I joined a Wilderness Volunteers group to work with Forest Service archaeologists to document and map a P1 (900-1200 yrs old) Ancestral Pueblean site
at Manti La Sal, in one of the many canyons. This habitation site had been documented in the ‘40’s with no subsequent work since. Our group of 14
included 3 NFS archaeologists. I took 2 days driving to Monticello at the meeting place, stopping at Navajo National Monument. BTW, they have a
free campground here.
We drove to our trailhead to backpack in about 2 miles where we made camp – the work area was another mile hike through the willow thicket along the
canyon bottom. Rain, thunder, lightening and hail larger than mothballs sent us on our way.
The site featured remnants of walls, vertical stones indicating a possible cist (storage places), a flat door stone and many artifacts of daily
living.
We split into teams: mapping, categorizing artifacts and augering. The mapping procedure ultimately resulted in a scale drawing.
Results from an auger hole, about a meter in depth, revealed charcoal, a fine silt layer, and a pot sherd. It was determined that there was a pit
house or jacal in this area.
There were at least a thousand pot sherds, which I learned were Chapin gray, Mancos corrugated, Bluff black on red types – which indicated the site
was of P1 age – about 775 to 900 AD. Many broken trough matates, many manos, one awl, two points. So many hammer stones, utility tools and core
stones littered the area. I measured a sampling of 140 artifacts.
This photo of this map was the result of 4 days work, and depicts about 11 rooms, 3 pit houses and a kiva and at least 2 cists.
On our free day, I went exploring at some other small known sites near our camp site. We found many artifacts and indication of rooms, cists and a
lookout site. This point was particularly beautiful:
I took another 5 days getting back home, camping and hiking along the way. Went to Butler Wash to see this fascinating ruin.
I understand that these grooves were made by sharpening knife blades.
Camped on public lands at Lower Cottonwood Canyon, Cedar Mesa, among other places – so quiet; the stars magnificent.
Drove through the incomparable Valley of the Gods.
Stopped to buy trinkets (of course!); lots of stuff to see and photograph.
I had planned to spend a couple days at the Grand Canyon, but stupid politics cut my trip short. But I had a wonderful trip – nothing like our Rd Rock
Country.
David K - 10-6-2013 at 09:58 AM
Very nice!!!DianaT - 10-6-2013 at 10:03 AM
What a beautiful trip, great photos, and sounds like you have a great time. I really enjoyed reading about the study. Thank you very much for
sharing this.
I don't think I would have enjoyed that hail, however. durrelllrobert - 10-6-2013 at 10:46 AM
Amazing! Forefathers of the Mormons?bajacalifornian - 10-6-2013 at 10:57 AM
Really fine adventure. Thank you for your time to post.bajabuddha - 10-6-2013 at 11:19 AM
Your pics are fabulous. I lived in that area for 8 years, river guided for 25. I also worked with archaeologists and geologists, and i have to
correct you on your P-1 dating.... here's a nut-shell of the ages/dates of habitation. Keep in mind that there were interstices of 4 to 6
geneerations when habitation vanished and returned, probably due to extended droughts.
Before 1-2,000 BC : Desert Archaic peoples, dating back to over 9k BC (Clovis Peoples). Hunter/gatherers, mostly stone artifacts (spear and atl atl
points) and an occasional fire ring. No permanent 'settlements'. Some petroglyph carvings known as 'lineal' glyphs, simplistic with vertical and/or
horizontal lines inside the outlines of animals/peoples.
Next in line are the 'Basket-makers'. Around 1-2k BC agriculture was introduced by trade coming up from Mexico, so with corn, squash, beans, melons
the peoples would stay put in an area for a growing season to several years to cultivate and farm their crops. Rock art changed, pictographs appeared
more as well as petroglyphs, and the rock art during this period up to around 700 AD is some of the best specimens to see. Kokopelli started to
appear in their later art. Their houses were 'pit-houses', scooped out of the ground 2-3 feet, mounded earth side walls and low, mounded wood/mud
roofs with a vent hole and ladder in the center/top.
granaries are found in clefts high in cliff walls to protect their 'stash' from critters and storage for the winters.
