Three Seasons of Survey in the Painted Desert: An Update of the Petrified Forest Boundary Expansion Survey

Summary

In 2004 Congress authorized Petrified Forest National Park to more than double in size, in part to protect unique cultural resources. This poster introduces the preliminary results of the third and final season of pedestrian survey in these new lands. So far this research has recorded archaeological sites dating from the Archaic through the Late Pueblo periods. Sites range from lithic landscapes covering hundreds of acres to multi-room masonry or adobe structures. Survey methodology has focused on sampling a cross-section of different environments to better understand land use across new park lands. Mapping and recording has documented differential land use through time, with a focus on large semi-stabilized dunes. Detailed ceramic analysis has documented phenomenal diversity of ceramic types and sources. This additional survey and documentation work will change our understanding of prehistoric use of this region and how it compares to the broader southwest. In addition to cultural resource management goals this project also functions as a teaching laboratory with the Petrified Forest National Park internship program. To date, this program has incorporate fifteen college student interns for in-depth field training and independent research.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Recent Archaeological Research in Petrified Forest National Park

Keywords

Spatial Coverage