Dolores Archaeological Program Technical Reports, DAP-041: Excavations at Climbing Cactus Camp (Site 5MT4682)

Site 5MT4682, Climbing Cactus Camp, was intensively surface collected in 1979 as part of the Dolores Archaeological Program. The site was identified during initial inventory survey as being a hunting camp with multiple temporal components. Based on a high percentage of projectile points and bifaces recovered in the 10 percent collection during this survey, it was decided that an intensive surface collection of the site in 8 by 8 m grid units might produce data for a more precise interpretation of the site. Of particular concern was the possibility of an Archaic component. The only temporally diagnostic artifacts from the site are 13 sherds which date the site to the .Anasazi period, between A.D. 600-900. The main portion of the collection is lithic tools and debris. The site is located on a small knoll immediately north of present-day Sagehen Marsh; assuming the marsh existed prehistorically, it might have served as a natural attraction for animals. The high percentage of projectile points also suggests a functional interpretation of the site related to hunting activities.

Originally the information in this record was migrated into tDAR from the National Archaeological Database Reports Module (NADB-R) and updated. In 2015, as part of its effort to improve tDAR content, the Center for Digital Antiquity uploaded a copy of the document and further improved the record metadata.