DRC-2009-002926 - 0901a06880141c4e

ai-i<do (^c-dotyi-oaa.'i^
DENISO
MINES
July 15 2007
JiU
00
\«.9
^0 2^09
tio\
M
O-I
o- .•
.6.^'
^-.^ico^-.^''"
Denison Minas (USA) Cotp.
105017th Street, Suite 950
Denver, CO 80285
USA
Tei: 303 828-7798
Fax: [phone]
www.itenisonmines.com
VIA OVERNIGHT DELIVERY
Mr. Dane L. Finerfrock
Director
Division of Radiation Control
Department of Environmental Quality
168 North 1950 West
P.O Box 144850
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-4850
Re: Cell 4B Cultural Resource Inventory Report
Dear Mr. Finerfrock:
Enclosed you will find one (1) CD containing the White Mesa Mill Cell 48 Cultural Resource Inventory Report,
and the IMACS site forms for each of the identified sites. The Report was prepared for Denison Mines (USA)
Corp.("DUSA") by Abajo Archaeology, in support of the Cell 4B Tailings Cell license amendment request.
If you have any immediate questions please feel free to contact me at 303 389-4160.
Yours very truly,
DENISON MINES (USA) CORP.
Harold R. Roberts
Executive Vice President, US Operations
Cc: Ron F. Hochstein
Dave C. Frydenlund
Steven D. Landau
rr< +- ia
[-"zoxze$]
An- A
-ot{to tn
*f;r' Received Ti
fr F r.;1a 20Oe ,
,1"' o Division of i: '
2009
3 na,ilriiiiict-tt't ,.il'\ti,
**-
,P/'!./{lrnste t)/
enc.l-osed the report entitl-ed "Cultura1 Resource
Proposed Denison Mines (USA) Corporation White Mesa
T..-- ^^.,*r., rrr-h/r.uudrr uuurrLyr uLo
ABAJOARCT-T,f,:OLOGY
WILLIAM E. DAVIS. Director
Mr. Dane Finerfrock
Director
Utah Department of Environmental Quality
Division of Radiation Control
P.O. Box l-44850
Salt Lake City, Utah
84114-4850
Dear Mr. Finerfrock:
PIease find
Tnrranfnrrr nf l-ha
Mil-l- CeLl 48, San
A total of approximately 55.7 acres (22.5 hectares) of land was
inspected during the course of the archaeological survey. At the tlme
of this writing, at least 13 sites are known to exist wj-thin the bounds
of the project area. Of these sites, six have been previously
documented (42Sa6391 - 425a6393, 425a639'7, 425a615'7, and 42Sa8014) and
seven sites are newly defined (425a28I28 - 425a28734) . An additlonal
previously recorded site, 425a643I, was determined to be very near the
area of effect, if not within the project area itself, and is included
herein for reasons of its proximity. Furthermore, 16 isofated finds of
cultural material-s were documented during the course of the proiect.
Of the seven previously recorded sites, six have been tested for
-.r --i €i ^r-^a F.'r f ha Anf inrri t i ss Sect-ion of the Division of StateDr9lrltr9qrrus vI Lrrs nrrLrYurLrso
History (Dykman 1-978; Nielson 1979). These sites incJude 425a639I,
425a6393, 425a639'7 ' 425a643I, 425a6-15'7, and 42Sa8014. Al-1 of these
sites are situated in locations of considerabl-e soil- depth,' t.esting by
Antiquities Section personnel at the six sites bear out this
assessment. Therefore, aLl- seven previously documented sites were
determined as eligible for nomination to the National Register of
Historic Places (NRHP) (36 CFR 60.4). Two of these sites' 425a6157 and
42Sa8014, were subseguently invest-igated during a data recovery
project. While it is likely that most of the major features at these
two sites were excavated, we suggest that additi-onal cultural- materials
m:rr stiII hc nresent and would reottire furfher mitioal-ion.rL.qJ e
All of the seven newly defined sites are similarly situated in
areas with considerable soil depth. Based on Lhe testing results at the
previously recorded sites, the Iikelihood is ve::y high that significant
Box 100 Bluff, UT 84512 [phone]
Mr. Finerfrock
Page 2
subsurface deposits and/or features exist.
al-L seven of the newly recorded sites
nominati-on to the NRHP.
Therefore, we recommend that
be considered eliqible for
Thirteen of the 14 sites have one or more components that date to
the prehi-storic period; a single sile, 425a281,3I, contaj-ns an historic
perlod component of unknown cultural affil-iation. Of the other 13
sites, ten appear to have single components with assocj-ations as
follows: two sites (425a28I33 and 425a28L34 ) have an unknown aborigj-nal
affiriation,' one site (42sa675'l) represents a Basketmaker rrr
habitation; one site (425a28732) may represent a Basketmaker III
limited activity l-ocus; one site represents a pueblo I seasonal_
habitation (42Sa8014); one site (425a281,28) is a puebLo II or pueblo
III period locus of limited activity; two sites (42Sa6391 and 42Sa6393)
appear to represent Puebl_o II period habitations,. one site (425a6392)
may represent a PuebLo II period seasonal habitation; and one site
(42sa28130) might be a Pueb.l-o rr period l-ocus of limited activity.
Three other sites may have two or more components, including: 425a6397,
which may have Basketmaker III and Puebl-o II period components of
unknown functlon; 42sa643L, which has Basketmaker rrr and pueblo rr
period components, both of which may be associated with habitations;
and 425a281'29' which may have Basketmaker III and/or Pueblo I and
PuebLo II period components that are associated with limj-ted activit.v
l-oci.
ra I rrr v+ j t
,'/&ph^,r\
Wil-Iiam
cc:Harold Roberts, Denison Mines (USA) Corp.
Kelly Beck, Utah Public Lands policy Coordination Office
Lori Hunsaker, Utah State Hist,orj_c preservation Office
CULTURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY OF THE PROPOSED DENISON MINES (USA)
CORPORATION WHITE MESA MILL CELL 4B,SAN JUAN COUNTY,UTAH
Jonathan D.Till
July 2009
ABAJO ARCHlEOLOGY
CULTURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY OF THE PROPOSED DENISON MINES (USA)
CORPORATION WHITE MESA MILL CELL 4B,SAN JUAN COUNTY,UTAH
Prepared For:
Utah Public Lands Policy Coordination Office
5100 State Office Building
PO Box 141107
Salt Lake City,Utah 84114-1107
and
Utah State Historic Preservation Office
300 Rio Grande
Salt Lake City,Utah 84101-1182
Prepared Under Contract With:
Denison Mines (USA)Corporation
6425 South Highway 191
Blanding,Utah 84511
Prepared By:
Jonathan D.Till
Submitted By:
William E.Davis,Director
Abajo Archaeology
Bluff,Utah
May 2009
State of Utah Antiquities Project (Survey)
No.U-09-AS-0334p
ABSTRACT
At the request of Mr.Harold Roberts,Executive Vice President,and Mr.
David Turk,Radiation Safety Officer,both of Denison Mines (USA)Corp.,Abajo
Archaeology conducted an archaeological survey for the proposed development of
Cell 4B at the Denison Mines (USA)Corporation White Mesa Mill.The project area
is located on private land,owned and administered by Denison Mines.
A total of approximately 55.7 acres (22.5 hectares)of land was inspected
during the course of the archaeological survey.At the time of this writing,at
least 13 sites are known to exist within the bounds of the project area.Of these
sites,six have been previously documented (42Sa6391 42Sa6393,42Sa6397,
42Sa6757,and 42Sa8014)and seven sites are newly defined (42Sa28128
42Sa28134).An additional previously recorded site,42Sa6431,was determined to
be very near the area of effect,if not within the project area itself,and is
included herein for reasons of its proximity.Furthermore,16 isolated finds of
cultural materials were documented during the course of the project.
Of the seven previously recorded sites,six have been tested for
significance by the Antiquities Section of the Division of State History (Dykman
1978;Nielson 1979).These sites include 42Sa6391, 42Sa6393,42Sa6397,42Sa6431,
42Sa6757,and 42Sa8014.All of these sites are situated in locations of
considerable soil depth;testing by Antiquities Section personnel at the six
sites bear out this assessment.Therefore,all seven previously documented sites
were determined as eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic
Places (NRHP)(36 CFR 60.4).Two of these sites,42Sa6757 and 42Sa8014,were
subsequently investigated during a data recovery project.While it is likely that
most of the major features at these two sites were excavated,we suggest that
additional cultural materials may still be present and would require further
mitigation.
All of the seven newly defined sites are similarly situated in areas with
considerable soil depth.Based on the testing results at the previously recorded
sites,the likelihood is very high that significant subsurface deposits and/or
features exist.Therefore,we recommend that all seven of the newly recorded
sites be considered eligible for nomination to the NRHP.
