The Dolores Archaeological Program

Summary

From 1978 until 1985 the University of Colorado contracted with the Bureau of Reclamation (Contract No. 8-07-40-S0562) to mitigate the adverse impact of a large water impoundment project on the cultural resources in the project area. This complex and evolving long-term mitigation plan known as the Dolores Archaeological Program (DAP) has been called a “truly unique chapter in American archaeology” (Breternitz 1993:118) and was applauded by Lipe (1998:2) for its ability to “increase the power and efficiency of archaeological methods”.

Data and materials from the DAP and other Dolores Project contracts are curated by the Anasazi Heritage Center (AHC) through an agreement between the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Land Management, and the President’s Advisory Council. This facility has been an important means of disseminating DAP findings to general public and greater Southwestern archaeological community (Lipe 1998; Sebastian and Lipe 2009).

Since the program’s completion in 1985, the DAP has continued to provide archaeologists with a platform for understanding prehistoric culture change at local and regional levels as well as a model for structuring large-scale archaeological investigations. Recent examples of the DAP’s legacy include Schachner’s (2010) treatment of corporate groups and social differentiation in the context of pithouse-to-pueblo transition ca. A.D. 700 to 900 and Kohler and Reed’s (2011) examination of Pueblo I period village development. The consistency and quality of the DAP database that have enabled it to remain an invaluable research tool even today were made possible by a great deal of forethought and planning in the way archaeological observations were documented (Wilshusen et al. 1999).

The DAP research design was structured to systematically address broad domains of inquiry that encompass economy and adaptation, paleodemography, social organization, extraregional relationships, and cultural processes. Mid-level research designs and supporting studies were employed by task specialists in additive and reductive technologies, environmental archaeology, and survey to address more specific problem domains.

Since field and laboratory research focused on the explanation of cultural process for the prehistoric Ancestral Puebloan population of the Dolores River valley, new conventions and terminology was required to describe spatial and temporal variability that was unique to the Dolores data. These sets of archaeological units, or DAP systematics, provide a common frame of reference for the project analytical and field staffs. Due to the specific nature of this system, researchers are encouraged to consult the Final Synthetic Report of the DAP (Breternitz et al. 1986) before attempting to use DAP databases.

Cite this Record

The Dolores Archaeological Program. ( tDAR id: 5398) ; doi:10.6067/XCV80G3MNH

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

Culture
Ancestral Puebloan • Archaic • Numic and Late Pueblo • PaleoIndian

Material
Ceramic • Chipped Stone • Dating Sample • Fauna • Ground Stone • Macrobotanical • Mineral • Pollen • Shell • Wood

Site Type
Artifact Scatter • Hamlet / Village • Hearth • Isolated Artifact • Isolated Feature • Kiln • Kiva / Great Kiva • Midden • Military Structure • Pit • Pit House / Earth Lodge • Plaza • Post Hole / Post Mold • Rock Alignment • Room Block / Compound / Pueblo • Water Control Feature • Wattle & Daub (Jacal) Structure

Investigation Types
Archaeological Overview • Collections Research • Data Recovery / Excavation • Geophysical Survey • Reconnaissance / Survey • Remote Sensing • Research Design / Data Recovery Plan • Site Evaluation / Testing • Systematic Survey

Geographic Keywords
Dolores River Valley • Mesa Verde Region • Southwestern Colorado

Temporal Keywords
Ancestral Puebloan • Archaic • Basketmaker I • Basketmaker II • Basketmaker III • Protohistoric • Pueblo I • Pueblo II • Pueblo III

Spatial Coverage

min long: -108.59; min lat: 37.47 ; max long: -108.5; max lat: 37.57 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contributor(s): Alexis A. Hamilton; Donald Howes; Katherine S. Miller; Jane A. Ward; Barbara J. Cullington; David H. Greenwald; Lora VanRenselaar; Ricky R. Lightfoot; Joseph W. Studer; Judith A. Southward; Laurie A. Whiting; Douglas, A. Goulding; Sarah H. Schlanger; Dorin E. Steele; Vickie L. Clay; Stacy A. Story; Lynn L. Udick; Craig F. Woodman; Robert P. Ryan; Phyllis A. Wolf; Douglas, D. Dykeman; Cathy J. Watts; Kristin Kuckelman; Raymond G Harriman; Gregory C. Nelson; Phillip D. Neusius; Adrian S. White; Melissa Gould; Louise M. Schmidlap; Patrick F. Hogan; Arthur L. Rohr; Rita Arnett; Karen Dohm; Alice M. Emerson; Rysta E. Frederick; Gail G. Snyder; Patrick Harden; Mary C. Etzkron; J. Holly Hathaway; Susan E. King; Thirza D. Kennedy; Nancy J. Hewitt; Linda P. Hart; Steven R. Dominquez; Richard H. Wilshusen; John P. McCarthy; Meredith H. Matthews; Jane L. Epstein; Gary A. Brown; T. Homer Hurby; Anne M. Wolley; Maxine M Morris; Michael J. Hilton; Charlotte L. Benson; John R. Stein; John L. Montgomery; James H. Kleidon; Judith L. Burk; Carla M. Hoehn; Hal D. Carr; Carolyn R. Orth; Scott E. Travis; Maureen C. Cavanaugh; Ivy G. Doak; Joel M. Brisbin; Bertand A. de Peyer; Robert M.R. Waterworth; Ross C. Fields; Cory Dale Breternitz; Thomas C. May; Mark Varien; Richard V. N. Ahlstrom; M. Edward Bussard; G. Timothy Gross; C. Dean Wilson; James Morris; Margaret G. Meador; Richard W. Yarnell; Lynn E. Sebastian; Ruthann Knudson; Sarah Neusius

