Archaeology along the Painted Desert: Current Research in Petrified Forest National Park

While Petrified Forest National Park has been the subject of archaeological research for over 100 years, intensive field research in the last five years has greatly expanded what we know about the prehistoric and historic occupation of the area. In 2004 Congress authorized a boundary expansion, effectively doubling the size of Petrified Forest National Park. These lands are slowly being purchased and added to the park. Initial cultural resource inventory projects are being conducted to begin to better understand what is out there. The results of survey in the boundary expansion have found a stunning density and diversity of archaeological remains. Archaeological sites spanning the last 13,000 years of human occupation have been identified, including most notably extensive preceramic sites and lithic landscapes, large Basketmaker villages, and a densely settled Puebloan landscape. This work has been coupled with an additional season of survey work in the park’s pre-2004 core to contextualize previous research with these new areas. Also, over the last five years the NPS has taken this opportunity to use the park as a teaching laboratory, bringing in graduate student research and an extensive internship program. This session presents an update of the recent archaeology in Petrified Forest.