Day Fourteen in Chaco Canyon

Marissa Thomas
10/24/2016

Working out here in Chaco Canyon provides a variety of unique experiences.  The University of New Mexico Chaco Canyon field school allows us to visit several sites including Pueblo Bonito, Pueblo Alto, New Alto, Hungo Pavi, Kin Klizhin and various others. Since we are students learning and working toward becoming professionals in the archaeological field, we get to excavate at the Wetherill Trading Post that is near Pueblo Bonito and have our own 1x1 meter units that we have responsibility for excavating.  We do everything in the unit including digging with shovels and trowels, collecting and bagging artifacts, taking measurements, mapping, and filling out excavation forms for each 20cm level we excavate.  We find many interesting things in our units from ceramics (prehistoric and historic), glass, metal, fauna (animal remains), beads, seeds, and much more. 

We also learn to do site assessments, where we hike up to a particular site and evaluate the condition of the site for the National Park Service.  This is important because it helps the Park Service track erosion, damage or destruction from animals or visitors. This provides a very unique experience; most people will never see these sites because they’re not open to the public.  By doing this we have been introduced to Archaic hearths, Navajo hogans, and Basketmaker or Chacoan sites to name a few.  We also get to see a lot of wildlife like elk, mule deer, coyote, owls and rabbits as well as seeing a once in a lifetime view of the Canyon from a unique vantage point. 

Last week, I was able to go into the Chaco Wash, which is a huge arroyo in Chaco Canyon.  I was introduced to the methods for looking at changes in sediment caused by alluvial and Aeolian processes that constantly reshape the land.  We looked at sediments dated from 2100-1000 B.P. from the Chacoan unit.  While we were down there we also explored and looked for animal bones for Dr. Wills’ isotope study of modern animals in Chaco. Being down there felt like we were in a different world, because we could see a lot of cottonwood trees, tall grass and shrubbery that give a different view of what Chaco Canyon has to offer.  This shows that whether you’re looking from up high or down low in Chaco Canyon, there’s always something beautiful and interesting to see, and because of this archaeological field school experience I’m lucky to say that I’ve been able to see many amazing sites both archaeological and scenic.  I’m very excited that I still have a few more weeks out here to learn and explore the hidden beauty that Chaco Canyon has to offer.