Dolores Archaeological Program Technical Reports, DAP-021: An Archaeoastronomical Reconnaissance of the Dolores Archaeological Program Area

As a portion of the non-intensive investigations proposed for the Dolores Project Cultural Resources Mitigation Program in 1978, Dr. J. Eddy of the Astrophysics Department, University of Colorado, and A. Kane, Program Co-Principal Investigator, carried out a reconnaissance relating to possible knowledge and use of astronomy in southwestern Colorado Anasazi communities. Investigations were conducted at eight prehistoric sites: McPhee Pueblo (Site 5MT4475), Little House (Site 5MT2191), Cline Crest Ruins (Site 5MT2663), Emerson Ruins (Site 5MT4447), Yucca House, Yellowjacket Spring Ruins, Goodman Point Ruins, and Mud Springs (Toltec) Ruin. The data obtained during the reconnaissance were ambiguous; some structures exhibited no obvious astronomical alignments, while others revealed potentially significant alignments that are probably coincidental. More positive results were obtained from the tri-wall structures at Emerson Ruin, Yucca House, Mud Springs, and the great kiva at Goodman Point Ruins; measurements recorded along wall lines indicated that these structures may have been oriented according to north-south cardinal directions and to the winter and summer solstices. Several hypotheses concerning the use of astronomical data by Anasazi communities in southwestern Colorado are presented; these formulations can be used as source material for further such studies in the area.