Thirteen of the 14 sites have one or more components that date to the
prehistoric period;a single site,42Sa28131,contains an historic period
component of unknown cultural affiliation.Of the other 13 sites,ten appear to
have single components with associations as follows:two sites (42Sa28133 and
42Sa28134)have an unknown aboriginal affiliation;one site (42Sa6757)represents
a Basketmaker III habitation;one site (42Sa28132)may represent a Basketmaker
III limited activity locus;one site represents a Pueblo I seasonal habitation
(42Sa8014);one site (42Sa28128)is a Pueblo II or Pueblo III period locus of
limited activity;two sites (42Sa6391 and 42Sa6393)appear to represent Pueblo II
period habitations;one site (42Sa6392)may represent a Pueblo II period seasonal
habitation;and one site (42Sa28130)might be a Pueblo II period locus of limited
activity.Three other sites may have two or more components,including:42Sa6397,
which may have Basketmaker III and Pueblo II period components of unknown
function;42Sa6431,which has Basketmaker III and Pueblo II period components,
both of which may be associated with habitations;and 42Sa28129,which may have
Basketmaker III and/or Pueblo I and Pueblo II period components that are
associated with limited activity loci.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ii
CHAPTER 1:INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER 2:DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT AREA.............................4
Proj ect Location 4
Environmental Setting 4
Cultural-Historical Background...................................8
CHAPTER 3:PREVIOUS RESEARCH IN THE PROJECT AREA.......................15
CHAPTER 4:CULTURAL RESOURCE INVENTORy.................................19
Archaeological Survey Methods..............................19
Previously Documented Sites 22
Site 42Sa6391 25
Site 42Sa6392 31
Site 42Sa6393 34
Site 42Sa6397 37
Site 42Sa6431 42
Site 42Sa6757 47
Site 42Sa8014 49
Newly Recorded Sites 51
Site 42Sa28128 51
Site 42Sa28129 53
Site 42Sa28130 56
Site 42Sa28131 56
Site 42Sa28132 59
Site 42Sa28133 61
Site 42Sa28134 61
Isolated Finds 64
CHAPTER 5:EVALUATION OF SIGNIFICANCE AND MANAGEMENT
RECOMMENDATIONS 67
Evaluation of Significance 67
Management Recommendations.......................................69
REFERENCES 70
APPENDIX A:Intermountain Antiquities Computer System Site Forms 79
APPENDIX B:Blue-Line Map 80
LIST OF FIGURES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Project Location Map,Denison Mines White Mesa Mill,
San Juan County,Utah .
Denison Mines White Mesa Mill Cell 48,Section 32 and 33,
Township 37 South,Range 22 East .
Overview of project area from Site 42Sa6757,facing north,
with mill facility in background .
Overview of project area from Site 42Sa8014,facing south.
South berm of Cell 4A on left in background .
White Mesa Mill Site Map showing location of archaeological sites
(After Davis and Others 2003).
Denison Mines White Mesa Mill Cell 48 Project Map
showing location of archaeological sites .
Survey Site #s vs.Testing Site 3s .
Site Location Map for Thompson's survey (1977:7).
White Mesa archaeological sites (After Lindsay 1978:20).
Site 42Sa6391,site map (After Nielson 1979).
Site 42Sa6391,site map .
5
6
7
7
16
20
22
23
24
27
29
List of Figures (Cont.)
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17 .
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Site 42Sa6391,Tool No.3,Stage 4 biface .
Site 42Sa92,site map .
Site 42Sa6392,Tool No.1,Stage 3 or Stage 4 biface .
Site 42Sa6393,site map .
Site 42Sa6397,site map (After Dykman 1978).
Site 42Sa 6397,site map .
Site 42Sa6397,(A)Tool No.6,Stage 4 biface fragment;
(B)Tool No.6,Stage 2 or Stage 3 biface fragment .
Site 42Sa6431,site map (After Nielson 1979)..
Site 42Sa64 31,site map .
Site 42Sa6757,site map .
Site 42Sa8014,site map .
Site 42Sa28128,site map .
Site 42Sa28129,site map .
Site 42Sa28130,site map .
Site 42Sa28131,site map .
Site 42Sa28132,site map .
Site 42Sa28133,site map .
Site 42Sa28134,site map .
Denison Mines White Mesa Mill Cell 4B Project Map showing
the location of isolated finds of cultural material .
LIST OF TABLES
Sites by components and function,White Mesa Mill Cell 4B
survey .
Site components by count and percent,White Mesa Mill .
Site components by possible function,White Mesa Mill .
Site locations .
Previously investigated sites in the project area .
Pottery types by count,percent and site .
Lithic debitage by flake stage,count,and percent,all sites .
Isolated finds,White Mesa Mill Cell 4B survey .
31
33
34
36
39
40
41
43
45
48
50
52
54
57
58
60
62
63
65
3
17
18
21
26
30
30
66
CHAPTER 1:INTRODUCTION
In July,2008,Abajo Archaeology conducted a cultural resource inventory
(archaeological survey)of the area proposed for the construction and development
of Cell 4B at the Denison Mines (USA)White Mesa Mill.Archaeologist Mark Bond
conducted the inventory,with assistance by Jonathan Till,who conducted follow-
up work in the project area in the spring of 2009.This work was executed at the
request of Mr.Harold Roberts,Executive Vice President,and Mr.David Turk,
Radiation Safety Officer,both of Denison Mines (USA)Corp.The report for this
project is being prepared for the client,Denison Mines (USA),and the Division
of Radiation Control,Department of Environmental Quality,State of Utah.The
work was conducted under State of Utah Antiquities Permit No.U-09-AS-0334p.
The project area has an approximate rhomboid shape that covers an area of
approximately 55.7 acres (22.5 hectares)in Sections 32 and 33 of Township 37
South,Range 22 East.The mill is named for the landform that it occupies:White
Mesa.The proposed Cell 4B project area is situated on the crest and gently
sloped flanks of a two finger ridges on the north end of White Mesa.The mesa's
western and eastern margins drop precipitously into Cottonwood and Recapture
canyons,respectively.The proposed cell would be excavated,lined,and used in
the storage and processing of waste by-products from the mill facility.It is
understood that these construction activities could pose adverse effects to any
historic properties in the project area.
The purpose of the archaeological survey was to identify and document any
cultural resources occurring within the project area in order to make
recommendations pursuant to obtaining a determination of "no effect"to historic
properties in accord with Section 106 of 36 CFR 800,the National Historic
Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended).Additionally,the inventory addresses the
concerns of a body of other federal and state antiquities laws,including:the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969,the Archaeological and Historical
Preservation Act of 1974,the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976,the
Archaeological Resources Projection Act of 1979,and the Utah State Antiquities
Act of 1973 (as amended).
On July 17,2008,Mark Bond and David Turk had an on-site meeting to
discuss the project area location and the project's general development.Turk
informed Bond of the project boundaries at that time,which were flagged.
However,it was soon apparent to Bond that the potential area of impact from the
construction of the proposed cell would be significantly larger than the area
that had been flagged.Essentially,the area that had been flagged was the bottom
or base of the cell-the berm encircling the cell had not been taken into account.
Using a blue-line map (dated 6/21/88)that illustrated the cells'construction,
Bond pointed out this discrepancy to David Turk on July 21,2008.Turk agreed
with Bond's observation,and decided to correct the survey area to the area
described on the blue-line map (a portion of which is included here as Appendix
B).During the course of their discussion,Turk also noted that the sediments
removed from the proposed Cell 4B would be trucked and pushed to the west for
deposit in storage areas adjacent to the west side of the Cell 4B area (see
Appendix B;note the apparent stockpiles of material west of "Existing Cell 3").
Given this information,Bond suggested that the sediment storage area would also
need to be inventoried.Mr.Turk advised that the survey area be extended west to
the north-to-south oriented overhead powerline.Bond noted that these areas
needed to be formalized;Mr.Turk agreed.At the time of this writing,the
project area in its entirety has not been formally staked,nor the bounds
provided to Abajo Archaeology except in the conversation between Messrs.Bond and
Turk.However,Bond did visually extend the survey area based on the previously
constructed southern boundary of Cell 4A (see Appendix B for Bond's justification
of the proposed project boundary extension).
2
A relatively recent and thorough Class 1 cultural resource inventory was
conducted by Abaj 0 Archaeology for the lands surrounding and including the
project area in 2003 (Davis and others 2003).This endeavor was an extensive and
intensive site file and literature search conducted at the Division of State
History (Salt Lake City,Utah),Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum (Blanding,
Utah),and the office of Alpine Archaeological Consultants (Montrose,Colorado).
Additionally,at the request of Jonathan Till,on May 11,2009,Ms.Marty Thomas
further searched the Division of State History archival files for information
specific to earlier archaeological survey,testing and mitigation efforts
performed by the Antiquities Section of the Division of State History during the
late 1970s and early 1980s.
As a result of these file searches,several previously recorded sites were
noted for the proposed Cell 4B project area.These sites are:42Sa6391,42Sa6392,
42Sa6393,42Sa6397,42Sa6757,and 42Sa8014.Additionally,we noted that 42Sa6431
was very near the south boundary of the project area.For this reason,and given
that the true project boundary has yet to be formalized,the site is included for
consideration here.Comparisons of original site survey data,as given in
Thompson (1977),with data from subsequent testing and mitigation efforts
conducted by Antiquities Section archaeologists,indicate that some sites were
confused with other sites.These discrepancies are explicated in Chapter 4.
In addition to the seven previously documented sites,Mark Bond and
Jonathan Till located and recorded seven previously undocumented sites (42Sa28128
through 42Sa28134).A summary of the all the sites,their components,and their
possible functions are provided in Table 1.
In addition to the archaeological sites,Bond discovered and documented 16
isolated finds (IFs)of cultural materials.These items,and the 14
archaeological sites,are described in detail in Chapter 4 of this report.
This report is organized in five chapters and two appendices.This chapter,
Chapter 1,serves as the introduction.Chapter 2 describes the project area in
terms of its location and environmental setting.The chapter also provides an
overview of the cultural history for White Mesa's surrounding landscape.Chapter
3 delves into the previous research conducted in the immediate vicinity of the
Cell 4B project area.Chapter 4 presents the archaeological survey conducted for
this project,and is organized into several sections.The chapter first reviews
the survey's methodology;it then describes both the previously documented sites
as well as the newly documented sites;Chapter 4 concludes with a description of
the IFs of cultural materials.The report's final chapter,Chapter 5,provides an
evaluation of significance for each site and concludes with a set of management
recommendations for the sites.
Two appendices,Appendix A and Appendix B,are also presented in the site.
Appendix A consists of the Intermountain Antiquities Computer System (IMACS)site
forms that were generated for each site.Appendix B is a portion of the blue-line
map that Mark Bond used to determine the best project area boundary,particularly
on the south side of the proposed project area.
