Arizona Archaeological Society

Home

About Us

Chapters

Activities

Publications

Events

Links

Northern Chapters

| Central Chapters | Southern Chapters

| Chapter Manual etc.

Agave House (Heber) | Desert Foothills (Cave Creek) | Rim Country (Payson) | Yavapai (Prescott)

Drone Overview Goat Camp

3D Goat Camp

GOAT CAMP EXCAVATION FALL 2022

Hey Goat Campers!

It's a dark and soggy night here in Payson - and we're supposed to get more rain through the week and even on Saturday. But do we ever let a small thing like rain stop us?

Well, actually sometimes we do...

Nevertheless, as of tonite we are going to proceed on the assumption that everything will be OK and that we'll be back at work 0900 on Saturday as planned. As always, please let me know if you are coming. I'll keep track of conditions during the week as some of us will be out working on vegetation removal at Shoofly for the next three days (at least so far as the rain doesn't drive us away) and I will send out a final go/no go notice on Friday, hopefully no later than about 6PM ( I have a tour of GCR to give that afternoon, so I'll have a good idea of what we'll be dealing with). So here's hoping that the meteorologists are wrong and that whatever rain we do get won't turn the site to mush so we can dig!

Also, our final schedule for the Fall :

October 8 and 22

November 12 and 26

December 10

Cheers and stay safe,

Scott

Scott Wood, retired Tonto archaeologist and Rim Country Adviser, leads the excavations at Goat Camp. Participants must be current members of AAS. Scott's contact information

Online from April 10, 2022 “Goat Camp Virtual Field Trip” with archaeologist J. Scott Wood sponsored by Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS), Tucson

Online from June 17, 2021 “The Goat Camp Ruin Project Volunteer Archaeology in Central Arizona” with J. Scott Wood for Old Pueblo Archaeology Center

AAS Goat Camp Tour Sept. 17, 2022

Goat Camp Ruin is located in Payson and was occupied from about 750 to 1280 AD. The site was originally a Hohokam colony that continued to be occupied through the Classic Period. The Classic Period occupation is called "Payson Tradition" or "Northern Salado". After several changes in ownership and extensive pot-hunting, the city of Payson took over ownership of the site. The Rim Country Chapter, with Scott Wood’s assistance, proposed creating an archaeological interpretive site as well as a hiking trail for this 6-acre parcel of land, similar to that of nearby Shoofly Ruin. Scott has led groups of volunteers each spring and fall for the past few years excavating and interpreting areas within the overall complex. The goal is not rebuilding or total excavation, but knowledge and public education through an interpretive package. Shoofly excavation reports are at the bottom of the Rim Chapter webpage.