A Century of Archeological Research at Mesa Verde National Park

This report, the proceedings of a symposium at Ute Mountain Ute Conference Center, Towaoc, Colorado. May 3, 2006 to May 6, 2006 originally was published as a CD. This digital version is available in tDAR with the permission of the Mesa Verde Museum Association, which holds the copyright.

The four-day archaeological symposium celebrated 100 years of archaeological work at Mesa Verde National Park, established in 1906 as the first national park set aside expressly to protect archaeological resources. The published presentations look back at the first century of archaeological study throughout the American Southwest, in particular work done in the past decade. They focus on the influence of new technology, new theories, and new techniques for stabilizing sites and ancient architectural remains. The presentations also look forward, considering the benefits and applications of improving methods and techniques and other developments in light of likely cultural and political influences.

One of the volume editors, Larry V. Nordby, commented about the symposium, "Many things in archaeology have changed since the park was created, but one thing is pretty certain: its archaeological sites, especially the cliff dwellings, captured the imagination of the nation and helped to publicize and open the Southwest to tourism." Soon after the parks establishment, J.W. Fewkes worked excavate and stabilize Spruce Tree House and Cliff Palace so they would be safe for the public to visit. He built on the earlier work of Gustav Nordenskiöld and the Wetherill family with that primary goal in mind. Mesa Verde National Park, with its central focus on archaeology, has been a World Heritage Site since 1978.