Bevilacqua, Chris
The 2005 Cultural Resource Inventory of the Baca Land Exchange Biedell Creek Parcels: Comparative Data from the Western San Luis Valley

This paper presents the results of RMC Consultants' 2005 cultural resource inventory of the Baca Land Exchange Biedell Creek parcels, north of La Garita. This project has provided a unique opportunity to characterize the archaeology along the western margin of the San Luis Valley. The results of the 2005 inventory are discussed in terms of how they relate to the results from RMC's previous surveys in the Great Sand Dunes National Park. The paper also includes a discussion of significant sites documented during the inventory, and their ability to address regional research issues.

Black, Kevin
Update on PAAC Training Survey at Pike's Stockade, Conejos County, Colorado

Inventory of a 980 acre tract in northeastern Conejos County, Colorado continued in June 2005 at Pike's Stockade, a regional property of the Colorado Historical Society. The survey began in the 2004 season as a training opportunity for volunteers in the Program for Avocational Archaeological Certification (PAAC), sponsored by the Office of the State Archaeologist of Colorado. The project area primarily encompasses a volcanic hill called Sierro del Ojito and its gently sloping surroundings, just south of the Conejos River at an elevation range of 7,530-8,160 ft. The parcel also preserves the probable location of Zebulon Pike's encampment of February 1807, but fieldwork avoided the river bottomlands where Pike's Stockade has been reconstructed. Open camps and lithic scatters are the most commonly encountered sites, the former including fire-cracked rock features. These prehistoric sites are found in both deflated desert pavement and low sand dune environments. Historic period resources are mostly limited to a few long, stone fences on hill slopes, possibly involving sheepherder activity. This paper will provide an overview of the landscape inventoried to date, emphasizing trends in lithic material use, chronology, and settlement patterns.

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Boyer, Jeffrey
Volcanic Quarries and Broken Rocks: Identifying Material Sources in the Taos Valley

In 1999, the Office of Archaeological Studies conducted data recovery investigations at LA 115544, a prehistoric andesite quarry in northern Taos County, New Mexico. Andesite, frequently but apparently mistakenly identified as basalt, is the most commonlyrecorded chipped-stone material at sites in the Taos Valley. However, considering the ubiquity of this material on prehistoric sites and of volcanic features in the valley, relatively little is known of patterns of sources and access to andesite. Investigations at LA 115544 provided a unique opportunity to examine andesite from a known quarry, and to expand that examination to include materials from other recorded quarries of volcanic materials in the valley. Geochemical characterization of materials from five quarries recorded at four volcanic features revealed that the sources of these materials can be discriminately identified. This information has important implications for research into patterns of chipped-stone material acquisition and use in the valley and beyond.

Brechtel, James; Heidi Guy Hayes and Scott Phillips
West Blanca Mining District, Historic Site 5AL493: A Bajada Base Camp

The historic West Blanca Mining Camp (5AL493) presents an ideal case study in human interaction with the San Luis Valley environment at the bajada of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The relation of latenineteenth century mining to area geology, environment, and human use can be explored through time within this valley setting. The site, located on the bajada, at the opening of North Arrastre Canyon, lies on an interesting geological and biological transition zone between the valley and the surrounding mountains. The historical/cultural aspects of the site show changes in human cultural behavior in this place and through time. The historic West Blanca Mining Camp overlays a prehistoric occupation site represented by obsidian artifacts that are now intermixed with nineteenth century camp debris. Ute peoples historically peeled mature Ponderosa pines, which band the stream systems that connect the bajada to the open valley and to formerly vast expanses of historic Mexican Land Grant ranches. Both the Ute and the Mexican American landowners played a role in the late arrival of Anglo miners and settlers to the valley. The ore processing technique practiced at the West Blanca Mining Camp, arrastra milling, while not unique to Spanish mining techniques, has its origins in Hispanic culture adapted to the San Luis Valley setting. Meanwhile, with the fade of the Ute, Hispanic ranches, and miners at this bajada of Carbonate Mountain, the site has grown over with small pines and firs. The site is now on the boundary of Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Bureau of Land Management, and private land holdings. The mining claims have become potentially prime residential or recreational building lots. In sum, the rise and demise of the West Blanca Mining Camp becomes a story of the area's minerals, forests, and people in various stages of environmental transition, which is the human ecology we tell of here.