Table 1 .Sites by Component and Function,White Mesa Mill Cell4B Survey
Site Number Components =rsuggeStecjFLjnCtiO~Comments
42Sa6391 Pueblo II ~habitation ,----I
42Sa6392 IPueblo II Iseasonal h?bitatmn1+--------_--I
42Sa6393 IPueblo II \habitation1----,
42Sa6397 IBas~etmaker III ==1 unknown
possible Pueblo II unknown
42S 6431 iBasketmaker III unknown Known features include a burial,a hearth,and a lens ofburned adobe.
a 'I Pueblo II Ihabitation A midden with a diverse assemblage of materials is present that suggests the presence of a habitation.
42Sa6757 iBasketmaker III !habitation ---------
42Sa8014 !Pueblo I Iseasonal habitation ----------
I 42Sa28128 Pueblo II and/or Pueblo III Ilimited activity ___._._
42Sa28129 Basketmaker III and/or PU~_~~~ited activity______________________
I 42S~28130 ~~:~:~::-=---~:~:~:~~:~:~~j ---.-...-------~=_==-====
42Sa28131 IUnknown historic icamp
42Sa28132 !possible Bas~etmaker...~.'--__._-_-.-+11::::im=-__'-'Jite!:..d-ac-t-iv.-it-y--j---------_______--I
42Sa28133 LUnknown Aboriginal -"I!imited acti"'!!L_.-+I _
42Sa28134 IUnknown Aboriginal --Wmited activity
w
4
CHAPTER 2:DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT AREA
This chapter provides spatial and temporal contexts for the project area.
What follows are brief descriptions of the proposed project's location,its
environmental setting,and an overview of the area's cultural history.
Project Location
The Denison Mines (USA)Corp.White Mesa Mill is located six miles south of
the town of Blanding,San Juan County,Utah (Figures 1 arid 2).The majority of
the proposed Cell 4B is found within the northeast quarter of Section 32,T37s,
R22E (USGS Black Mesa Butte,7.5',1985),although a small portion of this
rhombus-shaped project area is also found within the northwest quarter of Section
33 (Figure 2).The project area is located west of the mill complex,approaching
the rim of Cottonwood Wash Canyon.
Environmental Setting
The White Mesa Mill occupies the top,and gently sloped eastern face,of a
low but prominent ridge near the divide of White Mesa (Figures 3 and 4).Situated
in the Blanding Basin Section of southeastern Utah,the surrounding landscape is
characterized by a multitude of mesas and buttes flanked by canyon drainages
(Stokes 1986:235-6).The area's primary water courses flow from north to south,
draining the Abajo Mountains to the north and run to the San Juan River to the
south.White Mesa is flanked by two of these north-to-south drainages:Cottonwood
Wash to the west and Recapture Wash to the east.
The caprock of White Mesa is mostly composed of Cretaceous Period rock,
including interbedded sandstones and shales associated with the Dakota and the
underlying Burro Canyon formations.In places,remnants of the later Cretaceous
Mancos Shale may be found overlying the harder caprock.The slopes of White Mesa
consist of relatively soft,vari-colored shales associated with the Morrison
Formation.
The landscape of the White Mesa Mill property has been radically altered in
historic times.These alterations have come about as the result of historic
ranching and farming practices as well as the development of the White Mesa Mill.
The surface of the project area has been chained and railed,plowed,and seeded.
Davis (1985:9)notes that much of this disturbance took place in the 1920s and
1930s.As a consequence of these activities,the proj ect area's vegetation
probably does not reflect the plant life that would occur there naturally.
Currently,the local ecology is characterized by grasslands with mostly immature
sagebrush,snakeweed,and prickly pear.Annual plants common to the project
area's terrain include cheatgrass,mustard,and heron's bill.Occasional
instances of juniper and Mormon tea hint at the area's original ecology.At the
west rim of the mesa,juniper and big sage are common.It seems likely that the
mesa's interior represented an ecotone between the sagebrush and pinyon-juniper
ecozones.
Mesa top sediments in and around the mill property are dominated by a
reddish-brown,very fine aeolian sand and silt.Davis and others (2003:6)note
that this loam ranges considerably in depth from a few centimeters to several
meters;the mantle of sediment in the project area is generally represented by
the deeper end of that scale.Poorly developed B horizons,and moderately
developed caliche-rich soil horizons,have formed in the White Mesa sediments
wherever depth and stability have allowed.Agenbroad (1985:175-183)argues for a
correlation between "caliche highs"and the location of pithouses,suggesting
that the caliche substrate provided desirable construction characteristics for
pit structures.
5
I,'.ii,'.ill ,I",.',".'.,'i I .',.','.il,.t •'.I'I 1,1,
o
o 5
5
10
10
15 20
15
25 30
20
I'I '.,'.
35
25
I',I
40
miles
km
TNTtN
~llY2
06/30/09
Figure 1.Project Location Map,Denison Mines White Mesa Mill,San Juan County,Utah.
5:'51T
.'f
Figure 2.
6
\f-I.
)
:.'.
,:
",-.-i
'/
1 .5 0eaFE'ea E+i F*3
Denison Mines White Mesa Mill Ce1l4B,Section 32 and 33,Township 37 South,
Range 22 East.(USGS Black Mesa Butte,7.5',1985).
7
Figure 3.Overview ofproject area from Site 42Sa6757,facing north,with mill facility in
background.
Figure 4.Overview ofproject area from Site 42Sa8014,facing south.South berm ofCell
4A on left in background.
8
Cultural-Historical Background
Several current,textbook syntheses of prehistory in the North American
Southwest are widely available,and serve to put the proposed project into a
temporally deep and spatially broad context (e.g.Cordell 1997;Kantner 2004).
Perhaps of more immediate interest are several overviews that consider
southeastern Utah and the encompassing Mesa Verde region (Hurst 1992;Lipe and
others 1999;Rohn 1989).All of these documents should be consulted for
information regarding the broad patterns of cultural development in the region
surrounding the project area.
The following,very brief overview summarizes the cultural history of the
project area in terms of established Operiods"that very generally based upon
the changing subsistence economies and material culture of ancestral Pueblo
society.Pre-agricultural societies are summarized by the PaleoIndian and Archaic
periods.Ancient agricultural Puebloan societies are described in terms of the
Pecos Classification (Kidder 1927;Lipe and others 1999).
PaleoIndian Period
The PaleoIndian period,as it is expressed in the North American Southwest,
is generally summarized in terms of the Llano,Folsom,and Plano complexes which
seem to vary in date according to region (Schroedl 1991).In this particular
case,Black and Metcalf (1986)are referenced to provide dates for the
PaleoIndian Period in the project area.The Llano complex (ca.12000 -11000
Before Present or "B.P.")is characterized by the presence of Clovis points,
presumably used to dispatch megafauna such as the mammoth.The Folsom complex
(ca.11000 -10000 B.P.)describes a culture that utilized the Folsom point and
is particularly associated with Bison antiquus,an ancient form of bison.The
Plano complex (ca.10500 -7500 B.P.)does not generally occur on the Colorado
Plateau with any great frequency although points from this complex have been
reported (Black and Metcalf 1986;Tipps 1988).
The generally accepted dates for the onset of the PaleoIndian period in
western North America begin around 9500 B.C.The earliest date for PaleoIndian
occupation in Utah,yielded by the lowest cultural levels of Danger Cave in
northwest Utah,bottoms out around 9450 B.C.(Schroedl 1991).At the Lehner
Mammoth site in southern Arizona,hearths in a PaleoIndian mammoth kill site
context have likewise been carbon-dated to somewhere between 9000 and 10,000 B.C.
(Haury and others 1959).
The PaleoIndian lifeway has been generally described as being centered
around the hunting of Pleistocene megafauna (Jennings 1973;Martin 1990),hence
the occurrence of large-sized points.However,it is important to keep in mind
that subsistence data for these sites is lacking with the exception of kill sites
distant to the project area and the inferred functions of paleo-tool assemblages.
Kill sites certainly indicate that large game animals played a role in paleo-
subsistence economies.As Schroedl (1991:6)noted,the question is probably not
whether they were big-game hunters that excluded gathering activities,but the
degree to which game hunting played a role in the paleo-subsistence economy.
Several interesting PaleoIndian components occur relatively near the
project area.These include the Lime Ridge Clovis site (Davis 1986,1989),a rock
art site along the banks of the San Juan River,and a mul ticomponent lithic
scatter located only several miles south of the project area (Westfall and others
2003).Of final note is a Folsom projectile point fragment that was discovered
while recording a multicomponent site on the southern edge of White Mesa just
several miles south of the project area (Westfall 1995:64).This point is quite
likely a prehistorically curated artifact.
9
Archaic Period
Typically,the term "Archaic"refers to a human population organized in
small groups with a high degree of residential mobility to best employ this
hunter-gatherer subsistence strategy.In the case of this report,"Archaic"is
used to describe the time period in which this lifestyle was the prevalent modus
operandi of the prehistoric populations that occupied the Four Corners region
from roughly 6000 B.C.-A.D.l.Several reviews of the long-lasting Archaic
period have been generated for the Mesa Verde region and adjacent landscapes
(Berry and Berry 1986;Geib 1996;Jennings 1978;Lipe and Pitblado 1999;Matson
1991)
Archaic tool assemblages begin to appear even as Plano point technology is
still being utilized,especially on the High Plains.However,generally speaking,
the Archaic period is differentiated from the PaleoIndian in its tool assemblage
and presumed subsistence strategies.Instead of the lanceolate points of the
PaleoIndian period,Archaic peoples possessed smaller,notched points that were
hafted to darts and propelled by an atl-atl.That plants play an important
dietary role in the Archaic lifeway is evident through the introduction of ground
stone implements.
The change in subsistence strategy is grounded in a basic environmental
change from a cooler and moister climatic regime to the modern xeric landscapes
of the North American Southwest.This arid environment required a subsistence
strategy that emphasized a knowledge of the spatial and seasonal availability of
food resources.
