2012
03
Feb
The Sherds of Gamalstad: Ceramic Chronology in Mule Creek
By Katherine A. Dungan, Research Assistant
In a post back in October, I discussed the Late Pithouse period at Gamalstad, one of the sites we investigated during the 2009 field season. As I wrote then, we have evidence of a substantial pithouse occupation (c. A.D. 550–1000), underneath s...
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2011
18
Nov
Learning from Pottery, Part 1: Dating
By Deborah L. Huntley, Preservation Archaeologist
When an archaeologist says that a site was inhabited, say, during the late 1200s A.D., how does he or she know that? There are many methods used to date archaeological sites. Some, like radiocarbon dating of materials like burned wood or ...
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2011
19
Oct
Even Farther Underground: The Pithouses of Mule Creek
By Katherine A. Dungan, Research Assistant
As you know from previous posts, our work in the Upper Gila focuses on the Kayenta and Salado migrations of the late 13th through mid-15th centuries and on the 13th century occupation at the Fornholt site, where we worked this past summer. Mule Cr...
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2011
05
Oct
A Day’s Excavation in 2 Minutes
By Rob Jones, Preservation Fellow
This summer, during our work at Fornholt, we were lucky enough to be joined by Josh Gilbrech, a photographer from Tucson. He took a time-lapse video of excavations in progress at the deep test unit on the two-story section of the site.
Josh’s video gives...
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2011
02
Oct
Food Archaeologist
Gary Nabhan - Food Archaeologist
Gary Nabhan has written stacks of research papers about culture, archaeology and food for academic journals, and has authored at least a dozen books, some meant for popular consumption, others the academic kind whose titles have colons and subtitles that are longer ...
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2011
23
Sep
Tracking Kayenta, Understanding Salado
By Jeff Clark, Preservation Archaeologist
Our work in Mule Creek and the Upper Gila is part of Archaeology Southwest’s long-term research project to assess the scale and impact of Kayenta migrations in the southern Arizona during the late 13th and 14th centuries A.D. The Kayenta were a r...
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2011
08
Sep
Mapping the Past
By Katherine A. Dungan, Research Assistant
In our posts during the field season, we mentioned various aspects of Fornholt’s site layout—that it has northern and southern room blocks, two-story sections, a large depression in the southern room block—but we never posted a map of the ...
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2011
31
Aug
Follow the Center's Upper Gila Research
Team members Jeff Clark, Deb Huntley, Rob Jones, and Katherine Dungan share their Upper Gila research as it unfolds. New posts appear each Thursday.
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2011
10
Aug
Student Post: Public Outreach in Archaeology
Public outreach is often an overlooked aspect of archaeology. The general public outside of the archaeological community plays an integral part in the work that we do, by giving us access to sites and helping to preserve them. It is also important for archaeologists to share their work with the pu...
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2011
05
Jul
Student Post: Anthropology Across the U.S. - Regional Variation in Archaeological Questions and Methods
One of the reasons I was most excited for this field school—aside from the charm of the Upper Gila and the completely foreign ways of life I was told I'd encounter every day—was because it gave me a chance to compare how archaeology was practiced across regions, particularly within the U.S. and ...
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2011
15
Jun
Still Dusty: Archaeology of the Day
A unit excavated into the southern room block has produced a substantial quantity of burnt corn—not a cob or two, but entire lumps of fused, carbonized corn. The kernels are still visible due to carbonization from intense heat.
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2011
10
Jun
New Videos - Center Archaeologists on Work in Mule Creek, New Mexico
Deborah Huntley, Rob Jones, and Katherine Dungan share their research questions and their perspectives on working in the Upper Gila River region of west-central New Mexico in these new Center-produced video segments.
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