Dolores Archaeological Program Technical Reports, DAP-083: Excavations at LeMoc Shelter (Site 5MT2151), a multiple-occupation Anasazi site

LeMoc Shelter (Site 5MT2151) is a small, stratified site on the south-facing slope of the Dolores River canyon. During excavation of the shelter by the Dolores Archaeological Program, the remains of five successive Anasazi occupations that date to between A.D. 750 and 950 were discovered. During the earliest documented occupation, which dates to the late Sagehill Subphase (A.D. 750-780), the shelter appears to have been occupied year-round by a nuclear family or small extended family. The next clearly defined occupation occurred during the late Dos Casas and early Periman Subphases-- between A.D. 840 and 860 . Again, the shelter appears to have served as a permanent residence. In this case, however, the simultaneous use of a pithouse and a surface habitation suggest that an extended family was the basic residential unit

Following an occupation hiatus, the site was reoccupied sometime between A.D. 875 and 890--the Grass Mesa Subphase. During this period, the shelter apparently served as a seasonal farming station. Presumably, the main residence was located at Grass Mesa Village (Site 5MT23).

The last two occupational episodes suggest short-term use of the shelter as a camp from which wild resources were procured . Both of these episodes are assigned to the Cline Subphase and date to approximately A.D. 920-930 and A.D. 930-950, respectively. Between A.D. 950 and 1150, the shelter appears to have been used only rarely .