700-900 AD, P-1. The Puebloan cultures emerged. Now, all are probably the same race of aboriginal tribes, with changes in culture/religion happening
along the way... now they are building stone houses, some small, some multi-rooms and multi-stories, but still primitive.
900-1100 AD, P-2. Larger structures, much better building techniques, City-States building structures like Chaco Canyon. Change in religion? Maybe.
Over-population and stress on eco-system? Definitely. There is now definitive proof that there was not only tribal warfare, but cannibalism as well.
1100-1350 AD, P-3. This is what most lay people think are the 'Anazazi's. It's only the last 200 years of a 10,000 year run.... cliff-dwellings are
built, probably for shelter and safety as well, better suited for defensive nature. Too many people, possible raiding of food/slavery....
By the end of the P-3, a mass abandonment occurred (again), this time never to return. The peoples moved to the now-Pueblo nations of Arizona,
central New Mexico, and down into the west-Texas areas.
Nutshell:
10,000 BC: Archaic era
1-2,000 BC: 'Anazazi' (now Ancestral Puebloan) Basketmaker era
700-900 AD: Pueblo 1
900-1100 AD: Pueblo 2
1100-1350 AD: Pueblo 3
Also forgot to mention, the bow and arrow emerged mid-late basketmaker aprox. 500 AD. Before and after, the Atl-atl was the weapon of choice; a short
spear w/"arrowhead'', notched at back end, 3-5' long and flung with a 'throwing stick' that was notched at the end or small loop tied to notch the
throwing stick. It could be hurled with great force up to 100 yards acurately, able to take down larger game like deer... and people.
[Edited on 10-6-2013 by bajabuddha]bajabuddha - 10-6-2013 at 12:15 PM
Wilderone, you're spot-on with the P-1 dating of the site, btw (1100-1300 y.o.). Classic wall structuring, still fairly undeveloped building
techniques.
The whole area of habitation from Monticello south to Chaco, and Aztec NM westward to Chinle Az was more densely populated during the P1 through P3 at
any given time than is populated today by both Anglo and Native American peoples. That includes present-day Farmington, Shiprock, Cortez, Durango,
etc. That was a lot of people! That's also why the area east and south of Monticello was recently designated as a National Monument, because of the
incredible extensive archaeology of those canyons coming down from the Dove Creek CO. area.
Your pics brought back many memories, i've camped many, many times up on Cedar Mesa, and Butler Wash was less than a 1/2 mile from my house. That's
what we did with our spare time... "Moki-Pokin' " we called it. Driving through Comb Wash from Bluff to Valley of the Gods you went through over 120
MILLION years of geology as well. The 4-corners area is truly a wonderland. As i said, i lived there for 8 years and still didn't see it all.... Paulina - 10-6-2013 at 06:58 PM
Very interesting. Thank you for posting.
P>*)))>{elgatoloco - 10-6-2013 at 07:56 PM
Thanks for sharing that. What a beautiful area and what great work. Very interesting indeed. Great thread. Geology and archaeology, ain't science
grand? elgatoloco - 10-6-2013 at 08:00 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by durrelllrobert
Amazing! Forefathers of the Mormons?
Say what!?
Bajaboy - 10-6-2013 at 08:01 PM
love it...thanks for sharing...bajabuddha - 10-6-2013 at 11:18 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by elgatoloco
Quote:
Originally posted by durrelllrobert
Amazing! Forefathers of the Mormons?
Say what!?
SHHHHH!!! don't say that too loud... they think they're the only ones here....bufeo - 10-7-2013 at 06:43 AM
Many thanks for this excellent report, and thanks also to you and the other volunteers who assisted in the project.
