Archaeological Fieldwork at Creswell Pueblo (AZ J:14:282 ASM) 2006 Field Season

Between June 9 and July 14, 2006, excavations were undertaken at Creswell Pueblo (AZ J:14:282), a site on an Archaeological Conservancy preserve (the Creswell Ranch Archaeological District) within the boundaries of the Homolovi Ruins State Park in northeastern Arizona. Permission for this fieldwork was given by the Archaeological Conservancy, the land owner. This archaeological fieldwork was part of a larger program, called the Homol'ovi Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (HUROP), which is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program and the University of Michigan. HUROP integrates research, educational opportunities, and public outreach, including community collaborations. Fourteen undergraduate students (including one African-American and three Native American students) from colleges and universities across the United States participated in the excavations.

2006 was the first year in a three-year field project that examines variation in the organization of 12th and early 13th century A.D. communities in the Homol'ovi area by comparing site layout, ceremonial structures, and economic strategies. Creswell Pueblo was the first pueblo built in the Homol'ovi area and information from this site will shed light on the organization of early pueblo communities. Information from Creswell Pueblo will be contrasted with a roughly contemporaneous pithouse village to provide a new perspective on the pithouse to-pueblo transition in the American Southwest. During 2006, excavations focused on defining the south end of the roomblock, identifying the shape and stratigraphic sequences of two pit structures, and examining the use of extramural spaces between the room block and the pit structures.