The Prehistoric Peoples of San Juan County, Utah Winston Hurst
There is good reason to believe that San Juan County has been inhabited by humans for at least 11,000 or 12,000 years. Unfortunately, the written history of the area covers only the last 130 years (perhaps 250, if vague references in Spanish and Mexican documents are included), and that represents less than 2 percent of man's sojourn here. The remaining 98 to 99 percent of the human experience in San Juan County is the vast and fascinating domain of prehistory, whose only record consists of the material remains that the prehistoric peoples left behind. This record is accessible through the young science of archaeology. Archaeology can be defined as the endeavor to understand past human behavior through the study of man's patterned material remains (dwellings, tools, garbage, etc.). Like any science, it seeks first to describe, then to explain. Both stages are absolutely dependent upon detailed and precise documentation — in notes, maps, stratigraphic drawings, photographs, etc. — of the most minute details of the locations and layouts of archaeological sites and the arrangement of artifacts, soil deposits, and features such as fireplaces and storage bins within them. It is this emphasis on documentation, reflecting the primary emphasis on knowledge and understanding, that makes archaeology very different from simple digging for artifacts. Digging solely for artifacts results in a collection of handsome antiques that can be displayed and admired, while causing irreparable disturbance to the depositional structure of the sites being dug. Archaeology does the 17
