What's New:

Sunday, November 14th field trip will include the V Bar V Heritage petroglyph site, and the nearby Sacred Mountain pueblo ruin.  Ken Zoll, executive director of the Verde Valley Archaeology Center, has graciously agreed to interpret both of these Southern Sinagua sites for us.  Ken has been intrigued by the archaeology of Verde Valley, and particularly fascinated by archaeoastronomy, ever since he retired to the Sedona area in 2004.  He has become an expert in archaeoastronomy as represented in rock art, solar observatories, and other architectural features, at sites along the Verde River and its tributaries, and has authored a number of books and papers on the topic.

The trip is open to all 2021 dues-paid members of Rim Country, San Tan, and Phoenix AAS chapters, and if space permits, to all other current AAS members as well.  Registrations will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis, and once the maximum of (20) participants is reached, any additional names will be placed on a waiting list, so they can join the trip if there are any cancellations.

V Bar V Heritage Site

The V Bar V site, located close to Wet Beaver Creek, a tributary of the Verde River, is the largest and best-preserved assemblage of petroglyphs in the Verde Valley.  The site consists of more than 1,000 individual petroglyphs spread across 13 rock panels, with a major concentration of the rock art on 4 panels.  Zoomorphs (animal figures), anthromorphs (human figures), and geometric designs are all heavily represented on the panels.  This artistry is attributed to the Southern Sinagua, a culture that inhabited the fertile middle Verde Valley from 600 to 1400 AD.  They developed a distinctive rock art stylistic tradition known as the Beaver Creek Style during the 1150-1400 AD period, of which V Bar V is an outstanding example.  The glyph panels are located on land that was part of the historic Taylor Ranch which started in 1900 and later became the V Bar V ranching operation.  The site now belongs to Coconino National Forest, and is managed by Friends of the Forest and the Verde Valley Archaeology Center based in Camp Verde.  There is a small visitors center adjacent to the V Bar V parking area and trailhead, and a nice trail follows Wet Beaver Creek across flat terrain about a half mile to the rock art panels.  There are picnic tables and shade near the parking area where we can have our sack lunches after seeing the petroglyphs, before heading down the road to Sacred Mountain.

Sacred Mountain Pueblo

This fine example of a Southern Sinagua hilltop pueblo is located less than a mile southeast of V Bar V, just east off Forest Road 618.  Although it was extensively pot hunted in prior decades, there is still much to see, with many exposed walls.  Sacred Mountain was likely occupied from around 1100 to 1250 AD, contemporaneously with Montezuma's Castle, Tuzigoot, and other major Southern Sinagua villages in the area.  A strong Hohokam influence, or possibly even a Hohokam occupation, is indicated by the presence of a ballcourt near the southeastern base of the knoll, visible from the hilltop.  The ruin consists of roughly 60 rooms, in 3 room blocks of around 20 rooms each, and a plaza space.  It also includes probable solar observatory cairns identified by Ken Zoll. The site is undeveloped and has never been scientifically excavated.  The ruin is reached by a trail that leads to the base of the knoll from a small parking area alongside FR 618.  This approximately 1/2-mile trail traverses fairly level but rocky ground to the base of Sacred Mountain, crosses a wash, then winds up the west and south slopes of the knoll, reaching the 10-acre top after an elevation gain of about 200'.  The trail is rocky, slippery in places, and fairly steep as it ascends its way to the top.  Sturdy closed-toe hiking shoes or boots are a must, and a hiking staff is recommended.  Although most experienced hikers would not consider the trail to be difficult, it is not suitable for anyone who does not have strong legs and ankles, and a good sense of balance.  Most folks should be able to handle it fine by taking it slow and steady, and by placing their feet carefully as they climb and descend.

Goat Camp Information, Excavation, and Lab Opportunities

Shoofly Excavation Reports

Fun Things to Do:

A group of geologists, archaeologists, and AAS members created the below guide for people who would like to enjoy the outdoors on Agua Fria  National Monument during this pandemic.  It's a 12 page, illustrated guide to a incredible area with a river at the end.

