson - Ute Rock Art of Western Colorado and theuintah Ouray Reservation Interpreted by Clifford Duncan Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum, Blanding July 14 Thursday, 7pm Paul Berkowitz and Billy Malone - The Case of the Indian Trader: Billy Malone and the NPS Investigation at Hubbell Trading Post Center for Southwest Studies, Fort Lewis College July 22 Friday, 7pm Brian Forist - That s How It Was in the Cs: The Work and Legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps at Mesa Verde & Beyond Chapin Museum, Mesa Verde National Park July 25 Monday, 7pm Janet Lever-Wood Baskets and Bags in Rock Art and the Plants From Which They Were Made Anasazi Heritage Center

4 Tewa Origins Field Trip June nine of us led by Bob Bernhart, the McBrides, and greatly assisted by our chapter field trip coordinator, Richard Robinson, embarked on a search for the Tewa origins of the pre- Hispanic world in northern New Mexico. We camped in the Lake Abiquiu campground for four nights, leaving early every morning and not returning until late each evening. An explosive growth period along the northern Rio Grande during the early 1300s prompted us to find out for ourselves if this growth could have been a result of the depopulation of the Mesa Verde region. We visited seven Tewa Pueblos occupied during those times in hopes of finding evidence of the Tewa ancestral homelands being in our area. (see photo below) Two of the sites we visited are under active investigation this summer by two different university field schools. One is by archaeologist Dr Sam Duwe, University of Oklahoma, who is rescreening the back-dirt piles left behind during earlier CRM activities associated with Lake Abiquiu construction over 50 years ago. They are looking for evidence, in this small early 1300's village, of how and why this village formed here on the northern boundary of the early Tewa world so close to Tsiping Pueblo ( ), a very large defensive site, when it would have been easy just to move there. The second field school is conducted by Dr Scott Ortman, CU Boulder, who is investigating the possibility of large scale cotton agriculture at Cuyamungue Pueblo, AD 900s-1680, and possible trade networks associated with cotton textiles. Both professors graciously gave us personal tours of these sites, and we learned a great deal. We also had the privilege of a tour given by Mike Bremer, Forest Service archaeologist, and Dr Ortman. They took 23 of us (including Ortman's field school participants) to Tsiping Pueblo. A Forest Service permit was required and obtained for all in attendance. After our earlier visit to Duwe's site, it was pointed out to us by Ortman that one might have had to prove 'Tewa-ness' before being allowed to live in the Tewa village of Tsiping, and this might explain why the small site was formed and inhabited only for a fairly short time. This last day of the tour happened to be the hottest day of the year, which we barely survived, but this was well worth the visit to this large and important site. I think we all had the opportunity to see the evidence that helps substantiate that much of the population increase in the northern Rio Grande in the late 1200s into the early 1300s was due to the migrants moving from our area. Some of the evidence we saw at those seven sites included shrines, round kivas, pottery design styles, linguistic metaphors (names for objects and places that are associated with our area), and oral histories shared by our experts. We had a good time despite the oppressive heat, a flat tire, and almost being locked out of the campground (saved by our chapter president, Dave). Bob McBride

5 Dave Melanson (l) and other chapter members tour cavates and ladders at Tsankawi Chapter Land Survey The chapter survey team has retired from our recent work north of Dove Creek after recording eight sites on 150 acres. The retirement came early this year with the heat and rattlesnakes. We have about 650 acres remaining on this property located on the western uplift flanks of the Dolores River. We plan to resume this survey in late winter or early spring. We recorded several lithic scatters and Archaic stone fragments but only one tiny gray sherd. This was not too surprising since the elevation of the survey area is above 7400 feet which makes maize agriculture a little iffy. The remains of a 1928 homestead was recorded on the property. It featured two dug outs, an orchard (dead from neglect and lack of adequate of water), a barn in ruins, and a breached earthen dam. The property sold in 1938 for $1 per acre and was never lived on again. (see photo below) Bob McBride

