The Courson Archeological Projects: Final 1985 and Preliminary 1986

In 1984, Harold Courson acquired the Sam Handly ranch in the Wolf Creek Valley. For years the Handly ranch was famous for a series of stone-outlined features known as the Buried City. Appreciation of these archeological sites led Courson, in 1985, to retain archeologist David T. Hughes for an assessment of the scientific value of two sites endangered by erosion . The work has since expanded to include excavation at other sites and a survey of the Courson properties. Based on the findings of the research, an archeological resources management plan can be developed that will preserve as many sites as possible while farming and ranching activities continue.

In 1985, Hughes and his crew investigated sites Courson A (41OC26) and Courson B (41OC27) as both sites were deemed critically endangered by erosion. Work at Courson B in 1986 led to revision of some of the conclusions reached in the field in 1985. Work in 1986 was expanded to an almost pristine site, the Kit Courson site (41OC43). Because of great public and professional interest in the Courson Ranch sites, a preliminary report has been prepared. The body of this report concerns the 1985 excavations and analysis . The 1986 analysis is nearly finished and a brief summary of these investigations forms an epilogue. Here we report the local history, the history and results of prior investigations, descriptions of the physical setting, and the artifacts and other remains excavated in 1985.

The information in this record was originally migrated into tDAR from the National Archaeological Database Reports Module (NADB-R) and updated. A duplicate record was also generated (tDAR ID 359227). Most NADB-R records consist of a document citation and other metadata but do not have the documents themselves uploaded. David Hughes, co-author of the report, contacted tDAR and supplied a copy of the report that has been added to this record. Additional metadata from the duplicate record has been migrated to this updated record, and that record has been deleted.