Archaeological Research at Pueblo la Plata: Surface Collection and Excavation

The spring 2004 pilot archaeological research at La Plata Pueblo was designed to begin acquiring data concerning the distribution, contents, and depth of midden deposits at the site. Midden of some depth is necessary for the Legacies project goals in order to obtain sufficient samples of 1) ceramics for an accumulations study and 2) well-preserved faunal and floral remains for comparative analysis with contemporary data on plant and animal distributions. Our data collection strategy involved a combination of surface collection and excavation.
From January to April, 2004, a total of 12 days was spent conducting archaeological surface collections and excavation at the site. Crews varied in size, with usually four to six people involved in excavation at any one time. Finding midden with depth proved more time consuming than we had expected, but we ultimately did locate one area (the northwestern midden) where midden depth exceeded half a meter and where macrobotanical and faunal remains were well-preserved.