Geology, Archaeology, and History Guide to Badger Springs Trail    More on Agua Fria National Monument

Ruins to Work at:  Goat Camp Ruin

Archaeological Sites to Visit (hours may vary due to Covid):

Shoofly Ruin  Tonto National Monument (big file)

Agua Fria National Monument  Sears-Kay Ruin 

Besh ba Gowah Ruin  Verde Valley Sites  Arizona Archaeological Sites

Youtubes: Drone Videos of Ruins in Tonto Basin  Rim County Museum  Archaeological Institute of America (AIA)   

Heard Museum  Sharlot Hall Museum  SAR  Pueblo Grande Museum  Verde Valley Archaeology Center  

Arizona State Museum  AAHS  Archaeology Southwest  Amerind  Crow Canyon  Grand Canyon NPS  Museum of Northern Arizona

Archaeology Zoom Presentations:  Lectures by AIA chapters from all over the world

About our Chapter:

The Rim Country Chapter of AAS is located in Payson, AZ, at the base of

the Mogollon Rim.  Meetings generally include a guest speaker presenting

Meeting Time and Place:

Membership:

2021 Speakers:

2021 Chapter Officers:

Past Activities:

October 15-18:  Silver City, New Mexico field trip.  Saturday visited Gila Cliff Dwellings, Spirt Canyon petroglyphs and the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site.  Sunday visited University of New Mexico Museum, including its large Mimbres Culture pottery collection with depictions of mammals, birds, fish, and insects and possibly several Mimbres excavations sites.  Those that wanted to push the weekend visited City of Rocks State Park, Rockhound State Park, or Deming-Luna Mimbres Museum.

October 13 Zoom:  Dr. Aaron Wright of Southwest Archaeology will presented “Hohokam, Patayan, or ?”—Unmixing the Archaeology of the Lower Gila River.

With its varied topography and stark contrast between riverine and desert environs, western Arizona witnessed the flourishing of multiple cultural traditions that followed related yet unique historic trajectories. Archaeologists learned long ago that, in places, the material remains of these distinct traditions overlap on the landscape. This scenario is quite evident along the lower Gila River, where elements of Patayan and Hohokam material culture are often found together or in close proximity.  How to explain the “mixing”? In this presentation, Aaron Wright reviews preliminary findings of a four-year survey and documentation of over 150 archaeological sites in the Dendora Valley and surrounding area that show what the archaeological record looks like when worlds collide.

Aaron Wright is a Preservation Anthropologist with Archaeology Southwest, a Tucson-based non-profit organization dedicated to studying, protecting, and respecting the Southwest’s rich archaeological landscape. He is author of Religion on the Rocks: Hohokam Rock Art, Ritual Practice, and Social Transformation (University of Utah Press, 2014) and editor of the forthcoming Sacred Southwestern Landscapes: Archaeologies of Religious Ecology.

October 2:  RCC Outdoor Member Meet & Greet  Members gathered at Ramada 4 Rumsey Park, Payson, to renew acquaintances, snack, and decide where we go from here.

September 18 & 19 Springerville Field Trip:  Saturday morning visited Casa Malpais Archaeological Park, including an astronomical calendar, a great kiva, ancient stairways and rock art. Saturday afternoon visited the Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area to view petroglyphs and wildlife.  Sunday morning tour of Archeological Conservancy site the sixty-room Amity Pueblo, guided by a local AAS Little Colorado Chapter member.

September 8:  Dr. Vance T. Holliday, School of Anthropology & Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, will present In Search of the First Americans Across the Greater Southwest.  His research specialty has been the Paleoindian people of the Southwest and Southern Plains.  He is author of the book Paleoindian Geoarchaeology of the Southern High Plains.  “Paleoindians” were the earliest hunters and gatherers to settle in the southwestern U.S.  The climate was generally cooler and wetter back then about 13,000 years ago.  Large mammals such as mammoth, mastodon, horse, camel, dire wolf, and several big cats and bears were common. The best-known characteristics of the Paleoindian foragers is their stone tools.   Chance discoveries revealed Clovis kill sites with the remains of mammoth and other extinct large animals.  Later Folsom forager sites are particularly common in the Rio Grande basin.  Folsom bison kills are well documented on the Great Plains.  Still younger “Late Paleoindian” sites seem to be fewer than Folsom. The climate was significantly warmer and drier than Clovis or Folsom times and human adaptive behavior was likely shifting toward more sedentary “Archaic” lifestyles with increased focus on plant gathering after 11,000 years ago.