Several classification schemes for the Archaic period have been developed,
focusing mainly on particular broad areas in the region of the North American
Southwest.Of particular use for the proj ect area are those classifications
proposed by Schroedl (1976)for the northern Colorado Plateau and by Irwin-
Williams (1979)for the Four Corners area.Irwin-Williams (1979)believes that
the Archaic populations of the Four Corners could be subsumed under the "Oshara
Tradition."The Oshara Tradition is sequentially organized into five phases:
Jay Phase
Bajada Phase
San Jose Phase
Armijo Phase
En Medio Phase
5500 -4800 B.C.
4800 -3300 B.C.
3300 -1800 B.C.
1800 -800 B.C.
800 B.C.-400 A.D.
Hurst (1992:37)succinctly summarizes the characteristics of each of these
phases.
Irwin-Williams suggested that the Jay Phase represents the
occupation of the Four Corners area by Archaic peoples from the San
Dieguito complex to the west,following the eastward retreat of the
big game hunting PaleoIndian cultures in the face of Holocene
climatic changes.Jay and Bajada phase sites were thought to reflect
occupation by nomadic hunting and gathering microbands who
repeatedly reoccupied certain favorable localities in a "relatively
unstructured continuing annual round."The San Jose phase saw
significant population increase during an interval of increased
effective precipitation and ameliorated restrictions on local
resource bases (Irwin-Williams 1979:38).The Armijo phase witnessed
the introduction of Mexican cultigens including maize into the
economy,resulting in the production of seasonal food surpluses and
population aggregations into macroband encampments.The En Medio
phase is equivalent to the Basketmaker II culture as defined in the
San Juan drainage,and marks the emergence of a fully horticultural
Anasazi .culture,probably in response to population pressure and
10
resultant shrinkage of foraging territories.
It is probably no wonder that little extensive work has been done with
Archaic sites in the general vicinity of the project area.The nondiagnostic
remains of Archaic period camps,often manifested as lithic debris scatters or
hearth remains,are probably frequently documented as "unknown aboriginal"(IMACS
1990).Historically,archaeologists may have overlooked the lackluster Archaic
sites,passing them by for the more interesting Puebloan sites.In addition,
Archaic sites are susceptible to burial,erosion,or reuse by subsequent
populations.However,recent survey data have contributed more to our knowledge
of the Archaic population in the project area's vicinity (e.g.Honeycutt and
Fetterman 1985;Whitten and others 1986;Bond and others 1992;Montgomery 1994).
One general pattern that emerges is the tendency for Archaic period sites to
occur on canyon rim or canyonhead locations (Whitten and others 1986;Montgomery
1994).Davis and others (2003:Table 2)report that only four Archaic components
have been documented on the mill property.
Recent data recovery or excavation phase work has also considerably
contributed to our knowledge of this time period.Greater detail is available
regarding lithic procurement sites and their possible Archaic affiliations
(Montgomery 1994;Westfall and others 2003).A rock shelter/cave located just
west of Comb Wash,Old Man Cave,with an Early Archaic component (equivalent to
the Jay phase)has been partially excavated (Davidson and others 1994).One
habitation site of interest,perhaps bridging the gap between the Archaic and the
preceding Basketmaker period,has been excavated near the project area and is
discussed further below (Westfall and others 2004).
The Basketmaker Period
The end dates for the Archaic period,and the beginning date for the early
Basketmaker period,are often blurred in spite of the seemingly concrete numbers
assigned to them.Until recently,this number has been the firm A.D.1.The
earliest Basketmaker manifestation,labeled Basketmaker II,is generally defined
as a preceramic agricultural population that preceded the Puebloan tradition.
Cultigens,and maize in particular,were passed from prehistoric Mexican
populations into the North American Southwest.Currently the earliest evidence
for maize on the Colorado Plateau comes from Three Fir Shelter on Arizona's Black
Mesa and dates to 3900 B.P.(Smiley 1993).Agriculture as a subsistence strategy
does not seem firmly established on the Plateau until 1500 -1000 B.C.(Matson
1991;Lipe 1993).
Excellent overviews and discussions exist for the Basketmaker II period
(Matson 1991;Hurst 1992,2004;Lipe 1999).Basketmaker II rock shelter sites,
perhaps the early Basketmaker Period site type that most frequently captures our
imaginations for this period,are well described by Kidder and Gurnsey (in Hurst
1992:42)and others (Lindsay et al.1968;Hurst 1993).Rock art that appears to
date to this period is also extensively discussed (Schaafsma 1980;Manning 1992;
Cole 1993;Pachak 1994).
Like the ephemeral nature of the Archaic period habitation sites,
Basketmaker II habitation sites are often prone to natural obscuration,
obliteration,or reoccupation.In spite of this,data recovery via excavation has
occurred at nearby sites with Basketmaker II components (Davis 1984;Richins and
Talbot 1989;Westfall 2003).As with the Archaic period,documented Basketmaker
II components are rare on the mill property (n=3)(Davis and others 2003:Table
2)•
The termination of the Basketmaker II and the commencement of Basketmaker
III occurs in approximately A.D.500.Reed (2000)has recently produced an edited
volume that examines the Basketmaker III period in the Four Corners region,and
Hurst (2004)has produced the most exhaustive summary of Basketmaker III data in
11
southeastern Utah.
Hurst (1992:47)defines the Basketmaker III as
that interval of Anasazi culture history during which the Anasazi of
the Four Corners area were (1)producing a pottery assemblage
dominated by Lino style gray ware and lacking both San Juan Red Ware
and banded or corrugated gray ware;and 2)inhabiting substantial,
semi-subterranean pithouses with associated noncontiguous,
circular/ovoid storage cists.
Associated with the Basketmaker III household is the establishment of the
"Prudden unit"settlement pattern (Prudden 1914,1918;Roberts 1939).This long-
lasting architectural footprint consists of the pithouse or kiva bracketed to the
south by a formal midden area,and to the north by above-ground storage features
(which consist of cists in the Basketmaker III period and pueblo structures in
the following Pueblo periods).Elsewhere Lipe has referred to this persistent
architectural pattern as the "San Juan pattern"(Lipe 2006:293).
In addition,the Basketmaker III acquired the bow and arrow and the
cultigen,beans.In contrast to the Basketmaker II,this later manifestation of
the Basketmaker Anasazi is abundant in the Four Corners region and is discussed
in many sources that describe work near the project area (e.g.Neily 1982;Davis
1985;Hurst 1992,2004).
The Basketmaker III settlements seem to range in size from single
pit houses to larger communities of 10+pithouses with satellite
storage structures.These larger communities also have a large
pithouse/community room per settlement that could have been
incipient great kivas.Such sites occur near the project area in
Recapture Wash at Villa Gavilan (Jacklin 1985)and near Bluff,Utah
(Neily 1982)
Pueblo Period
The Pueblo period has been extensively covered in many overviews for the
American Southwest and the smaller Mesa Verde region (Cordell 1997;Kantner 2004;
Lipe and others 1999;Hurst 1992;Nickens 1982;Rohn 1989).Only some general
characteristics will be mentioned here in conjunction with specific site examples
and past archaeological projects that occur in the immediate vicinity of White
Mesa.
The Pueblo I Period approximately spans the years from A.D.750 to A.D.900
in the Four Corners area.Like the Basketmaker III settlements,Pueblo I
communities often consisted of one to a dozen pithouse structures with associated
satellite rooms.The storage cists of the Prudden unit are replaced by above-
ground jacal structures,and pithouse architecture changes rather dramatically as
well.Although farther afield,the Duckfoot Site,excavated by Crow Canyon just
five miles west of nearby Cortez,Colorado,offers some good insight into the
structure of a Pueblo I settlement (Lightfoot 1994;Lightfoot and Etzkorn 1993).
During the Pueblo I period there may have been a movement of populations
from lower elevations to upland areas above 6000 feet as well as to locations
beside large,maj or drainages.These migrations tended to result in larger,
aggregated settlements,perhaps the most well-known of which is "Site 13"on
Alkali Ridge (Brew 1946).Excavations have taken place at several sites with
Pueblo I period components in the near area (Davis 1985;Talbot and others 1982;
Bussey n.d.in Hurst 1992:55).
The Pueblo II period,which runs approximately from A.D.900 to A.D.1150,
is characterized by the so-called "Chaco phenomenon"(Irwin-Williams 1972).This
12
social phenomenon had its apparent center in Chaco Canyon of northwestern New
Mexico,but became manifest across much of the northern Southwest.Community
centers associated with the Chaco phenomenon exhibited great variability in
detail,but also regularity in architectural footprint.These centers,often
referred to as "great house"sites,generally include a great house,a great
kiva,one or more "roads"that approach the site,and large site-encircling
earthen berms.Hurst and Till (in press)describe how this "great house pattern"
manifests itself in the project area.Most pueblo communities associated with
these centers,particularly those in southeastern Utah,appear to consist of
dispersed households or clusters of households (Cameron,in press;Jalbert and
Cameron 2000;Mahoney 2000).
While still abiding by the Prudden unit pattern,household architecture was
prone to change during the Pueblo II period.For example,jacal structures of the
preceding period are replaced by above-ground masonry buildings and the pithouse
structures assume the architectural elements that define "kivas."The attributes
that appear to be generally unique to kivas are pilasters,which are indicative
of a different roofing technique,a southern recess,and a ventilator system that
usually articulates with the southern recess.
During the earlier years of the Pueblo II period,there appears to be high
climatic variability but a general increase in precipitation.The climate then
appears to stabilize in the latter part of the period and the relatively high
amount of effective moisture is maintained.Although these climatic variables
seem to encourage a Pueblo II expansion into the higher elevations up to just
below 7000 feet,those areas around the Dolores and La Plata rivers are abandoned
(Hurst 1992;Rohn 1989).Indeed,there seems to be an overall increase in
population across much of the Four Corners region,the area of the project not
excluded.In the later portion of the Pueblo II period,the Cedar Mesa area west
of Comb Ridge begins to be repopulated.There is some debate with regard to the
population density and settlement patterns of this period.Some argue that,in
spite of an overall population increase,there is a ndispersal"of the population
away from their aggregated villages of the Pueblo I period (Hurst 1992:59).