6 Feature 1 southeast corner logs on top of stone walls (bottom of photo), Bob Bernhart holding catsup bottle next to support post, Diane McBride and Dale Diede on northwest corner June Meeting Minutes Minutes of Hisatsinom Chapter Meeting June 11, 2016 President Dave Melanson called the meeting to order at 7 pm. 59 people were present. He welcomed everyone, then reminded people about the Alice Hamilton Scholarship raffle tickets available, and that the cause, scholarships given by CAS, was a worthy one. Dave recognized Karen Kinnear, current president of CAS, who has recently moved to Cortez, and noted that chapter membership forms were available for anyone interested. Finally Dave recognized Kari Schleher who introduced Ruth van Dyke, to speak on Aztec in the Chacoan World: Excavations at Aztec North. Chaco is, according to van Dyke, the most exciting archaeological place in the world. It has amazing monumental architecture, with 12 three or four story great houses and 17 great kivas, all made with core and veneer architecture. In addition, there are lots of small domestic sites with simple one story construction and a kiva in front. Though mainly to the south of downtown Chaco, they are in fact all around it. And they are persistent: the two largest Basketmaker III villages, dating from CE, must have been the homes of the ancestral Chacoans. To

7 some, Chaco and Fajada Butte are the Axis Mundi, but everyone acknowledges the formality of the Chacoan landscape, with its roads and ritual circles. Ritual is a major part of Chaco: the imagery of birds at Chetro Ketl, cacao and its special vessels, a jet frog, the sun dagger at Fajada Butte, the marking of the lunar standstill, etc. There are 240 official Chacoan outliers. Many are big and formal, exhibiting such Chacoan features as core and veneer walls, banding, 3 or 4 stories, symmetry, etc. Are these all actually built by Chacoans, or are they Chacoan emulations? They do seem to share an ideology, as they are usually built along lines of sight for signaling or communication of some kind. (People are trying to light fires in all of them on one day this October, if they can pull it off.) Most of Aztec West was built between 1110 and 1120 CE and occupied for 150 years. Some of its construction is not Chacoan but was built by the resident community and not by outsiders moving in. Aztec East, not yet excavated, was occupied from about 1119 to 1200 CE. Aztec North is an adobe great house situated on bluffs overlooking Aztec East and West but not so much is known about it, and thus van Dyke s excavation there this summer. She has only two more weeks to determine the construction materials and techniques used, the dating of the building, the use and purpose of the building, and its relationship to Chaco. The mean ceramic index of sherds previously recovered give a date of 1100 CE with a range of 1030 to 1130 CE. Van Dyke has found one half of a corn cob under a great deal of sandstone, and she hopes to get an AMS date to verify this previous finding and to determine if it was built early or late in the life of the Aztec complex. From the dense deposits underneath the surface, the building appears to have been made of cobbles, poor quality green sandstone, and adobe, very similar to the back of Aztec West. She has finally uncovered part of an adobe wall and has determined that the sandstone veneer had been plastered and replastered. So far she has only uncovered about 50 artifacts, so it seems that the building was not used much. Conclusions: not many! Aztec North is on higher ground than Aztec West or East, so perhaps this visibility is important. It seems to have been built by locals, but why? Was it built at the behest of Chaco but if so, why was it built so badly? Was it built to try to attract Chacoans (Paul Reed s hypothesis)? Or could it have been built to try and keep the Chacoans out? Only two more weeks to find answers! Kari Schleher thanked Ruth van Dyke for her stimulating presentation and presented her with a small piece of artwork created by Gail LaDage. Kari then announced that Jim Potter will speak on Recent Research on the Cowboy Wash Community at our next meeting Tuesday, July 5. This will be followed by James Brooks speaking on his book MESA OF SORROWS: ARCHAEOLOGY, HISTORY, AND THE GHOSTS OF AWAT OVI PUEBLO to be presented at Crow Canyon; John Bezy and Mata Ortiz speaking on and selling pottery (also to be held at Crow Canyon); and Severin Fowles presenting An Archaeology of the Long Eighteenth Century in Taos. Dave Melanson then adjourned the meeting. Respectfully submitted, Mary Gallagher, Recording Secretary