Field Director(s): Gay Ives; Mark A. Stiger; Roger N. Walkenhorst

Lab Director(s): Janet D. Orcutt; Carl J. Phagen; John P. Bloom; William A. Luscius; Deborah A. Duranceau; Kenneth L. Petersen; Roger A. Moore; Paul J. Farley; John P. Nylander; Eric Blinman; Bruce Benz

Principal Investigator(s): Robert A. Bye; David A. Breternitz; Allen E. Kane; Timothy A. Kohler; William D. Lipe

Project Director(s): Christine K. Robinson; Steven E. James

Sponsor(s): Bureau of Reclamation

Repository(s): Anasazi Heritage Center, Dolores, Co

Submitted To(s): Bureau of Reclamation

Record Identifiers

Bureau of Reclamation(s): 8-07-40-S0562

Source Collections

Anasazi Heritage Center

Resources Inside this Project (Viewing 1-17 of 17)

There are 17 Datasets within this Project [remove this filter]

Datasets

  1. Botanical Resources: Corn (1985)
    DATASET Uploaded by: Jesse Clark

    The corn dataset was used in association with an intensive botanical study designed to identify different varieties of corn in the assemblage of corn cobs and plant fragments recovered in the course of DAP fieldwork. The variables in this dataset contain information and measurements pertaining to the number or rows of kernels on an ear, its shape and size, and various details about glumes, cupules, and kernels. Variables for the CORN10 dataset have been described by Wilshusen et al. (1999);...

  2. Botanical Resources: Pollen (1985)
    DATASET Uploaded by: Jesse Clark

    The pollen dataset contains basic provenience data for each pollen sample collected. These data are accompanied by taxonomic classification and the grain count per taxon. Detailed locational information can be obtained by linking this dataset with the provenience dataset. Variables for the corn dataset have already been described by Wilshusen et al. (1999). In most cases, their descriptions are suitable for use as metadata and have been repeated almost verbatim here. Selected resources from the...

  3. Ceramics: Temporal-Spatial Dataset (1988)
    DATASET Uploaded by: Jesse Clark

    The Additive Technologies Group (ATG) was responsible for supporting the broad research goals of the DAP through the implementation of mid-level research design governing the collection and analysis of data from “material culture that results from the technological combinations of a variety of raw materials” (Blinman 1986a:57). While these items include worked vegetal material (e.g., basketry and textiles), much of the work performed by the ATG relates to a large ceramic assemblage including...

  4. Chronometric Dating (1985)
    DATASET Uploaded by: Jesse Clark

    The results of chronometric analysis on special specimen samples collected for dating can be found in this dataset. Samples are linked to basic provenience data such as site and field specimen number. The temporal range for each sample will be indicated by variables for earliest and latest dates. These variables give the innermost and outermost dates of wood submitted for dendrochronological dating and their corresponding Tree-Ring Lab symbols indicating how close the date provided is to the...

  5. Cottontail Procurement (1987)
    DATASET Uploaded by: Jesse Clark

    Flint and Neusius’ (1987) examination of the assemblage of cottontail remains from the Dolores Anasazi faunal record is an especially good example of synthetic research contributions to DAP research. Their study utilized the subset of the DAP faunal assemblage contained within the BUNNY10 dataset (Flint and Neusius 1987:257). Since the two species of cottontail utilized by the Dolores Anasazi have distinct habitat preferences, their relative abundances provided an opportunity to track patterns...

  6. Faunal Remains (1985)
    DATASET Uploaded by: Jesse Clark

    The faunal dataset is comprised of 81,947 specimens, recovered from a variety of contexts within the Dolores Project area (Neusius 1985c; Petersen, Matthews et al. 1986). Nonhuman macrofaunal remains collected during site excavations are by far the most abundant in the DAP assemblage (n=76,224), followed by microfaunal specimens (n=5,723) collected by way of dry screening and flotation processing (Petersen, Matthews et al. 1986). A third set of miscellaneous remains include specimens recovered...

  7. Flaked Lithic Debitage (1985)
    DATASET Carl J. Phagan.

    The Reductive Technologies Group (RTG) was responsible for supporting the broad research goals of the DAP through the implementation of a mid-level research design governing the collection and analysis of data from “artifacts which were manufactured by reductive, or subtractive techniques” (Phagan 1986a:79). Independent datasets for each of the four preliminary analysis systems reflect the technological distinctions made between flaked lithic tools (FLT10a and FLT10b); the debitage created in...

