What We Do: Investigations

Mule Creek and the Upper Gila: Preservation Archaeology in Action

Enjoy this introduction to Archaeology Southwest’s integrated Preservation Archaeology program in the Upper Gila River region of southwestern New Mexico.

  1. Road through Mule Creek

    Welcome to this short tour of the Archaeology Southwest/University of Arizona Preservation Archaeology Field school based at the Rocker Diamond X ranch in Mule Creek, New Mexico.

  2. The Field House

    The field house is where we meet for meals, lectures, and lab activities.

  3. Campsite Living

    Your home away from home for 6 weeks.

  4. Solar Showers

    The solar shower facility, constructed using adobe bricks made at the ranch.

  5. Alpaca at Mule Creek

    Some of our friendly neighbors.

  6. Elk at Mule Creek

    More of our friendly (but shy) neighbors.

  7. Fieldwork Underway

    2011 excavations in progress.

  8. A large excavation unit

  9. Screening to recover artifacts

  10. Excavating a burned wooden posthole

  11. Measuring – we do A LOT of measuring

  12. Screening feature fill through fine mesh to recover small bones and seeds

  13. 2011-2012 excavations at the Fornholt site

  14. 2011-2012 excavations at the Fornholt site

  15. 2011-2012 excavations at the Fornholt site

  16. 2011-2012 excavations at the Fornholt site

  17. 2011-2012 excavations at the Fornholt site

  18. 2011-2012 excavations at the Fornholt site

  19. 2011-2012 excavations at the Fornholt site

  20. 2011-2012 excavations at the Fornholt site

  21. Basket fragment from 2011 excavations

  22. Washing artifacts

  23. Mule Creek Obsidian

    A tour of the Mule Creek obsidian source near our field camp. Obsidian nodules are eroding out of volcanic deposits here.

  24. Mule Creek Obsidian

    A tour of the Mule Creek obsidian source near our field camp. Obsidian nodules are eroding out of volcanic deposits here

  25. Mule Creek Obsidian

    A tour of the Mule Creek obsidian source near our field camp. Obsidian nodules are eroding out of volcanic deposits here

  26. Community Outreach

    2012 students participate in public outreach event in the nearby community of Gila, New Mexico.

  27. Community Outreach

    Simulated dig with one of our young visitors to the outreach event.

  28. Community Outreach

    Making pottery at our outreach event.

  29. Community Outreach

    We had a great showing for our second 2012 outreach event in Gila.

  30. Flintknapping workshop in the fire pit

  31. Hiking the catwalk along the Upper Gila in nearby Glenwood, NM

  32. A visit to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

  33. The Gila River: a place to cool off on hot afternoons

  34. Field trip to Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

  35. Inspecting the walls at Chaco Canyon

  36. Overlooking Pueblo Bonito

  37. Chaco Canyon

    Dr. Paul Reed leads our tour at Casa Rinconada in Chaco Canyon.

  38. Climbing the sandstone staircase up to Pueblo Alto

  39. The Dinwiddie site near Cliff, where we will conduct test excavations in this summer

  40. Dinwiddie Site

    Dr. Jeff Clark points out adobe wall segments exposed in a road cut at the Dinwiddie site.

  41. Mule Creek Skyline

    Our typical evening view from camp. Time for bed! We need to get an early start tomorrow.

 

MORE INFORMATION »
» Mule Creek Underground Blog on field work and ongoing research here »
» Summer 2013 Preservation Archaeology Field School here »
» Migration and Change in the Southern Southwest here »
» Archaeology Southwest Magazine Vol. 24, No. 4 here »
» Preservation Archaeologist Deborah Huntley’s “Tea and Archaeology” presentation on the Upper Gila research program (video) here »