Becoming Virgin in Jenny Clay: An Analysis of Settlement Evolution and Kayenta Intrusion in Southern Utah

Summary

Based on recent pedestrian survey of approximately 1,500 acres of BLM-managed land in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument of southern Utah, this paper examines new evidence from 129 archaeological sites that demonstrates a deep settlement history as well as both expected and unexpected changes resulting from the so called "Kayenta Intrusion" of the Pueblo II period. The Jenny Clay study area is located in a broad alluvial valley surrounded by the Vermillion Cliffs, and contains several key resources that likely contributed to significant prehistoric settlement. Deep alluvium overlaid with thin to substantial aeolian sediments provided a range of opportunities for dry-farming agriculturalists; naturally occurring and often high quality petrified wood is readily available throughout the study area; water is available from perennial springs; and the study area is part of a deer migration corridor. While evidence of prehistoric use ranges from the late Paleoindian through to early Pueblo III periods, the primary settlement of the study area consists of substantial Virgin Anasazi occupation during the Pueblo II period. Through examination of architecture, ceramics, and site layout, this paper examines how the predominately Virgin Anazasi pattern is punctuated and potentially negotiated by migrants from the Kayenta region to the south.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22375