Puebloan Patterns in Montezuma Canyon: Insights from the Nancy Patterson Ruin

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Archaeological Research in Montezuma Canyon, San Juan County, Utah" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Nancy Patterson Ruin is one of several large, multi-component pueblos, positioned at the mouths of side canyons draining into Montezuma Creek. Although occupations at Nancy Patterson span at least Basketmaker III through late Pueblo III, the most visible occupations are late Pueblo I and mid-Pueblo III. Unique features include a 16 m diameter, benched Pueblo I plaza in the upper ruin, a probable multi-storied Pueblo II great house on the northwest corner of the lower ruin, and an unusual Pueblo III kiva on the southeast corner of the upper ruin. Modest excavations over four seasons focused on comparing household units from the late Pueblo I and late Pueblo III periods and found stark contrasts in architecture, treatment of space, and subsistence. The architectural patterns combined with subsistence data suggest shifts in regional interaction and dietary stress resulting in site abandonment by AD 1275 or so.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archaeological Research in Montezuma Canyon, San Juan County, Utah   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23343