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Bunch, Fred and Adrienne Anderson
A View Towards Understanding the Eolian System

The Great Sand Dunes Eolian System is an extensive and complex region covering at least 256,000 acres. It consists of three complicated and interrelated secondary systems or components whose interactions drive its behavior. The physiographic, biologic, and cultural components of the Great Sand Dunes Eolian system are the foundation of a model that helps us to understand and interpret this vast and complicated area.

Dixon, Hobart N.
Plant Communities of Great Sand Dunes and Vicinity: Present and Past

Plant communities change with elevation and indicate environments; higher types are adapted to moister and cooler habitats. Exceptions occur as cold air drains onto the valley floor where temperatures are cool on summer mornings and bitter cold in winter. An overview of the distribution of modem plant communities and their resources is presented with some thoughts about prehistoric environments and vegetation.

Frye, Ken and Vince Spero
Rock Art of the San Luis Valley: A Regional Comparison of Styles

The San Luis Valley has been referred to as a "cultural crossroads" since many different prehistoric Native American groups ventured here from other areas in the region. Information relating to the customs and social organization of a particular culture group may be gained by the study of a region's rock art. The study of rock art can also provide information on the extent of cultural diffusion of ideas and technology, between groups of different regions, from the subject matter and techniques of workmanship of the rock art found. The analysis of rock art styles found can be used to help determine the degree of cultural contact with other groups.
This area has many diverse styles of rock art. It is presently thought that Ancestral Pueblo groups (Tewa and Hopi) and other later peoples such as the Ute, Comanche, Apache, Navajo, and Kiowa may have created rock art in the area. Comparing regional rock art attributes will help to establish cultural affiliations and regional migration patterns of the various cultural groups who were in the area over the last 3,000 years. Similarities of San Luis Valley rock art styles to those along the Rio Grande Corridor in New Mexico to the south, the Gunnison and Great Basins to the north and west, and southern plains to the east will be compared.

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Goddard, Richard A.
Fort Garland: A Catalyst for Economic Change

In the development of the West, frontier forts were more than simple military outposts and providers of protection. The presence of a fort impacted an area economically. It was an indirect stimulus to the economy as it encouraged the development of settlements and trade routes. It also stimulated the economy directly as it became increasingly dependant on local sources of supply. In 2004, a longterm archaeological investigation of Fort Garland was begun. It is expected to shed new light on the social and economic impacts of frontier forts in general.

Hammond, Dave
Measuring Changes in Historic Wetlands at Great Sand Dunes, 1936-1955

Great Sand Dunes National Monument (GRSA) undertook a series of projects in 1995 that resulted in an environmental history of GRSA and the surrounding region. Of concern was the disappearance of small, interdunal ponds in the northwest side of the park. Twelve sets of aerial photos were obtained, from 1936 to 1995. The changes in land cover as seen on these photos were studied in a geographic information system (GIS).
Analysis of the images shows both a reduction in the number of ponds and wetlands and in the total area of these wetlands over the 60 years of photographs. In 1937, there were 114 ponds and wetlands. By 1975, only 21 wetlands and one pond remained. A field trip to the site in May, 2004 revealed that many of the former wetland sites were covered with blowing dune sands. This rapid geologic change has implications for prehistoric populations using the wetland system.

Harlan, Noel
Moccasin Bill

Moccasin Bill lived for some time in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of southern Colorado at the turn of the century. He was a Civil War veteran who had served with the North.

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Hoefer, Danielle M.
Great Sand Dunes Eolian System Anthropological Project: Public Education and Volunteers

One of the purposes of the Great Sand Dunes Eolian System Anthropological Project is to develop a cultural-historical background of the prehistory of the Great Sand Dunes. This effort required a large field work effort, including many volunteers and students. Since its inception in 2000, a component of the Great Sand Dunes Eolian System Anthropological Project (GRSA-ESAP) has been public education. Student and adult volunteers have actively participated in the project since the 2000 season. I will discuss the work completed by students and volunteers in the past four years and present goals for future work by school students.

Hoefer, Ted
Building a Prehistoric Chronology for the Rio Grande Basin

In 1999, prehistoric contexts were published describing the archaeology in Colorado. The context document for the Rio Grande Basin was notable in that no post-Paleoindian absolute dates were available for the San Luis Valley and surrounding mountains. Because of this data gap, the research design for the Great Sand Dunes Eolian System Anthropological Project focused on obtaining absolute dates to begin building a prehistoric chronology. The construction of a chronology is a basic step that is needed before many other types of archaeological analyses can take place. This paper describes the progress in building a prehistoric chronology for the Rio Grande Basin over the last five years.