8 Cottonwood Wash Field Trip I have traveled north of US-95 along Cottonwood Wash many times, but this time the mid to late afternoon hours were hot and most important there was no one other than our group there. So empty that I drove past the waterfall that I have always dreamed about camping at and found a campsite that was even better. We even visited a couple of sites that I have never been to before and enjoyed every minute. At a more obvious site that I have been to before, without heavy visitation, I could only think of all the sites at canyonheads located south of US-95 which had towers reportedly built for protecting the headwaters, but from whom, or were they there to show someone s (groups) presence? Why would intruders hike up these difficult canyons for water when the San Juan River is a few miles away? From the top of this large rock, I could see every mesa top on Cedar Mesa but only some of the canyon bottoms. From this perch with a big wide circle, made of medium size boulders, signals could easily be sent or seen from each canyon and to the three great houses located in Cottonwood Canyon, and the Great Kiva. What a communication network! While watching the colors of sunset at camp, I remember the two ancestral roads, identified today by pottery fragments, running N/S between the ridges by the great houses, with no end point known by me except near a large basin protected by steep walls. What s hiding in the basin? Could this upper route have a connection to Montezuma Canyon where the large sites of the West Central Mesa Verde region lie? The book Living and Leaving by Donna Glowacki helped me visualize the presence of architecture and potential trade and cultural exchanges. However I need to learn more to understand the complexity of the area. The provided photo is of a site that I have never seen before, nor even heard of. Come along next time and help me understand more! - Richard Robinson, Field Trip Coordinator

9 Mitchell Springs Update The first 2016 Field School session at Mitchell Springs was held over Memorial Day weekend. With ten CAS members, six out-of-state diggers, eight from Indiana State University, and eight Eastern Illinois University faculty and students manning drones, a cesium vapor gradiometer, ground penetrating radar, and total station equipment, Mitchell Springs was quite the happening place. Even knowing that it had been occupied from the seventh to the thirteenth centuries, and that there was a kiva under a tower with a later kiva on top, we were still surprised by the density of structures discovered. For example, under a 12 th century plaza of the Pueblo A great house was an 11th century house cluster, and under that was a 9th century arc of living and storage rooms. Amazing artifacts and features were uncovered, such as parts of sandals, baskets, very large kernels of corn, small ritual cups, cooking and storage jars, the second half of a previously found black-on-red feather box, and part of an adobe wall of turtleback construction. Laurie Webster and Chuck La Rue identified this as a bundle of grass tied together by yucca When I (Sandy) was State CAS President, the most consistent complaint I heard from across the state was the lack of reasonably priced excavation opportunities. Many of you know that is no longer true. Mitchell Springs, thanks to its owner David Dove, provides an unparalleled opportunity for CAS members to participate in an exciting, high tech, yet affordable and grounded true Four Corners archaeological experience. For those of you who have not yet had an opportunity to visit Mitchell Springs, its location affords an incredible viewshed the entire expanse of Mesa Verde, the southern end of the Montezuma Valley, and Sleeping Ute Mountain. Check out Dave's website ( for updates on the research at Mitchell Springs. Further Field School sessions are scheduled for July 15 18, August 12 15, and August You are welcome to join us for one of these sessions. It's always fun to make new friends and

10 welcome back our friends from around Colorado. To check on space availability, contact Tom Hoff at - Sandy Tradlener and Mary Gallagher P.A.A.C. The full PAAC schedule is on the chapter website NOTE: The second half 2016 PAAC class schedule has not been posted on the state site. Contact Tom Pittenger about PAAC classes: or Chapter and state membership information is on the chapter website click on Chapters, click on Hisatsinom To read the CAS state newsletter, THE SURVEYOR, go to and click on NEWSLETTER ---- THE SURVEYOR is also available as a print copy at the Cortez Public Library. It is in a folder labeled CAS SURVEYOR, lying flat on a shelf in the archaeology section, the 930s. It s not for checkout; you may read it there. Treasurer's Report as of 6/1/16 Finances 5/1/16 Balance: Expenses: Income: $ $70.00 $ /1/16 Balance: $ Executive Board President Dave Melanson davemelanson@mac.com Vice President Kari Schleher kschleher@crowcanyon.org Recording Secretary Mary Gallagher mary.gallagher@montgomerycollege.edu Barbara Stagg bjstagg7@gmail.com Treasurer Lillian Wakeley ldwakeley@gmail.com P.A.A.C Coordinator Tom Pittenger pittengerte@gmail.com Field Trip Coordinator Richard Robinson robinson7150@gmail.com

11 Newsletter Editor Nancy Evans CAS Representative Larry Keller Copy for the newsletter should reach the editor by the 20 th of each month. Submissions are welcome. Unless otherwise noted, meetings are held the first Tuesday of every month at 7pm at the First United Methodist Church in Cortez. Contact us: or write P.O. Box 1524, Cortez CO Our website: click on Chapters, click on Hisatsinom