However,Rohn (1989:157)believes that there could be an overall increase in the
average Pueblo II community size for the Four Corners area.
Pueblo II period sites have been excavated near the project area (e.g.
Baker 1990;Davis 1985;Firor and others 1998;Nielson and others 1985).The
substantial Pueblo II ruin at the Edge of the Cedars Museum in Blanding,Utah has
been partially excavated.These efforts,however,were only poorly documented
(Hurst and others 1995:15).Firor and others (1998)report on a middle Pueblo II
period site with a Mesa Verde-style kiva as well as a pitstructure that is
executed in a style typical of the Pueblo I period.Casjens (1980a)reports
similar variability for pitstructures excavated earlier on the White Mesa Mill
property at two sites:42Sa7754 (Three Meter Isle)and 42Sa6437 (Proton Point).
The Pueblo III period dates from approximately A.D.1150 to A.D.1300.This
period could be characterized as the greatest source of current interest and
controversy for many archaeologists.It certainly appears to have been a time of
upheaval and/or change for at least some of the populations with Puebloan
affiliations.Hurst (1992:67)summarizes these changes,observing that
13
...the Pueblo III period is characterized by localized abandonments
and population shifts;a concomitant decrease in the number and
increase in the average size of habitation sites (due in large part
to the shift in large-community settlement pattern from the great
house community pattern to more intensive aggregation into tightly-
clustered complexes of contiguous households);widespread
intensification of the water and soil conservation technologies that
appeared during the previous period;the full flowering of the
classic architectural-ceramic complexes by which the Mesa Verde and
Kayenta expression of the Anasazi culture are best known (Kidder
1965);the extensive territorial expansion of the Mesa Verdean
architectural/ceramic complex;and the widespread occupation of
defensible locations and locations with dependable water sources
during the decades immediately preceding the general abandonment.
Pueblo III community structures are typically above-ground masonry rooms,
often contiguous with other rooms.These are truly "pueblo"structures,which are
aggregations of single rooms into room blocks,some of which are multistory.The
pithouses (or kivas)are still maintained as an important element of Anasazi
architecture.An important and interesting architectural element of the time is
the "tower,"which is usually one or two stories in height and generally
circular.
The earlier half of this period is characterized by the apparent
maintenance of the Chaco phenomenon,albeit with differences.Often termed the
"post-Chaco"period,it appears that at least some of the region's great house
sites are re-inhabited or at least reconfigured (Cameron 2009).However,by the
mid-1200s,the great house phenomenon appears to be replaced by the "Great
Pueblo"way of life (sensu Kantner 2004:159-181).
Scholars note an overall decrease in the number of habitation sites in the
Four Corners region during the Pueblo III period as populations aggregated into
larger communities.Of particular note is the florescence of large pueblo
communities in the Montezuma Valley area east of the project area (e.g.Hurst
1992;Rohn 1989;Lipe and Ortman 2000).These Montezuma Valley communities are
often located on or near canyon rims (Lipe and Varien 1999).
Hurst and others (1995:16)note that although a number of large Pueblo III
sites occur around the edges of White Mesa,none of these has been the subject of
extensive scientific scrutiny.Abajo Archaeology did a thorough surface
documentation of a Pueblo III site,known as "Moki Island,"just north of
Blanding (Montgomery and Montgomery 1988).Two Pueblo III cliff dwellings on
White Mesa's northwestern margin have been somewhat studied through excavation
techniques.Excavations have taken place at Westwater 5-Kiva Ruin but remain
largely unreported.This project documented a 25-room pueblo that dated to the
mid-1200s (Lindsay and Dykman 1978).Less extensive,but better documented test
excavations were undertaken at Big Westwater Ruin,a site half the size of 5-Kiva
Ruin (Lindsay 1981).Big Westwater Ruin is located just a few kilometers
northwest of the White Mesa Mill.
More immediately,Neilson (1980)reports on an excavated site with apparent
Pueblo III period domestic features on the mill property.This site,42Sa6437
(Proton Point),yielded evidence for pitstructures that were not typical of the
Mesa Verde type kiva.One of these features was recently excavated on the mill
property at the late Pueblo III site,42Sa27732 (Till,in progress).A late
Pueblo III period site with a similar Mesa Verde type kiva was excavated by
Alpine Archaeology at 42Sa7660 (Happy Salamander Site),which is very near to the
White Mesa Mill (Greubel 1998).
14
Late Prehistoric and Proto-Historic American Indian
By the early 1300s the Puebloan depopulation of the Four Corners region was
complete.It seems likely that the local Anasazi population moved southward to
join other pueblo groups in the Rio Grande and Little Colorado River drainages.
Hurst (1992:72)notes evidence of occasional prehistoric Hopi,Zuni,and Jemez
Pueblo ceremonial visits to the area.This evidence manifests itself through
pottery artifacts and apparent shrines,and is underscored with verbal accounts
of these travels.
The dates for the entry of Athapaskan peoples into the Four Corners region
are rather uncertain.However,Spanish accounts from the early 1700s indicate
that Ute and Navajo ("Dine")populations were inhabiting the area around the
Sleeping Ute Mountain.
Historic Period
Little detail will be given here concerning the historic period of the
project area,which has been documented in other places (Davis and others 2003;
Hurst and others 1993;McPherson 1995).Only eight previously documented sites on
the mill property have been designated as historic;of these,six sites lack
diagnostic attributes to assign cultural affiliation.
Features associated with the Navajo and Ute peoples are steadily receiving
more recognition and understanding as archaeologists become more aware of their
presence.A number of Native American historic sites have been recorded in the
near vicinity of the project area (e.g.Hurst 1981;Montgomery 1994;Westfall
1995).Only two sites have been assigned specific cultural affiliations,one of
which is Navajo and the other is Ute.
Although it is apparent that the Spanish had some minimal knowledge of the
area,it was not until the 1850s that Anglo-Americans recorded their first visits
to the area (McPherson 1995).The LC Ranch began its cattle operations in
Recapture Wash below White Mesa in the 1870s.Settlement of the area began in
earnest,however,in 1880 when Mormon settlers first arrived at the present
location of Bluff.Dissatisfied with the their environment,in 1904 a group of
Bluff Mormons headed north to the flats of White Mesa below the Abajo Mountains
and founded the community of Grayson (renamed Blanding).Soon after this date,
the town of Monticello was founded.The economy of these early towns,like many
frontier communities,initially revolved around land-based extractionist
industries such as livestock,mining,and timber.In addition to these
industries,recreation is now rapidly becoming an economic mainstay for the
region,due in part to the public's fascination with the prehistoric occupants of
the North American Southwest.
15
CHAPTER 3:PREVIOUS RESEARCH IN THE PROJECT AREA
The White Mesa Mill property (Figure 5;also see Davis and others 2003:
Figure 1)has been the subject of varying degrees of scrutiny by archaeologists
in the recent past.Several archaeological surveys on the property have
documented scores of sites on the mill property (Berge 1975;Casjens and Seward
1980;Fike and Lindsay 1976;Thompson 1977).Many of these sites have
subsequently been tested and excavated (Agenbroad and others 1981;Berge 1983;
Casjens 1980a;Davis 1985;Lindsay 1978;Nielson 1979;Sargent 1979;Till,in
prep.).
A relatively recent Class I inventory of this material by Davis and others
(2003)summarizes some
efforts.Their summary
documented on White Mesa
period components (24%),
period components (14%)
of the gross survey data generated by these earlier
indicates that the highest proportion of components
date to the Pueblo II period (32%),followed by Pueblo I
Pueblo III period components (15%),and Basketmaker III
(Davis and others 2003:Table 2).
Davis and others (2003)also note the frequencies of site types organized
by general function.Working with a sample size of 231 sites (in contrast to
component),their query into this matter indicates a relatively high proportion
of sites that have a "habitation"function,meaning sites with domestic features
(sensu Davis and others 2003:34).Approximately 62%of the sample functioned as
domiciles in some capacity,with "limited activity"sites composing 26%of the
sample.Summary of the site data indicate that 85%of the sites documented on the
mill property are eligible for nomination to the NRHP (Davis and others 2003:
Table 1).
In the preparation of this report,I used data provided in Tables A-l
through A-7 to compile a database of temporal assessments that had been assigned
to the sites during survey.Whereas Davis and others (2003)would assign separate
component values for each of the periods in a span of periods assigned for each
site,I used the whole span of periods as the unit of examination.In other
words,if a site had been assessed to belong to a time at some point within a
span of periods ranging from the Basketmaker III through Pueblo III periods,the
original Class I survey tallied four components for that site (one each for the
Basketmaker III,Pueblo I,Pueblo II,and Pueblo III periods).In contrast,I
simply included that one site as one of others that had been assigned the general
span of "Basketmaker III to Pueblo III."I also used excavation data from Casjens
(1980a),Davis (1985),Lindsay (1978),Nielson (1979),and Sargent (1979)to
better assess the temporal component data and site function.
Table 2 shows the number of site components by count and percent from the
new database generated for this project.It illustrates the same basic trend
observed by Davis and others (2003:Table 2)in the Class I survey results:
Pueblo II period sites are the most prevalent,followed in frequency by Pueblo I,
Basketmaker III,and Pueblo III periods sites.
Previous research on White Mesa has focused on variations in settlement
structure through time (e.g.Casjens and Seward 1980;Davis 1885),particularly
with regard to the changing ratio of habitation sites to limited activity sites.
"Habitation"sites will be expected to exhibit greater variability in artifact
assemblages,in addition to greater numbers of artifacts,and is expected to have
relatively substantial and formal architecture."Limited activity"sites might
include a range of functions such as those associated with agricultural field
maintenance,the gathering of wild plant resources,and food storage and
preparation.These sites are manifest by low variability in artifact assemblage
profiles,ephemeral architecture,and isolated features that include storage
facilities,hearths,and food preparation features.