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Jodry, Pegi and Stanford, Dennis
From the King to the Baca and Beyond

A historical tribute to the joint efforts of the residents of the San Luis Valley and avocational archaeologists whose cooperation with the professional community has allowed us to learn so much about those who came before.

Jodry, Pegi
Traveling Through Time from Clovis to Bajada

This paper highlights what is currently known about the climate, animals, and people of the San Luis Valley from 13,000 to 6-7,000 years ago. The discussion includes preliminary results of a study done in 2005 by Pegi Jodry and Brad Vierra of the movement of people along the Rio Grande corridor from Los Alamos, New Mexico, to Moffat and Saguache, Colorado, in which stone material types provide a trail of bread crumbs connecting the areas.

Jodry, Pegi
The Life Giving Waters and Marshes of Big and Little Spring Creeks, Alamosa and Saguache, Colorado

Exciting discovery, excavation, and analysis of more than forty features, including Archaic houses dated between 4,800 to 1,900 years ago, storage pits, hearths, and earth ovens. We provide insight into the use of plants and animals during seasonal residential stays, and hunting and fishing forays on the valley floor during the last 5,000 years. Analysis of ground stone tools in combination with paleo-botanical and faunal remains provide a picture of life in the wetlands that goes beyond previous descriptions of sherd and lithic scatters.

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Larmore, Sean
Results of Archaeological Investigation at Open Camp Site: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

Site 5AH2373 is a large multi-component site located along the ecotone between the steep slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the dunes associated with the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Sand Creek flows out of the mountains directly to the north of the site. The site is considered significant due to the surface preservation of artifacts, indicated by the discovery of pot drops attributable to the protohistoric Tewa and the Apache; projectile points dating from at least the Late Archaic period; modified juniper trees; hearth features; and a buried cultural horizon. Artifact concentrations are separated by erosion channels possibly indicating separate use localities. Although only surface investigations have taken place to date, this site is one of the more significant discovered during field work undertaken by RMC Consultants and the NPS. This paper will introduce the site, with an emphasis towards environmental setting, and present an analysis of those artifacts collected during initial documentation.

Madole, Richard
Surficial Geology of the Great Sand Dunes Area

Surficial deposits of the Great Sand Dunes area can be divided into at least six units. Wind-deposited sand is by far the dominant material, but alluvium and marsh, pond, and lake sediment also are present. Wind-deposited sand blankets much of the east side of the San Luis Valley between Rito Alto Creek on the north and U.S. Highway 160 on the south, a distance of about 70 km. The shape, orientation, and location of the wind-deposited sand indicate that it came from the floor of the closed basin, rather than from the late Pleistocene flood plain of the Rio Grande as some have suggested. Also, stratigraphic data indicate that the sand is the product of multiple episodes of transport that occurred intermittently from Pleistocene to late Holocene time. Most of the sand at the surface is Holocene and can be divided into three units primarily on the basis of (1) topographic expression of dunes, (2) differences in degree of soil development, and (3) stratigraphic relations. The youngest unit consists of sand that has been active in historic time. It is at the surface in about 10% of the area, chiefly in the Great Dunes, but small areas also are present in the "sand sheet" bordering the Great Dunes. The middle unit probably was deposited episodically between about 1300 and 300 years ago. This unit is at the surface in about 70% of the area. It forms (1) fields of parabolic dunes north, northwest, and southwest of the Great Dunes, (2) lunette dunes in southern part of the area, and (3) compound parabolic dunes that extend northeast from San Luis Lake. The oldest Holocene unit includes sand that was deposited at different times during the middle Holocene (8-4 cal yr ka) and early part of the late Holocene (4-0 cal yr ka). It is at the surface in about 10% of the area, primarily the west-central and southern parts. Unlike the middle unit, which is noncalcareous and exhibits little or no soil development, the oldest unit has a very weakly developed soil in places and everywhere contains pedogenic secondary CaC03 in the upper 1-1.5 m. Exposures of Pleistocene eolian sand are scarce, and are limited primarily to stream banks, blowouts, and excavations. Little is known about the extent and properties of this unit. In many places, Pleistocene alluvium or lacustrine sediment underlies Holocene wind-deposited sand at shallow depths (LS-6 m).

