C O N S E RVA N C Y
Field Notes
50
One aspect of the Conservancy’s management plan was repairing the perimeter fence and installing a gate.
Excavations at Parchman Mounds SOUTHEAST— The University of Mississippi has conducted numerous research projects at the Parchman Mounds site since it was acquired by the Conservancy in 2001. Guided by the results of gradiometer and magnetometer surveys, researchers
Anna Semon
SOUTHWEST—The Conservancy’s staff has undertaken a number of management tasks at the Puzzle House preserve in southwest Colorado. This 154acre preserve is located next to Lowry Pueblo and the archaeological sites on the preserve are an important element of the larger community that developed in the central Mesa Verde region of southwest Colorado. Puzzle House contains a wide range of archaeological sites that include specialized activity areas, field houses, at least three major pueblos, and three to five pre-Columbian road segments connecting these outlying settlements with the monumental Great Kiva and Great House at Lowry Pueblo.The sites represent Basketmaker III through early Pueblo III settlements that date between a.d. 650 and 1250. A portion of the Puzzle House site was excavated in the 1990s by Fort Lewis College staff and students under the direction of W. James Judge. The preserve’s perimeter fence has been repaired and work on the long-term management plan has begun. Work is also beginning on a public interpretative program that will focus on Judge’s excavations. The site steward program, in which volunteers are recruited to patrol the preserve, is also being organized. Volunteer site stewards who regularly monitor the property are also a fundamental part of our preservation and protection program. The current projects should be completed by the middle of 2011. The acquisition and preservation of the Puzzle House has been paid for in part by a State Historical Fund Grant from the Colorado Historical Society.
Steve Koczan
Work Continues at Puzzle House
An excavator works at a burned house floor at Parchman Mounds.
fall • 2010