Allen RSkipjack Joe - 10-7-2013 at 06:56 AM
What a wonderful experience, wilderone. I'm envious. The pictures really show what an amazing place this is. The cloud picture is beautiful as well as
their reflections. There is such a variety here. From the closeup of that butterfly to those far off views from the mesa. Love them all.
[Edited on 10-7-2013 by Skipjack Joe]Ateo - 10-7-2013 at 07:25 AM
Thanks for sharing this with us. I learned from this. Very good photos and great content.
[Edited on 10-7-2013 by Ateo]wilderone - 10-7-2013 at 08:28 AM
Thanks - glad you enjoyed the photos.
"Driving through Comb Wash from Bluff to Valley of the Gods you went through over 120 MILLION years of geology as well. The 4-corners area is truly a
wonderland. As i said, i lived there for 8 years and still didn't see it all."
I had a folder full of trail info, several maps - yes, one could spend a lifetime in the area and be continually entertained. Although I had blue sky
most of the trip, many of the dirt roads were rutted with deep dry mud, and signage that states road is impassable when wet. Also, I knew a flood had
come through the area a couple weeks before - half the trail at Butler Wash is obliterated, and it looks like the flood water was about 4 feet high.
My concern with getting stuck in sand or no turnaround driving alone keep me on relatively safer stretches of road - the grading was pretty fresh on
NFS land outside of Blanding (creates a berm, but I had a shovel!). And a mile walk in any direction yielded many discoveries.
If anyone goes through this area, I must recommend that you go to Huck's Museum in Blanding. He has a collection of stuff that will astound you. I
was the only one there at the time, and got an unhurried, personal tour through his rooms. He has way more stuff than Edge of the Cedars. Pics were
not allowed, but he has at least 40 sandals, 3 axes with their handles (another 100+ axe heads), Navajo medicine bags, a broken pot with its repair
tied with yucca; yucca string in loops which held corn, etc. Fascinating.
Anyway, there were so many choices of where to spend my time, that I settled for exploratory strolls near where I camped each night, and hiking around
some places with spur roads where I could park. Geology also interests me and I found petrified wood at Cedar Mesa and just a few miles south of
Cameron, AZ. Nice pieces of cedar branches I think. Great rock hounding - big chunks of red jasper. Always pot sherds. There is a display of
dinosaur tracks in sandstone at Navajo Natl Monument, so I was looking for signs of dinos too. While augering at the project site, a smooth rock came
up - odd given what we had been seeing, and the archaeologist said he thought it was a turkey gizzard stone. At home I learned about turkey gizzard
and dinosaur gizzard stones - more stuff to keep an eye out for! I was told that there are about 5000 ancestral puebloan sites in Manti La Sal. So
much to see and do in this area.elbeau - 10-7-2013 at 09:16 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by bajabuddha
Quote:
Originally posted by elgatoloco
Quote:
Originally posted by durrelllrobert
Amazing! Forefathers of the Mormons?
Say what!?
SHHHHH!!! don't say that too loud... they think they're the only ones here....
What? We're not the only ones here?BajaBlanca - 10-7-2013 at 09:21 AM
Absolutely riveting pics and reading. (((:bajabuddha - 10-7-2013 at 09:39 AM
Wilderone,
You won't find too much in dino-dirt west of Comb Ridge, the geology is too old for them. However, in the lower cliffs of Comb, the Chinle formation
(Triassic, 210-220myo) has given up a few teeth from a Laborinthodont to me... a proto-dino, 2-3 meter crocodilian swamp dweller with thousands of
teeth. Chinle is what makes up the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest btw, lots of Cyprus-like trees (ovular trunks). Also yields almost all
the Uranium of the Canyonlands area, so if you find petrified wood in it that's black and shiny, leave it lay, it's Carnotite (sp?), highly
radioactive. However, as you travel west from Blanding, the last major wash (Butler) you go through before Comb, to the north is called 'Brushy
Basin' on the south flank of the Abajo Mtn... all the exposed strata there is late Jurrasic, and the namesake of the Brushy Basin member of the
Morrison Formation, which in other parts of Utah has yielded the most prolific finds of dino bones and quarries. The dino gizzard stones are
'gastroliths'... lots of rock shops in the area sell 'em (or reasonable facimilies thereof). There are dino bones east of Bluff over towards
Montezuma creek in younger formations of late Jurrasic and early Cretaceous gravel-sands though.