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Martorano, Marilyn
The Teofilo and Pedro Trujillo Homesteads Archaeology, History, and Architecture of Two Early Hispanic Homesteads in the San Luis Valley

In 1866, Teofilo Trujillo, an early Hispanic-American settler from New Mexico, homesteaded an area a few miles from the present-day Medano Ranch Headquarters in the San Luis Valley. He successfully raised cattle and sheep. In 1879, Teofilo's son, Pedro, settled on 160 acres near his father. Pedro built a two-story log house and raised horses and cattle. In 1902, during the conflict between Hispanic sheep raisers and Anglo-American cattle ranchers, Teofilo's ranch house was burned down and many of his sheep were killed. Teofilo and his son eventually left the area and moved to the southern end of the San Luis Valley. The importance of these two early homestead sites will be described through their history, archaeology, and architecture.

Martorano, Marilyn
So Hungry They Ate a Tree: Culturally Peeled Ponderosa Pine Trees at Great Sand Dunes

Can you imagine being so hungry that you would eat the bark off a tree? This may have actually happened to Indians who lived in the San Luis Valley, Colorado, and other western states. Culturally peeled ponderosa pine trees are found in many parts of Colorado and 150 peeled trees have been documented at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. The Indian Grove, a concentration of over 70 peeled trees, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These trees were peeled by Native Americans in the late 1700s through the early 1900s. The inner and outer bark was used for a variety of purposes including food, medicine, building materials, and to construct objects such as trays, baskets and cradleboards. The pitch and sap were used medicinally, as adhesives, and for waterproofing baskets and other objects. The peeled trees at Great Sand Dunes will be described and their importance to archaeologists researching the Historic period will be discussed.

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Oglesby, Fred
A Shell and Lithic Cache from Saguache County, Colorado

A local artifact collector found a cache consisting of marine shell pendants and beads, obsidian projectile points, and two chalcedony projectile points. Based on his description of the clustering of the artifacts, the marine shell and the projectile points most probably had been in a bag. One chalcedony projectile point was found on the surface and may or may not be associated with the cache. This collection of artifacts represents long distant trade or travel to far off locations to procure exotic materials. Whether this collection represents a utilitarian cache such as the well-documented Paleoindian lithic raw material caches or a ceremonial cache such as the prayer wands recorded in the Four Corners region cannot be determined because the circumstances of discovery. The presence of this cache, however, does suggest a pattern of behavior previously not recorded for the San Luis Valley.

Pineda Bovin, Phyllis
Of Tiger Beetles and Priests: Father Bernard Rotger's Contributions to the Natural and Cultural History of the San Luis Valley

Father Bernard Rotger, a priest for the Theatine Fathers, was well known for his life-long commitment to the parishioners of the San Luis Valley. Yet, in addition to his cultural connections in the Valley, he was also well-known and respected within the scientific community for his exceptional contributions to the knowledge of the natural history of the San Luis Valley, southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. Presented here is a synopsis of Father Rotger's devotion to both the people and the natural history of the San Luis Valley.

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Rhodes, Diane
An Analysis of a Small Collection of Stone Pestles from the San Luis Valley

For many, many centuries people have used a variety of ground stone tools to process the natural resources found in the San Luis Valley. Unique among these tools are long, cylindrical, ground stone pestles collected in and around Great Sand Dunes National Park during the early to mid-1900s. This paper describes the morphology, materials, and use patterns of these pestles, and attempts to trace the origin(s) of the original materials as well as possible cultural associations. Unfortunately no corresponding in situ mortars have been identified in the archeological records for the Valley, leading some researchers to suggest that at least some of these pestles may have been used with wooden mortars that have long since fallen victim to wind, weather, and decay. While the exact provenience of these tools is unknown, they form an integral part of the prehistory, and perhaps history, of the San Luis Valley.

Stevens, Joe
Existing Vegetation of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

The existing pattern and distribution of vegetation communities on the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is known only at a coarse level over most areas of the newly expanded Park and relatively unknown over much of the Preserve areas and adjacent vicinity. Detailed and reliable mapping of the vegetation of the Park and Preserve does not currently exist. The National Park Service has initiated a multi-year project to classify and map the vegetation of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve at relatively fine thematic and spatial scales. The project area is 413,000 acres and includes all of the area within the current boundary of the Park and Preserve as well as much of the surrounding landscape, including the Medano and Zapata Ranches, the USFWS Baca National Wildlife Refuge, and portions of USFS and private lands. Using a preliminary classification and map of the vegetation, ecologists with The Colorado Natural Heritage Program have collected samples from the vegetation associations throughout the project area to create a fine scale classification of the vegetation. The classification scheme used is the National Vegetation Classification created and managed by NatureServe. When possible, vegetation types will be classified to the association level, identifying the dominant species within each of the community strata. Mapping of the vegetation over the area will be completed by photo interpreters from the USGS Remote Sensing and GIS group. In most cases, the minimum mapping unit will be 0.5 ha. The map legend will be based on NatureServe Ecological Systems and will allow nesting of the vegetation associations within each of the map legend units. When completed in the fall of 2008, the vegetation classification and map will provide Park managers and researchers with the base data necessary to study, monitor, and manage the parks natural systems.

