Pottery Knoll Field School in Southern Utah

I developed a research and field school program at the Pottery Knoll site in Southern Utah. Several M.A. theses were written on the basis of this effort. In addition, several professional articles were published regarding this work (see below). All collections (50,000 items) have been cataloged and remain under study at CSULB by graduate and undergraduate students today.

Pottery Knoll (42Ka1568) is located in the center of southern Utah along the traditional border between the Virgin and Kayenta Anasazi culture areas. Physiographically, this area is the west-central portion of the Colorado Plateau (Hunt 1967). The site lies at the confluence of Deer Springs Wash and Park Wash, below the spectacular Vermillion Cliffs, which rise up to 1000 feet above the valley floor. Elevations in the region range from 5000 to 6500 feet, providing a diverse set of environments with a variety of wild foods and agricultural options. Nevertheless, this is a marginal agricultural region characterized by high climatic variability and periods of prolonged drought (e.g., Dean 1988; Dean et al. 1994; Larson et al. 1995).

Pottery Knoll is characteristic of Pueblo III (A.C. 1170 - 1300) central sites with kivas (Gummerman and Dean 1989). Over 100 rooms are estimated to exist in room blocks that completely enclose one plaza and surround three sides of another plaza. One kiva has been located within the enclosed plaza. Architectural characteristics, such as fine masonry walls of shaped sandstone, lined fire pits, and deflectors, link the site with the Kayenta region (Morely 1990), approximately 150 km to the SE.

Radiocarbon dates on carbonized maize place the occupation of Pottery Knoll in the period A.C. 1200 - 1300. Contemporary Pueblo III occupation, including large pueblos like Pottery Knoll, is documented throughout the surrounding region (Lipe 1970; Lister et al. 1960; Mueller 1974). Anasazi occupation of this agriculturally marginal area apparently ended with the great drought of the late 13th century (Larson et al. 1995).

In 1992, I elected to postpone work at this site because of the great risk of the Hanta Virus that killed several individuals not more than fifty miles from our work site. In addition, after the outbreak, the University of California and California State University systems, as well as various local, state, and federal agencies, warned in several documents and announcements of the imminent danger of digging in dust or fecal matter of mice and rodents. In Southern Utah we frequently excavate in rodent nesting areas; it cannot be avoided. I will not, under any circumstances, risk the health of my students and have therefore suspended all field work at Pottery Knoll until I am assured by authorities that there is no risk (at all) to the people that I am responsible for. As a consequence of this problem, I have elected to pursue opportunities for my students and myself at the Santa Barbara Presidio and in Northern Ireland (see below). This new start has required a significant amount of time and effort on my part. My students, however, are completing several theses using data from our new excavations and geophysical projects.

Furthermore, it is my position that as an archaeologist I have the responsibility to publish the results of any excavation that I direct in a timely manner. Archaeological fieldwork should not be conducted for the sole purpose of training undergraduate and graduate students. Rather, I believe it is the duty of the archaeologist to stop field activities, at close intervals, and take the time to write up one's work. This is exactly what I have done and will continue to do while at CSULB (see below publications). We will return to this region this coming spring and summer and will have annual events in this important research area. Our focus will be on the Anasazi and their changing adaptations to a marginal agricultural environment.