9510

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9510
• Author: Jones, A. T.
• Title: A Cross Section of Grand Canyon Archeology
• USFW Year: 1986.
• USFW - Doc Type: Excavations at Five Sites Along the Colorado River.
• Copyright Material: NO

Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION

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In the spring of 1984, the National Park Service undertook test
excavati ons at fi ve strati fi ed si tes in the Grand Canyon. The four
sheltered middens and one large open habitation site are located along
130 river miles on both the left and right banks of the Colorado River
(Fig. 1.1) and encompass late Archaic through historic occupations. All
but one are being visited by many of the 15,000 people who float the
ri ver annually. Before the park staff stabil i zed the mi dden si tes, we
tested them to determine the depth and composition of the deposits
(Package No. 373; WACe Project No. GRCA84A).
In 1974 Euler (1974:142.,147) first proposed excavation of the
sheltered sites, along with two other stratified deposits. Of more than
2,000 sites known in Grand Canyon National Park, these are the only ones
that .are obviously stratified, and where normally perishable materials
are preserved in quantity. Most of the definitive work describing
perishahle material from the Southwest was done prior to the 1960s. As
part of a generation of archeol ogi sts that has done moresu rvey than
excavati on, and has excavated small, open si tes wi th few, if any,
perishables preserved, my knowledge of that artifact class had been
gl eaned from textbooks and museums. Thi s project provided a sampl e of
sandals, cordage and foodstuffs, and opened a new window into the past
at Grand Canyon, vastly expanding what had been previously collected in
the region. The sites were perfect to test questions researchers (see
Effl and ,Jones and Euler 1981) had posed about changes in material
culture and subsistence practices through time as well as about the
relationships of varipus cul tural groups.
A new locality at the Furnace Flats site (AI C:13:10[GRCA]) was
exposed during the summer of 1983 by heavy rains that cut 10 arroyos up
to 2 m deep and 1 m to 4 m wide through numerous masonry structures. In
the interest of economy, the site was added to the fieldwork. In
retros pect, the 1 arge open habi tati on si te was a good contrast in terms
of site function, to the sheltered sites.
As I began to wri te in earnest I was reminded of the caveats given
by Ki dder (1932) in theintroducti on to The Artifacts of Pecos. \~i th an

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