June 3 & 4, 2021:  Homolovi and Rock Art Ranch Field Trip  Archaeologist Rich Lange led this Field Trip near Winslow, Arizona.  The tour of Homolovi State park began with a brief survey of the pithouse village near the Visitor Center, then over to Homol’ovi III.  This was followed by visits to Homol’ovi II and Homol’ovi I.  The tour continued to the hilltop site Homol’ovi IV and some rock art on the west side of the river.  The tour of Rock Art Ranch visited some of the sites there including a visit to the deep canyon rock art panels.

May 21, 2021:  Risser Ruin, Rim Country Museum, and Zane Grey Cabin Field Trip  Jim Britton guided a tour of Risser Ruin in Payson.  Jim participated in the excavation and stabilization of this site.  Risser Ruin artifacts are on display in the Rim Country Museum, which owns the site., as are many local historical artifacts.  The adjacent Zane Grey Cabin is a faithful replica of the original cabin furnished with actual Zane Grey artifacts, equivalent contemporary items, or replicas, all set up to match historic photographs.

April 23, 2021:  Rim country Chapter and San Tan Chapter sponsored a field trip to Several historic and prehistoric sites in Globe and Miami, Arizona.  Here is a field trip summary.

April 14, 2021:  Summary of San Tan Chapter Zoom Presentation by Dr  Niccole Cerveny Mesa Community College on the topic "Rock Art Conservation: Lessons from the American Southwest and the Jordanian Holy Lands."  It was an interesting account of how Rock Art degrades due to weathering and other causes along with a cost effective method to evaluate the current status and likely future path of individual panels.  Dr Cerveny illustrated her talk with a variety of photographs of Arizona and also Middle East panels.

February 10, 2021:  Zoom presentation by Dr Michelle Turner about the findings of some excavations at the Aztec North Ruin in northwest New Mexico.

February 5, 2021:  Rim Country Chapter and San Tan Chapter jointly sponsored a Field Trip Day Hike to San Tan Regional Park.  Here is a photo summary of the hike that includes some supplementary information about what we saw there.

January 16, 2021:  Rim Country Chapter joined with San Tan Chapter for a field trip to Hieroglyphic Canyon.

December 19, 2020:  Rim had a field trip to Dixie Mine near Fountain Hills.  Besides the mine, there were numerous petroglyphs in the area and some remains of former ranching operations.  A second Field Trip was held to accommodate more members who wanted to go.

November 21, 2020:  The Rim Country Chapter and San Tan Chapter jointly sponsored a field trip to Tuzigoot National Monument with National Park Service Archaeologist Matt Gruebard as Guide and Speaker.  The Field Trip continued with a visit to the Verde Valley Archaeology Center Museum in Camp Verde.  Here are additional photos and a text summary of the outing.

October 17, 2020:  Field trip held at Montezuma Castle National Monument led by Matt Guebard, National Park Service Archeologist.  Matt Guebard gave a presentation and short walking tour highlighting recent research at Montezuma Castle National Monument. This included the discovery of colored wall decorations indicating rooms with special community functions as well as the use of cutting edge scientific techniques to evaluate the age of rooms at Montezuma Castle and the nearby Castle A site.

