Field Notes

CONSER V ANC Y FieldNotes

Brewer Stabilization Completed

SOUTHWEST—Last fall, the Conservancy completed the stabilization of portions of Brewer Canyon Pueblo, located within the Brewer Archaeological District near Dove Creek in southwestern Colorado. The Conservancy established the 120-acre district as a permanent preserve in March 2000 with the assistance of a State Historical Fund grant awarded by the Colorado Historical Society.

The Brewer Archaeological District includes two large prehistoric villages, Brewer Mesa Pueblo and Brewer Canyon Pueblo, forming the center of a Mesa Verde community that existed for nearly 300 years between about A.D. 1000 and 1300 (see “Changing Centers of Village Life” in the Fall 1999 issue of American Archaeology). With their dense concentrations of residential buildings and massive, multistoried structures with great kivas and plazas, researchers believe that both Brewer Mesa and Brewer Canyon Pueblos were community centers. Brewer Canyon Pueblo is considered one of the best preserved examples of a canyonhead village site that was occupied in the period immediately preceding the general migration of prehistoric peoples from the Mesa Verde region in the early 14th century.

As part of the preservation project, the Conservancy fenced the preserve and nominated the pueblos to the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties. A management committee designed a long-term site management plan for the preserve that addressed security, erosion control, and opportunities for public education. Four rooms and two kivas of Brewer Canyon Pueblo that had been looted years ago were prone to erosion and vandalism. In October 2000, Conservancy personnel mapped and photographed these areas, and volunteers helped backhoe operators fill the rooms with dirt and reseed the areas with native grasses.

The Conservancy is preparing an educational display about the Brewer Archaeological District that will be permanently located in Dolores County, and another display that will travel between the Dove Creek Community Bank, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Cortez, and the Anasazi Heritage Center near Dolores.

A backhoe delivers a load of dirt as Steve Koczan, southwest regional site maintenance coordinator, spreads the fill by hand.

The Conservancy Adds to Its Old Cahawba Preserve

SOUTHEAST—The Conservancy has acquired four additional tracts of land totaling about 14 acres to add to the Old Cahawba Preserve near Selma, Alabama. These acquisitions, which include the Bonning, Easters, Tatum, and Zito tracts, preserve much of the old town’s frontage on the Cahawba River and the location of the toll bridge that once connected Cahawba to Selma. These tracts are also expected to include a variety of prehistoric occupations dating back as far as the Archaic period.

Cahawba is best known for being Alabama’s first state capital from 1820 to 1826. Cahawba grew into an important cotton shipping

A sample of historical artifacts recovered from the Old Cahawba site. Cahawba was Alabama’s first capital.

center and one of Alabama’s largest and wealthiest towns. But the Civil War, a continuing series of economic setbacks, and a major flood spelled doom for Cahawba. By the mid-1870s, the once-prosperous burg had become a ghost town.

Since 1995, the Conservancy has acquired over 300 acres of Cahawba including prehistoric sites, unique historical ruins, and the last two remaining original structures in the town. The Conservancy plans to transfer the four recently acquired parcels to the Alabama Historical Commission for inclusion in the Old Cahawba State Park.

Fieldwork Opportunities

The Hohokam Experience—Kids’Archaeology Summer Camps June and July, Pueblo Grande Museum,Phoenix,Arizona.Kids ages 6–14 learn about the Hohokam and other prehistoric people of the Southwest through hands-on craft activities,storytelling,games,and tours of museum exhibits and prehistoric ruins.Call (602) 495-0901 to register. Abbe Museum’s Field School July 8–13,Bar Harbor,Maine.This year’s field school will explore the Conant site on the Androscoggin River near Farmington,an important late 17th- to mid-18th-century Native American site discovered by an Abbe Museum researcher last year. No previous archaeological experience is necessary. Participants will learn to use field excavation techniques,recover data,and identify archaeological materials,and will attend daily lectures on Maine’s prehistory, botany, and geology. Contact the museum at (207) 288-3519 or e-mail abbe@midmaine.com. Lake George Battlefield Park Field School July 16–August 24,Lake George,New York. Participate in excavations at Fort George,a late-18th-century fort located near the site of the Battle of Lake George, which took place between French and British forces in 1755.Call David Starbuck at (518) 494-5583 for more information. Archaeology Summer Camp for Adults July 23–27,Arizona State Museum, Tucson,Arizona. Work in the museum’s research laboratory alongside scholars and curators as they analyze artifacts recovered from the Homolovi Ruins site,an ancestral Hopi site in Arizona. For more information call Darlene Lizarraga at (520) 626-8381. Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center’s Field and Lab Experience July 30–August 3,University of Wisconsin—La Crosse.Spend three days working with professional archaeologists at a site in the La Crosse area,followed by two days of lab work.The program provides training in archaeological field and laboratory techniques.No previous experience is necessary. Registration deadline is the end of June.Call (608) 785-8454 for more information about this and other MVAC summer archaeology programs.

Excavating the Internet

STRATEGIESFORPROTECTING ARCHAEOLOGICALSITES ONPRIVATELANDS http://www2.cr.nps.gov/pad/strategies An invaluable resource guide with practical information and case studies on archaeological site protection.Funded in part by a Cultural Resources Training Initiative grant from the National Park Service,and administered by the staff of the Society for American Archaeology.

THE H.L. HUNLEY EXCAVATION www.hunley.org This site offers a wealth of information about the history,recovery, and excavation of the Civil War submarine. The excavation photos are frequently updated. Hunley merchandise can be purchased on-line.

THE FORT ST. LOUIS ARCHEOLOGICAL PROJECT www.thc.state.tx.us Follow the work of the Texas Historical Commission’s archaeologists as they uncover artifacts from the first European colony in Texas,Fort St.Louis.The site provides a history of the colony,a video journal of the archaeologists’discoveries, and the opportunity to visit the Fort St. Louis Public Archeology Laboratory.