2019
08
May
Latest News on Protecting the Greater Chaco Landscape
Paul F. Reed, Preservation Archaeologist
(May 8, 2019)—A mixed ruling with good news for protecting the Greater Chaco Landscape came out of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver yesterday. The court was ruling on an appeal from district court on a lawsuit filed by environmentalists in New...
more
2016
03
Jul
Community Outreach in Archaeology
Peter Babala, Santa Rosa Junior College
(July 3, 2016)—A huge part of what initially attracted me to the field of archaeology was the sense of connection I get when I learn little more about the places I have lived and where the roots of my ancestries lie. It is a gift to have been given the op...
more
2015
23
Jul
2015 Field School Wrap-Up
Karen Gust Schollmeyer, Field School Co-Director and Preservation Archaeologist
(July 23, 2015)—The end of the Upper Gila Preservation Archaeology Field School is always a bittersweet time, as students and staff members say goodbye to the teammates we’ve worked and lived with for six very inte...
more
2011
14
Sep
Preservation Archaeology in Action
By Deborah L. Huntley, Preservation Archaeologist
What can be learned about an archaeological site without digging? Quite a lot, it turns out, especially if that site has been kept in pristine condition.
I recently visited such a site that is managed by the National Park Service (NPS). Al...
more
2011
26
Aug
Student Post: Chaco Canyon Field Trip
Early on a Friday morning, the students of the Mule Creek Field School dragged themselves from their tents and piled into the Suburban and the fifteen-passenger van. After an eventful drive in very close quarters—a trip that was supposed to take seven hours, but ended up taking ten due to a tire...
more
2011
10
Jun
New Videos - Center Archaeologists on Work in Mule Creek, New Mexico
Deborah Huntley, Rob Jones, and Katherine Dungan share their research questions and their perspectives on working in the Upper Gila River region of west-central New Mexico in these new Center-produced video segments.
more
2011
08
Jun
Camp Life
We get out on the site only a little after sunrise and make it back in the late afternoon, which is often taken up with artifact washing, lecture, and the business of trying to get the New Mexico silt scrubbed off. The field house is for cooking, reading, and getting out of the rain (if we had any...
more
2011
05
Jun
Underground
The first few days are always a little tough, as folks grow calluses where there were none, and stretch muscles that haven't been called on before. Sometimes, even bloggers get too worn out to get much blogging done (sorry). But now we've hit our stride. We have five active excavation units: three i...
more
2011
05
Jun
Off to a Good Start
The last few days have been incredibly busy, but the field school is now underway! The students arrived late Sunday afternoon to a meal of turkey mole prepared by our wonderful hosts. They gave a brief introduction to their ranch and life here in Mule Creek, and Bill Doelle talked to the students ...
more
2011
31
May
Lunch for Twenty
The nearest grocery stores are either an hour east in Silver City, New Mexico, or an hour west in Safford, Arizona, so we have to stock up. We've got limited refrigeration and storage in the field house, so we generally keep about a week of food at a time. This can be shocking for the check-ou...
more
2011
30
May
Field Prep
After a month of gathering gear, compiling reading lists, and writing plans of work, we departed Tucson to set up camp in Mule Creek ahead of the students. One of the challenges of working more than an hour away from the nearest store is being absolutely sure that nothing (or at least nothing esse...
more
2011
26
May
Welcome to Mule Creek Underground
Welcome to the inaugural edition of Mule Creek Underground! We've started this blog to give you a feel for the process of planning, conducting, and living through an archaeological research project.
First, a little history is in order. This will be our fourth year working in Mule Creek, and our l...
more
Show More