Two papers by Matt Guebard:

Two to Four Inches of Lime Dirt:  Public Archaeology and the Development of Old and New Interpretations at the Castle Site, Montezuma Castle National Monument

During the Migration Time:  Oral History, Violence, and Identity in the Prehistoric Verde Valley

On March 7, 2020, Janine Hernbrode presented  Patterns in Petroglyphs: Hints of the Hohokam Cosmology on the Landscape. Fifteen years of rock art recording on four major petroglyph sites in Southern Arizona has enabled the assembly of motif details, drawings and photographs of more than 16,000 glyphs located in landscapes with similar characteristics. This collection of images records the belief systems of its creators. There were no scenes of everyday life, of grinding corn, or plans for constructing pit houses. The images recording their belief system are interwoven into lines and circles and more complex images carefully placed on the landscape. By applying the scientific method to the patterns observed, by working with ethnographic accounts and linguistic analysis by others, and by consulting with indigenous people, we have gained some understanding of, and identified threads of continuity between, Native American belief systems and rock art motifs.

The Rim Chapter's February 1, 2020 speaker was Ralph Burrillo.  His presentation was titled, The Anthropology of Paleontology: A Quick Look at Native American Depictions of the North American Fossil Record.  The study of how Indigenous people articulate with the fossil record can offer researchers a tremendous wealth of insights about those cultures and their relationships with the land, as well as offer opportunities for further scientific and cross-cultural collaboration.  Yet this topic remains woefully overlooked by anthropologists.  A quick look at the archaeology of Native American depictions and interpretations of the North American fossil record reveals just how intricate, exciting, and sophisticated Indigenous paleontology can be. 

The Rim Chapter's January 4, 2020 speaker was Jim Krehbiel, Chair and Professor of Fine Arts at Ohio Wesleyan University.  His presentation, Site Lines and Sight Lines, Recent Discoveries in Southeast Utah, was about astronomical research at Ancestral Pueblo sites in southeast Utah.  It was a lesson in astronomy and a tour of remarkable sites in the Bears Ears Cedar Mesa area.  Photos of structures including intact kiva roofs were amazing.  When we see a ruin around here, well, it is a ruin.  Jim described a different approach to Archaeology, looking out rather than looking in, looking at the landscape instead of at the mortar, looking at the horizon instead of at the petroglyph.  Much Archaeoastronomy is indirect, looking at where sunlight slivers or shadows fall on rocks, glyphs, and niches.  Direct Archaeoastronomy involves viewing from such markers outward to the celestial bodies themselves.  Jim Krehbiel illustrated this approach with photos of horizons viewed from isolated structures, kivas, and petroglyph panels towards peaks, notches, prominent boulders, and cliff faces on the horizon.  Then he overlaid sight lines showing the points of rising and setting sun, moon, and certain stars and constellations at the times of various astronomical events such as solstices, equinoxes, cross quarters, lunistices, and major & minor lunar standstills.  Especially impressive were time lapse photo sequences of sunsets on these points at the times of solstices, leaving no doubt that the viewing point was chosen for this reason.X-rayFlourescenceObsidianArtifacts6.pdf

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Shoofly Excavation Reports:

Volume 1:  National Register Nomination    1984 Perimeter Survey    1984 Excavation Summaries

Volume 2:  1985 Excavation Summaries    1986 Excavation Summaries

Volume 3:  1987 Field Season    1987 Excavation Summaries    Archaeomagnetic Report    Magnetometer Survey

Volume 4:  Cranial Deformation    Crystals, Minerals, Shell, Ornaments    Decorated Ceramics    Surface Subsurface Ceramic Ratios

                   Plain Ware Ceramics    Ceramic Hardness Testing    Ceramic Figurine Fragments

Volume 5:  Archaeobotany    Plant Food Occurance Using Floatation   Faunal Analysis     Faunal Remains   

                   Appendix Body Part Codes and Bone Element Frequencies

Volume 6:  Use-Ware Lithics    Intra-Site Lithic Analysis    Groundstone Distribution    Groundstone   

                   X-ray Flourescence Analysis of Obsidian Artifacts    Projectile Point Analysis    Morphological Study of Projectile Points

Volume 7:  Masonry Walls    Surface Subsurface Correlation    Wall Materials    Room Function    Room Function and Social Behavior

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