16
SCALE 1:24000
Contour Inten'al 40 feet
7659/16260
16259/22120
3775/8703
22116
Figure 5.White Mesa Mill Site Map showing location ofarchaeological sites (After Davis
and Others 2003).
17
Table 2 Site Components by Count
and Percent,White Mesa Mill
Period N %
Archaic 2 0.8...._-
Late Archaic to BMIl 2 0.8..'"'----
BMIII 14 5.8._---
BMIIl to PI 24 10.0
PI 17 7.1
PI to PII 30 12.4--".--.._--
PII 35 14.5
33
._----
PII to PIlI 13.7
-
PIlI 11 4.6
BMIII to PII 8 3.3
8
.....-
PI to PIII 3.3...__.
BMIII to PIII 5 2.1
Pueblo,NFS 2 0.8
Unknown Aboriginal 42 17.4
Historic,NFS 5 2.1
Historic Navajo 1 0.4
--------._--_._-~.-
Historic Ute 1 0.4
Historic Anglo
_..._-------
1 0.4
TOTAL 241 100.0
18
Davis (1985:464)has suggested and described variability in functionally
different sites through time for the mesa's interior.His research on White Mesa
suggests that there is an overall increase in the proportion of limited activity
sites as a consequence of "population expansion into new habitats to procure
needed resources.n
Table 3 cross-tabulates temporal components with functional assessments.
The table may indicate an important trend in settlement strategy as it is
correlated with time.Very tentatively,it appears as though there is a 2:1 ratio
of habitation sites to limited activity sites for the Basketmaker III,Pueblo II,
and Pueblo III periods.In contrast,there is a 1:1 ratio of these site types in
the Pueblo I period.However,the sample size of pure Pueblo I period sites is
fairly small relative to the less-defined "PI to Plln range of sites (See Table
3).A greater understanding of the chronology of these sites may have significant
bearing on understanding changing settlement patterns through time.These changes
may indicate significantly different strategies for inhabiting and using the
mesa's interior,which in turn,may have significant implications for social
structure and strategy as they are correlated with larger historical trends in
Puebloan history.
19
CHAPTER 4:CULTURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY
This chapter documents the results of the cultural resource inventory
(archaeological survey)performed for the White Mesa Mill Cell 48 project area.A
total of 14 sites were documented or redocumented as a part of this project
(Figure 6 and Table 4).The following sections detail the procedures followed for
the survey,the archaeological sites documented during the course of the project
(which are discussed in terms of previously documented sites and newly documented
sites),and the isolated finds of cultural materials encountered in the project
area.
Archaeological Survey Methods
The archaeological survey was conducted by walking a series of parallel
transects across the area maintaining a transect interval of 50 ft (15 m)or to
maintain visual contact with the ground surface.Transect integrity was
maintained by continuous monitoring the surveyor's location with a Global
Positioning Satellite (GPS)receiver.Cultural resources located during the
course of the survey were recorded as either archaeological sites or isolated
finds (IFs)of cultural materials (i.e.artifacts,imported rock,etc.).
Archaeological sites are concentrations of artifacts that indicate the locus of
significant and interpretable human activity.All sites are recorded and
evaluated for significance in terms of their potential for nomination to the
National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).Isolated finds of cultural materials
are single artifacts,a cluster of a small number of similar items in a limited
space,or other small scale cultural phenomena that do not possess the required
counts,interpretability,or integrity to be recognized as a site.Isolated finds
of cultural materials are by definition limited in their potential as a
significant source of data and are generally not considered significant in terms
of potential nomination to the NRHP.Modern out-of-period cultural phenomena are
not recorded as either archaeological sites or IFs.Such phenomena might include
isolated glass or plastic beverage bottles and aluminum cans,recent hearths with
plastic forks and/or aluminum foil,or recent camping sites.
Archaeological sites are recorded by summary description of the artifacts,
structural and non-structural features,and various natural associations.In
addition,sites are mapped,culturally diagnostic artifacts are illustrated,and
the area is photographed.The site area is located on the appropriate USGS 7.5'
quadrangle by means of GPS-generated UTM coordinates using the NAD 83 datum.
Finally,a site identification stake is hammered into the ground within the site
area at the mapped location of the site datum.This stake consists of a ~-inch
diameter steel rod with a 2 inch diameter aluminum cap on which is stamped the
site number.Old datum locations,when recognized,were maintained-our rebar
datum was placed immediately adjacent to,or tangent to,the old stakes.Isolated
occurrences of artifacts are described and their positions noted on the project
map.They are only photographed and/or illustrated if they represent culturally
diagnostic types such as would be the case with a complete projectile point or
identifiable fragment.No test excavations of any kind were conducted during the
course of this inventory project.
When possible,discussions of artifact analysis results use the terminology
outlined in the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center on-line laboratory manual
(Ortman and others 2005).This is particularly true of pottery types.These types
are essentially common to the "Mesa Verde region,"which spans southeastern Utah
and southwestern Colorado.These types are also recognized and defined by Wilson
and Blinman (1991),and the terminology used widely by archaeologists in the Mesa
Verde region.However,departures from these terms may occur on previously
excavated sites in the vicinity.When these earlier works are cited,the original
terminology is preserved.
20
t;\J ~'-I
'"55631 J
\;,;./!~_.-~:J"....
I'I
SCALE 1:24000ot
l000~eDH=r:::JHa0c=:==15°OO5==s=52000s===3000:E:==sa4000c::==SOllO=.e5==i60003:::::==?7OflO FEET
LeS::::leae:::ac::::Je:::aa.5:::::eea=:::::::Eea===0i===s;;;:;:;s;;;;:;:;s;;;;:;:;s;;;;:;:;s;;;;:;:;s;;;;:;:;s;;;;:;:;s;:;;:j1 KILOMETER
"-'!\
I,",:\~,\\
I l \
\\.....;\
,~.
Figure 6.Denison Mines White Mesa Mill Ce1l4B Project Map showing location of
archaeological sites~(USGS Black Mesa Butte,7.5',1985).
21
22
Previously Documented Sites
As noted in Chapter 3,several sites have been documented in the current
proj ect area.Indeed,some of these were subj ect to test excavations and two
sites have been the subjects of data recovery (i.e.intensive excavation).The
two intensively excavated sites,42Sa6757 and 42Sa8014,were investigated by
Plano Archaeology in 1981.The results of these excavations were published by
Abajo Archaeology,which included many of the original Plano staff,in 1985
(Davis and others 1985).
In addition to the excavated sites,four additional sites were documented
in the current project area (42Sa6391,42Sa6392,42Sa6393,and 42Sa6397)and a
fifth site (42Sa6431)was recorded immediately south of the project's boundary.
Given the proximity of this fifth site to the project area,it is prudent to
consider the site in this report."Unfortunately,a great deal of confusion
apparently surrounded these five sites during the test excavations that followed
the sites'initial survey documentation.This confusion resulted in sites being
tested under different site numbers than what had been assigned to them as a
result of the initial survey work by Thompson.Figure 7 illustrates how site
numbers and locations were conflated.
Figure 7.Survey Site #s vs.Testing Site
Original Site #Tested As
42Sa6391 ~42Sa6391
42Sa6392 ~Not tested
42Sa6393 ~42Sa6391
42Sa6397 ~42Sa6393
42Sa6431 ~42Sa6392
In the testing phase,42Sa6391 is tested as two loci,one of which is 130 m
east of the other (Dykman 1978a).This eastern locus was apparently the original
42Sa6393,which was documented by Thompson as being due east of 42Sa6391 (Figure
8)•
Dykman (1978b)tested a site to the south of the location of the original
42Sa6393 (Lindsay 1978:Figure 2),but used the designation 42Sa6393 (Figure 9).
This site may have been what Thompson recorded as 42Sa6392 or,more likely,
42Sa6397.Thompson's original description of 42Sa6392 states that the site is "40
meters in diameter and is found in a very shallow,natural crescentic depression
with an opening drainage falling at 3 degrees to the W."In contrast,Thompson
describes 42Sa6397 as being 100 m in diameter on a slope that falls to the east.
This latter site description better fits the site that Dykman (1978b)tested as
42Sa6393.
Site 42Sa6392 appears to have been confused with 42Sa6431,which lies to
the south of the former (See Figure 8).A comparison of the original site
description for 42Sa6431 (Thompson 1977)with the description offered by Nielson
for 42Sa6392 during testing indicates that the two are one and the same.Thompson
notes that the site is "located on aeolian soil that slopes to the SWat 3
degrees."Nielson writes that "the site occupies a small,south-west oriented
ridge,"a description that is contrary to Thompson's vision of the 42Sa6392
(cited above).For the current project,a site was located in the approximate
location of Thompson's 42Sa6392 that matches his description of the site.Thus,
it seems likely that Nielson misapplied the 42Sa6392 number,imposing it on the
site that Thompson had identified as 42Sa6431.
I
~--
23
•I
t
••----r---
!•
I
I til '.'12.1....
I
""'28.JI
I----1---
_e.'f1S"I
Gt I
('11'1'1 ''1~-
I I I
II
I----1----I
I
.''1'J4~:
il
I I
J I
-- -_1-1_---
I ·4't'l"f)
I I
III.'
I f I I:I.'I :I .l----- T-- --- - --.---
I t,I
4'f'l3-~I /I
J I I I
I I.I I 4'#'1".'
• I I I 1I'I I0 ''1)8'__ _J._
1----.L-------.-,yZi>i ----.----II4'1'10••
,\'/16.·''1°pO 1 I I1-l"'\'l III-''1lq.I ICiI,'f3'l••4,('f20
;I "'12...,::,.,0/-"•
i----i---->----:----~---;--~'~.---+--!
,"'tH-o '·uqe,I - .I I I
-4&+3.,P .I,I I.••I.-,..............-_...-...~....---_..._~
Figure 8.Site Location Map for Thompson's survey (1977:7).