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Valdez, Andrew
Geologic Processes that Control the Development of Great Sand Dunes, Colorado

The eolian system at Great Sand Dunes consists of several sand deposits. The sand deposits include a sabkha, sand sheet, and a dune field with regions of distinct dune configurations. The complexity of the eolian system is due to the interaction of 5 geologic processes on the sand. Those processes are: rifting, wind, stream flow, vegetation growth, and groundwater. Rifting creates a depositional basin that serves as a sand source, and it also created the surrounding Sangre de Cristo Mountains that modify the wind regime and supply stream flow around the dune field perimeter. The sand sheet exists because the growth of vegetation increases surface roughness and decreases the wind's ability to transport sand and form dunes. The Sabkha developed in a valley-bottom depression where a near-surface, saline groundwater evaporates leaving behind alkaline minerals that cement eolian sand.

Vigil, Bryan and Lorene Willis
Jicarilla Apache in the San Luis Valley and Surrounding Area

Lorene Willis, Director of the Jicarilla Apache Nation Cultural Affairs Office, and Bryan F. Vigil, Heritage Specialist, will review the history of the Jicarilla Apache. Through a powerpoint presentation, Lorene Willis will present historical information that found in books and other documents on the Jicarilla Apache. Bryan F. Vigil will present oral knowledge as told by elders and his father about the Jicarilla occupation in Colorado and New Mexico.

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Wahle, Bruce
Pike 's Stockade PAAC Survey 2004-2005, from Field Survey to Digital Data

The Program for Avocational Archaeological Certification (PAAC; summer training survey is in the second year of a three-year study the Pike's Stockade area. Colorado Historical Society's Pike's Stockade is in the area where Zebulon Pike and his men over wintered in 1807 on the Conejos River. The land surveyed is to the south and across the Conejos River from the rebuilt stockade, and encompasses Sierro del Ojito.

Introductory remarks are made about the geology and physiography of the San Luis Valley. This study takes the handwritten, field data and converts them to a digital data base for use in a geographic information system (GIS). Uncorrected global positioning system measurements provided longitude and latitude, and elevation was estimated from a 7.5-minute topographic map. Field notes provide, site component (prehistoric, historic) and site component function (e.g., open lithic scatter). GIS layers obtained were digital elevation model (DEM), DOQQ aerial photography, 7.5 minute topographicmap, and SSURGO soil survey. The combined products can be utilized for analysis and prediction for future surveying in the area.

Walda, Kevin
Interpreting the Past: A Colorado Battlefield Investigation

The death of Comanche Chief Cuero Verde in the late eighteenth century opened America's southwest territories for continued Spanish expansion. The series of events leading to the death of the popular chief is historically known as Anza's 1779 Comanche campaign. Recent interpretations of Spanish Governor Juan Batista de Anza's campaign diary by Ron Kessler and Wilfred Martinez have attempted to retrace Anza's route through New Mexico and Colorado; nonetheless the historically assumed location of the final battle between Governor Anza and Chief Cuero Verde is still unclear. These perspectives have contributed greatly to the subject but leave many questions unanswered. Research focusing on historical texts, oral history, physical evidence, and geographical features has revealed evidence that supports a new hypothesis about the decisive battle. The proposed paper specifically addresses anomalies in current hypotheses and offers an alternative perspective about the final battle between these two significant figures in Colorado history.

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White, David
Traditional Connections with the Sand

How have people related to the landscape in and around the Dunes, over time? The symposium theme, "From Subsistence to Supermarket", suggests an evolutionary model, beginning with subsistence from the immediate environment and "progressing" to commoditized subsistence patterns in which immediate landscapes acquire diverse and often specialized meanings and functions, some of which are far removed from subsistence. We might ask, however, if this picture is too simple. The question is explored by considering the diversity of Native American connections with the Dunes.

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