The Shivwits Plateau Survey

Archeological inventory survey was conducted in the Shivwits Plateau unit of Lake Mead National Recreation Area by archeologists from the Western Archeological and Conservation Center. The survey was designed to examine areas subject to impact from park service and visitor activities
and areas with the potential for high site density. Fieldwork was conducted from May 24 to July 21, 1990. A total of 1,469 acres was surveyed along road corridors, adjacent to the Shivwits Fire Camp and at canyon heads.

Seventy-three sites and 89 isolated finds were recorded. Previous surveys in the Shivwits study area reported few types of sites, however, a wide variety of site types was recorded on this survey. The sites include pueblos, sites with masonry structures, sites with agricultural features,
artifact scatters and lithic scatters. A rock art site with rockshelters and a grinding site with 26 grinding slicks also were recorded. Archaic, Virgin Anasazi and Southern Paiute occupation are present. Most of the sites date to the Pueblo II period. The survey indicates that sites in the Shivwits study area are comparable in many ways to those in adjacent areas of the Arizona Strip.