24
Iij
IiI
3
I450
I
300
,I
meters
150oI
PROJErr LOCATION
l
1
20 21
I!APPfROXIMATEJII
II/
ZI
I
II
\
""I
i I
.........--).--~--'-~-_~__.-'..I_-r-
5:4 IiI: I
I ~
/
Figure 9.White Mesa archaeological sites (After Lindsay 1978:20).
25
Table 5 summarizes the seven previously documented sites considered here.
This section first discusses the two intensively excavated sites,then turns to
the other five sites.
Site 42Sa6391
The site was initially documented by Thompson (1977:21)as a "very thin
scatter of sherds,flakes,and ground stone fragments near the top of a very low
ridge."Thompson noted that the site covered an area about 40 m in diameter.No
collections were procured from the site at that time.Based on the pottery sherds
observed,Thompson concluded that the site dated to A.D.900 or later.Thompson
(1977:14)indicated that the site would require mitigation.,;
Soon after,the site was the subject of two testing programs performed by
the Antiquities Section of the Utah Division of State History (Lindsay 1978;
Nielson 1979).The site was first tested under the supervision of James Dykman
(1978a)in April of 1978.Dykman (1978a:71)notes that the site's surface
manifestations consisted of a "large,10 m by 6 m artifact concentration.This
concentration included ceramics,chipped stone,and ground stone that has a
density of up to 20 artifacts per square meter."Dykman (1978a:71)indicates that
two test trenches were excavated at that time:one trench,Trench A,was
excavated close to the site datum;the second trench,Trench B,was excavated 100
m east of the site's datum to "bisect a small concentration of cultural
material."While the testing report provided a map showing Trench A in relation
to the site datum,Trench B was not.Trench A located two features (Dykman
1978a:73).The first of these is an apparent pit structure of unknown size and
depth.The second feature consisted of a small cist,lined with sandstone slabs,
that contained a partial Mancos Corrugated jar (Dykman 1978a:Figures 22 and 23)
and an unfinished stone adze.
Several months later the site was again tested,this time under the
supervision of Asa Nielson (1979).Nielson notes that the previously excavated
Trench B was "about 125 m"east of the site's datum.Nielson emplaced two
additional trenches on the site.Trench C was located 132 m east of the datum,
apparently parallel to Trench B.Nielson did not provide a map illustrating
Trench C's relationship to the site's datum.Trench 0,like Trench A,was placed
much closer to the site's datum.Trench C located a pit structure in the site's
eastern locus.Trench 0 also located a pit structure (Figure 10).
Considering the great distance between these two cultural loci,it is now
apparent that the eastern locus (with Trenches B and C)is the site that Thompson
had recorded as 42Sa6393.For this reason,the materials and data from Trenches B
and C will be discussed below with 42Sa6393.The salient point here is that at
least two pit structures and one cist have been documented as subsurface features
on 42Sa6391 proper.
The current survey project places the 42Sa6391 slightly east of its
previously given location (ca.40 meters).As it appears now,42Sa6391 consists
of a scatter of lithic and pottery artifacts.Sandstone rock on the surface may
be the remains of architecture,though there does not appear to be any patterning
to its occurrence on the surface.The scatter is contained within an area that
measures about 40 m north/south by 30 m east/west,and occupies the crest of a
low,sandy finger-ridge.A 3/4-in.steel pipe,representing an earlier site
datum,indicates that the site had been previously documented.The faint traces
of at least one,and perhaps two,of the previously excavated test trenches just
east of the site datum are just barely discernable.These trenches appear to have
been backfilled.
N
0"
YY
Davis 1985;
,Lindsay 1978;
Worthington
1978--~-~'-----;--iExcavationdatafxovide-(j-evldenceof a Pueblo I periodP-it structure ancij"Casjens-1980b;
ian associated cist.Davis 1985
42Sa6757
....~--
42Sa8014
Table 5.Previously Investigated Sites In the Project Area
Site NumberITe~p~t\iO:-TTested?1 Excavated?-b------~-=--------Description~~-l-==Sour~es ---
I l ITesting located a pit structure and a cist with a Mancos Corrugated jar.'I D k 1978 .
42Sa6391 I 4 Y N !These and other testing data suggest that this is a Pueblo II period !ThY man 197a7'
I 'h b't t'.ompson:•i I a I a Ion..I -----------------+--~---~-------------------------------------------~---------~----------------
42Sa6392 _L i---W--J'L---.L----~--------------------~_:__~j_Tb.2.f!1P_son_1~77
42Sa6393 I 5 !y!N ITesting locat~d two small pit features.Earlier survey data suggest a I D kman 1978b
I IPueblo II penod component., yI-----c---::--:--------~,-.-----------r---\------------------------------.---------------------------'.'----------------------------42Sa6397 I ___7 _ N '_N Early survey datasuggest an early Pueblo II period association.,Thompson 1977
42Sa6431 I~~~--E>:-=-=-=y-=l -N-----!------:~~=:~=~====~=:==:==~====--------------------.-----
I I i
!!Excavation data yielded evidence of four Basketmaker III period pit
Istructures.
r
,
Figure 10.
27
~~Q)::::l-(\")E co
E ::::l ~CO -
:I
co coCO"0 ....
(J)::::len.::!:Z a.::::l~F '0..()
N >-/--.......
~W \~<ClI "
Site 42Sa6391,site map (After Nielson 1979).
'\"""'-co
U')
:~z
Ee.....
28
The previous test excavations may have posed the most extensive effects to
the site.However,a collector pile also indicates recent visits and perhaps
collecting activity on the site.Rodent disturbance is also evident on modern
ground surface.In terms of surface impacts,the greatest agents of effect were
probably chaining and railing as well as activities associated with historic
farming and grazing practices.
The surface of the site is composed of the fine,red aeolian loess that
dominates the sediments in the immediate area.Rodent burrows are notable for the
white,calcium carbonate-rich chunks of earth.If the burrows are shallow,this
suggests a high B-horizon.If the burrows are deep,then rodents are unearthing
deep subsoils.Current on-site vegetation consists of little sagebrush,bunch
grasses,snakeweed,and prickly pear cactus.Pinyon-juniper woodland is visible
to the west as one approaches the canyon rim.
The artifact scatter comprises pottery,lithic debitage,one chipped stone
tool (a biface),and pecked and ground stone tools (Figure 11).As noted earlier,
there is a scatter of sandstone rock on the site,suggesting the presence of
subsurface architecture.
A total of 51 sherds were documented on the surface of the site;12 of
these sherds were found in the collector pile on the site (Table 6).Corrugated
jar body sherds are the most abundant pottery sherd types (n=23).The rest of the
assemblage includes 3 Mancos B/w sherds (1 jar,1 bowl,1 form unknown),14 Late
White Unpainted sherds (3 bowl body,3 jar body,and 8 form unknown),1 Late
White Painted bowl sherd,4 undifferentiated neckbanded jar sherds,4 Mancos Gray
jar sherds,and 2 San Juan Red Ware sherds (form unknown).
The lithic debitage assemblage recorded on the surface suggests that the
latter stages of reduction are well represented (Table 7).In addition,a variety
of material types were observed on the site.Nine material types were observed in
the debitage assemblage;most of these materials probably derive from the local
Morrison and Dakota Formations.These materials include:a translucent gray and
white chert (most abundant);a translucent,mottled,gray and white chert;an
opaque white chert;an opaque light gray chert;Brushy Basin chert;a gray,
white,and olive silicified sandstone;a green silicified mudstone;a dark green
and brown mudstone;and a chalcedony.
In addition to the debitage,a total of eight lithic tools (T1-T8)were
located and described for the site.The tools included four undifferentiated
metate fragments,one biface,and 3 hammerstones.Tools T4-T8 are located in the
collector pile about 20 m east of the site datum (See Figure 11).The tools are
described further below.
Tl is a metate fragment made from a dense white and brown sandstone.One facet is
ground and exhibits peck marks.The object measures 11.5 x 5.8 x 4.3 cm.
T2 is another metate fragment made from a white,silicified sandstone.One facet
is ground-this facet is slightly concave and exhibits pecking.The item measures
6.5 x 7.2 x 6.5 cm.
The biface,T3,is a Stage 4 biface made from a mottled,light and dark gray
opaque chert (Figure 12).The item appears to have broken during manufacture as
the distal end of the artifact exhibits a transverse fracture.The tool measures
3.4 x 2.3 x 0.6 cm (the last measurement,thickness,is the only complete measure
of the artifact).
T4 is a hammerstone made from a disk-shaped white quartzite alluvial cobble.The
artifact measures 7.5 x 7.0 x 2.8 em.
29
~
\possible old trench
location )
1:\/~~~/\-------collector pile --~~'''~
/(includes T4-T8)
,--------J
/
(
\
1
428a6391
site boundary \I T T1 T3
"'"/'----
-----....--
KEY
&.datum
T#tool M.Bond,10/22/08
Figure 11.Site 42Sa6391,site map.
