Archaeological Investigations at the La Bajada (LA 9500) and La Bajada Annex (LA 9501) Sites; 1966, 1967, and 1970

The following pages describe the work conducted by members of Eastern New Mexico University Anasazi Origins Project at two archaeological sites, LA 9500 (La Bajada) and LA 9501 (the La Bajada Annex), located approximately 27 kilometers southwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Dr. Cynthia Irwin-Williams served as Principal Investigator for the Anasazi Origins Project, while the actual fieldwork discussed herein was conducted under the direction of Marshall Gettys and R. Bruce Grove. This report has been prepared at the request of Dr. Landon Smith, Forest Archaeologist, Santa Fe National Forest, from notes and preliminary reports left by Grove and his field crews.

At inception of the Anasazi Origins Project little to nothing was known about cultural manifestations predating the Basketmaker and Puebloan periods
in the northern Southwest. The main research focus of the Anasazi Origins Project was to develop a cultural-historical framework for this little known period in Southwestern prehistory. Work by the project was successful and led ultimately to the development of the Oshara Tradition. The concept and general cultural-historical framework of the Oshara Tradition is still employed today as one of the major tools for the placement of Archaic manifestations by archaeologists working in the Four Corners region of the Southwest. As the first in a series of descriptive and interpretative reports based upon the original Anasazi Origins Project research it is hoped that this report will contribute to a greater understanding of the Early Archaic, Bajada period.