  8. Flaked Lithic Tools: Temporal-Spatial Dataset (1985)
    DATASET Carl J. Phagan.

    The Reductive Technologies Group (RTG) was responsible for supporting the broad research goals of the DAP through the implementation of mid-level research design governing the collection and analysis of data from “artifacts which were manufactured by reductive, or subtractive techniques” (Phagan 1986a: 79). The RTG was headed by Roger A. Moore between 1978 and 1979; Carl J. Phagan assumed this position from 1979 to 1985, with the assistance of T. Homer Hruby between 1980 and 1984. Supporting...

  9. Geological Study Samples (1985)
    DATASET Uploaded by: Jesse Clark

    The sediments dataset is a catalog of the geological samples used in a study of the physical and chemical properties of local soils. The chemical and granulometric analyses conducted on these samples contributed to an evaluation of potential for successful dry-land agriculture in the Dolores Valley. Soils in the project area are generally derived from eolian parent material and exhibit a loamy texture that indicates their suitability for agricultural production (Decker and Petersen 1987)....

  10. Hafted Items (1985)
    DATASET Uploaded by: Jesse Clark

    The Reductive Technologies Group (RTG) was headed by Roger A. Moore between 1978 and 1979 and by Carl J. Phagan from 1979 to 1985, with the assistance of T. Homer Hruby between 1980 and 1984; supporting work was provided by crew chiefs Gail G. Snyder and Phillip D. Neusius. This DAP analysis group was responsible for supporting the broad research goals of the DAP through the implementation of mid-level research design governing the collection and analysis of data from “artifacts which were...

  11. Linked Provenience-Feature Class (2000)
    DATASET Uploaded by: Kelsey M. Reese

    The linked provenience category is an organized way to describe how a feature was excavated, and where artifacts were found within that feature. The categories are numerically based in order to systematically define excavation strategy and the execution of that strategy. Each vertical and horizontal strategy is denoted with a corresponding number---for example horizontal excavation strategies are broken down into whole study unit, locus, segment, half, strip, quadrant, etc. (Wilshusen et al....

  12. Macrobotanical Remains (1985)
    DATASET Uploaded by: Jesse Clark

    The DAP research design was structured to systematically address broad domains of inquiry that encompass economy and adaptation, paleodemography, social organization, extra-regional relationships, and cultural process. The variables used in the botanical datasets represent the various lines of evidence needed to mitigate “bioturbation, preservation, and sampling biases” and establish the “case for cultural association of botanical remains preserved in the archaeological record” (Petersen, Clay...

  13. Maps (1985)
    DATASET Uploaded by: Jesse Clark

    A small percentage of the maps reproduced from field data can be found in the series of published DAP reports, but a much larger collection of original material can be accessed via the Anasazi Heritage Center, Colorado. The maps dataset allows users to easily know what maps are available for any provenience. Maps were sequentially numbered within each site and later classified as one of 47 taxa, according to the type of information the map was meant to convey. Documenting the contents of a site...

  14. Non-flaked Lithic Tools: Temporal-Spatial Dataset (1985)
    DATASET Carl J. Phagan.

    The Reductive Technologies Group (RTG) was responsible for supporting the broad research goals of the DAP through the implementation of mid-level research design governing the collection and analysis of data from “artifacts which were manufactured by reductive, or subtractive techniques” (Phagan 1986a:79). The RTG was headed by Roger A. Moore between 1978 and 1979 and by Carl J. Phagan from 1979 to 1985, with the assistance of T. Homer Hruby between 1980 and 1984; supporting work was provided by...

  15. Photographs (1985)
    DATASET Uploaded by: Jesse Clark

    Photographs are one of the few remaining ways to examine the now inundated archaeological sites in the DAP. Photographic images add context to specific aspects of Anasazi life in the DAP area; in a sense, DAP photography "provides the investigator with ways to understand the spatial integration of households and communities" (Wilshusen et al. 1999:115). Only a fraction of all photographs taken during the project can be found in the published series of DAP reports. Individuals wishing to access...

  16. Rare Rocks (1985)
    DATASET Uploaded by: Jesse Clark

    Items in the DAP nonflaked lithic tool assemblage and miscellaneous material files that represent “unusual materials of geologic origin” have been collected within a single rare rocks dataset (Keane and Clay 1987:507). More specifically, the dataset contains both naturally occurring and culturally modified items comprised of geological resources that are found in the Dolores Valley, or have been transported over long distances (Keane and Clay 1987). Items fashioned from rare material types are...

  17. Samples (1985)
    DATASET Uploaded by: Jesse Clark

    Wilshusen et al. (1999) indicate that this dataset should be viewed as a comprehensive inventory of DAP samples by type and number. Samples were collected for a variety of reasons including chronometric dating, environmental and geological studies, and special documentation. Obtaining the results of their analysis requires users to consult other DAP datasets. Variables in the samples dataset have already been described by Wilshusen et al. (1999); see especially the section entitled "Samples" by...