Your shot from the top of the Moki Dugway (panorama view) brings back memories. Drove it a hundred times, and when guiding we'd drive down that
sucker with a 15 passenger van (full) and 3- 18' rafts stacked on a flatbed trailer. High sphincter factor there, but one of the best views in the
desert southwest. Ah, wot a place.
Thanks again for the pics. bb.
[Edited on 10-7-2013 by bajabuddha]Barry A. - 10-7-2013 at 09:48 AM
The "red mud" of Utah is notorious!!! I once had to spend the night on a wet "road" in Dinosaur Natl. Mon. in my 4-wheel drive truck with a winch in
the middle of a graded red-dirt road miles from no-where, unable to move until the road surface mud finally froze up about 3 am and I could resume
travel--------I was sure thankful that I had a full tank of gas so I did not freeze that night.
Utah is so beautiful and breathtaking for lots of reasons, some mentioned here in this thread.
Barrywilderone - 10-7-2013 at 01:44 PM
buddha - thanks for the info. I'll have to spend some time in that area looking for dino gizzards! HA! I think you should lead a band of Baja Nomads
on an epic winter adventure!
"... a graded red-dirt road miles from no-where, unable to move until the road surface mud finally froze up about 3 am and I could resume travel."
HA! That happened to me once after a trip to Fable Valley in Manti La Sal. Rained for two days and I was sliding all over the road. Decided to wait
until the next day and spent the night at a trailhead on Salt Creek Plateau. Rained all the next day too, and snowed during the night. Finally a
ranger came by and told me the best option was to drive out at first light while the ground was still frozen. I did that, praying the whole way,
still sliding around - but made it out in 4WD Low. That mud is treacherous.BajaLuna - 10-7-2013 at 02:06 PM
I so enjoyed these pictures, what a great trip! it is such a scenic area, brought back a lot of memories as I use to spend a lot of time around there
20 years ago. I gotta get back there soon!bajabuddha - 10-7-2013 at 03:04 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by wilderone
buddha - thanks for the info. I'll have to spend some time in that area looking for dino gizzards! HA! I think you should lead a band of Baja Nomads
on an epic winter adventure!
Are you NUTZZ?? That's why i'm coming to Baja in a week... epic winter adventure indeed!!! That place gets colder than my ex-wife's heart in winter
(and she still lives there)... Monticello Ut is a literal FRIZZER. On the San Juan River i've been snowed on THIS WEEK. Ain't enough gizzards or
projectile points in all of 4 corners to get me back there in winter... even southern NM is too cold for me now.
Check w/ me next May-ish though... i did professionally guide there full and part-time since 1978, might be fun to meet either in Bluff, Blanding or
Monticello and do a little more Moki-Pokin' and dino-dunkin'. So many choices, so little time..... Neal Johns - 10-7-2013 at 06:59 PM
wilderone, great story and pics, I have spent two or three decades exploring the back country in Utah. You just
can't go up a canyon without seeing some sign of the Old Ones. I consider Bluff my second home and have hiked most of the Comb Ridge canyons. Anyone
visiting Bluff should stay at/visit the Recapture Lodge as they are back-country and archeologically knowledgeable.wilderone - 10-7-2013 at 07:01 PM
LOL! Yeah, actually it got to 28 in the canyon we were working in. OK - think about Spring, y'all.MikeYounghusband - 10-8-2013 at 05:20 AM