Site
Table 6 .Pottery Types by Count,Percent,and Site
.--~--.II .--r----i!.-.---I'"0 I i l 'T--T _,
'I ,(])I I,(]),I '"0 i :+"""0'So-i,(])i '.£(])co Cii I
I ~I"OI"O I ~:s I "0 !l/l $"01~:::l I (])I (])C ro (])....C "O(])
>-!....I >-t:I "ci"ro 'I ro ':::>n.i -ro co ro (])ro TOTALro!(9 I ~0 (]):<=-0:<=~(])-!-I'~:<=~l/l E 0::::<=
....rn 0 >-!"0 C I (])C --i ~,:!=2 2 C al 0 "0 C '(9 .£''-"ro i C (]).....(])al'<',.c .-'-g (])__C ro C (])Il/l l/l l/l ....'....ro....al,>.c .c I >....l/l 0:::....ro (])ro ....1.£l/l 0 0 (9'2 &g>&.£ro'>$S!(])&0 0 co E 0 I"=;&g-~g g .£"5 :a't::a g--0 ~(])(]):!=:a g!·ro It::i -g 1 it::'c:a:.c 0 ro ro !!!(])C 0 C .c .~ro .....ro .c C ro,.o .=!1 (])1 .=!I ro c~'o ~1 ~,~,n.IZ:::>0:::>0,n..ill ~-l I S:::>~'«,all 0 !al 1(1):::>---F------t------;~---···_+·--T~-!______:_~-------T-;---·-··---T-;--~---i--r··-·-·····~--_,__,-+,:;-----.:----;--.----:...----;-1-'-;--:---T--"--i--T----r-----f42sa281~i,,+-%;Ni %!t<t:~l%!"t-%-iN I%I~i2~N_'k"Nl %,N,YoN==~N!%!N3i7~0!N%t~~!Nl%t:~tP-f'JI %~~~O
42Sa28129J.Jl?.J.l.~_1 ~__i---+!L_!~9.64.3~__;_~~__.~__c--!•2114.3i 2 1 14.31--t--_~_~..~...~._j 1 _~~",100.0
42Sa6392 I :,••i 3125.01..I,l'8.3!I I 61,50.0 I !! 'j ,,'.•I "I 11 8.3:I .,!,,!',!.12.j.§.3rr I 12'100.0~:::~~'~~l~:[_~~2~I~f -~~~~!::~t~f~~-~~--!!~:i:l:i :il:l-·~[=iJ~I~~:~
---'3:8'"~-'--19.f1D:8llli ~g~54:'~i~~~-.---~n!~-U+i10i189
1
9!~70!=:'-'=1~382Fc"jli-",<+~3,1~OO
:;~:~~~g.;--L.-_--~---.---2./~Ot1O~100.0 -+61 ~.~---~I-J _~__+__L__'-j-·--t--+-l··---L.;.---~--,--.~I.L10-10C{O
Table 7 .Lithic Debitage by Flake Stage,Count,and Percent,All SitesJ.--...------_::-.-------I---------·----l---------;-·--~---·-·---·-·r-·-------·-----·--··---~T-----·_··_--------------··---·-----------.._-~.
Site -'p.r:mary i Sec.ondary~rtla'I..+-?.b~r----.,-Q.T-~'=---i Comments
I----+-_N.-c+-i_°C"yo._J--!iJ-_~_I_f'.J %.N L!c>__fi__-"~._
42Sa28128 11;14.31 31 42.9 1 14.31 2\28.6 7 100.0 The tertiaryflak~i~__~~~sur~~a!<.~:....__
42Sa28129 1L20.01 _~~O 1 20.0~____5 100.0...,__
:;~::~;~._~;:~:~__~;1_;;:~.2;_~~:;~_~~~:~J~lli:~TI:~~;:;~@;_~~~£:~~~;;;::_~;::.=~~--2~Ef.3 .._+~;~:1r'~-~]~-~Mtt~+--·~~+··}~g~iIIT~~1!~~~;,~~~~~r~6 :~~i~~~~fr~~~:~·--71 .._,._.1_._.c .-.--._--.+--1 I"__1_,.__.,----------..-------.--~~2;aatl1~lol~+-~~~~i-~f-~~:~+1~1-~~~~i11~.9ll,.2~I'.~·6g:6l~~~~C3tZrN:~efi~·~~~lJ~~e-~~~i~~~~I:~~:~~-·,---___..,-......-_.-.:;-r---.,.........."-_1_'_·''-'1"-'-"-'·-·-·I·....---+-·",'"r"---',.---~--.-.--...:U'---.---.-....-.---....''.-"'----"-'"------..-----..-......--,~~:;~~~~1+---r--1 j.1~~:~f-+2~~--·+--~--~~-~66~6+fhetertia-rY-fiak
wo
31
T5 is a peckingstone made from a subrectangular nodule of Brushy Basin chert.The
artifact measures 7.3 x 6.5 x 6.0 em.
T6 is a small,well-used,disk-shaped hammerstone made from a light gray chert.
The artifact measures 6.0 x 4.8 x 2.5 em.
T7 is a fire-reddened metate fragment made from a white,silicified sandstone.A
one face is slightly concave and bears peck marks.The artifact measures 13.5 x
10.0 x 4.5 em.
T8 is a metate fragment made from a dark brown sandstone.The item measures 10.1
x 9.8 xl.7 em.
Figure 12.Site 42Sa6391,Tool No.3,Stage 4 biface.Actual size.
The pottery assemblage suggests an association with the early to middle
Pueblo II period.This tentative assessment is based on the presence of
corrugated body sherds,narrow neckbanded sherds (probably late Mancos Gray),
Mancos Black-on-white sherds (with Dogoszhi and Black Mesa design styles),and a
red ware sherd.Alternatively,there might be both a late Pueblo I component and
a Pueblo II component on the site.
The diversity of artifact types suggest that a variety of activities
occurred on the site,which may be indicative of the site's use as a habitation.
This proposition is further corroborated by the presence of pit structures
documented in the test units by the Division of State History.
Site 42Sa6392
This site was first documented by Thompson (1977)and subsequently
confused with a site located just to the south,42Sa6431,during test excavations
conducted by the Antiquities Section (Nielson 1979:30-46).Thompson (1977:21)
described the site as being "40 meters in diameter and is found in a very narrow,
natural crescentic depression with an opening drainage falling at 3 degrees to
the W."As noted earlier,this does not fit the description of the site tested
later by Nielson as 42Sa6392.That site,as Nielson (1979:30)notes,is found on
a "small,south-west oriented ridge."It is important that future researchers
examining collections made from 42Sa6392 during test excavations by the
Antiquities Section in the late 1970s and early 1980s are not from 42Sa6392,but
rather 42Sa6431.Thompson,apparently,did not colle~anything from 42Sa6392
during its initial documentation.
At the time of its initial documentation,the site manifested itself as a
"thin scatter of...flakes,ground stone fragments,and a few sherds either painted
32
or corrugated..."(Thompson 1977:21).Thompson proffers that the site dates to
after A.D.900,and suggests that the site would require further mitigation.
Our documentation of 42Sa6392 places the site about 100 m west and slightly
north of its previously recorded location.The site currently manifests as a
scatter of lithic and pottery artifacts and includes a small concentration of
jacal (Figure 13).The site occupies an area measuring approximately 40 m in
diameter,although the centrally located cluster of jacal materials is smaller,
covering an area that measures about 5 m in diameter.The site is perched on a
slight west-facing slope below the crest of a finger-ridge.On the ground,
Thompson's observation that the site is in a "natural crescentic depression"is
suggested by a very slight depression in the middle of the site area that may be
more impressionistic than real.Lithic artifacts include debitage and flaked and
ground stone tools.Pottery items include white ware bowl sherds,and neckbanded
and corrugated cooking jar sherds.The pottery may indicate a primary use of the
site during the years that span the early to middle Pueblo II periods.
Rodents probably pose the greatest recent impact to the site.Other
impacting agents on the site may include activities associated with historic
farming and grazing,and possibly chaining.
The site's sediments appear to consist of the deep aeolian soils forming
much of this portion of White Mesa's modern ground surface.On-site vegetation,
which is sparse,currently consists of bunch grasses,small sage,snakeweed,
prickly pear cactus,and Russian thistle (tumbleweed).
The site consists of a scatter of pottery sherds,chipped stone artifacts
(including debitage and a biface),and a ground stone tool.In addition there is
a concentration of jacal,described here as Feature 1,that measures about 5 m in
diameter.
A total of 12 sherds were documented on the site's surface (See Table 6).
These include cooking jar sherds as well as bowl sherds.Included in the
assemblage are 6 corrugated jar body sherds,1 plain gray jar body sherd,3
Mancos Gray jar sherds (including 1 jar rim),1 Late White Painted bowl sherd,
and 1 Bluff/Deadmans B/r bowl body sherd.
The site's surface debitage assemblage is more substantial and includes 62
pieces of debitage and a variety of lithic materials.The later stages of
reduction are well represented in the assemblage (See Table 7).At least 11
material types are represented in the debitage assemblage,most of which are
probably associated with Morrison and Dakota Formations.The materials are as
follows:light gray,translucent chert (most abundant);opaque white chert;
opaque,mottled white and gray chert;translucent white and gray chert;opaque,
mottled gray and brown chert;fine-grained,black basalt;opaque,gray chert;
olive and tan silicified siltstone;Brushy Basin chert;tan silicified sandstone;
and an opaque tan chert.
The chipped stone tool,Tl,is a Stage 3 or Stage 4 biface made from a
light gray translucent chert (Figure 14).The artifact may be a projectile point
preform.
The groundstone artifact,T2,is a metate fragment that probably derived
from the margin of the larger tool.The artifact was made from a brown sandstone.
Only one facet was apparently ground,and only lightly so.T2 measures 13.5 x 6.5
x 4.0 em.
33
o 10m
R=.L:JII:::::::=::
F F
------~XI/T2 '"CJT1
/F G)
F m
F \--I
0
1J~
I
)
\,F
F /
428a6392
-
site boundary
KEY
£.
S
F
T#M.Bond 10/22/08
Figure 13.Site 42Sa6392,site map.
34
Figure 14.Site 42Sa6392,Tool No.1,Stage 3 or Stage 4 biface.Actual size.
Feature 1 consists of a concentration of jacal and sandstone rubble.The
concentration lies in the approximate center of the artifact scatter and measures
about 5 m in diameter.The chunks of jacal measure 5 to 6 cm in diameter,while
the sandstone rock measures about 10 cm in diameter.These materials are also
associated with considerable rodent disturbance,suggesting that the jacal and
rock could have been extracted from subsurface contexts by industrious rodents.
Although small,the pottery assemblage suggests an association with the
early to middle Pueblo II period.This tentative assessment is based on the
presence of corrugated body sherds,narrow neckbanded sherds (probably late
Mancos Gray),and one Bluff/Deadmans B/r sherd.Alternatively,there might be
both Pueblo I and Pueblo II components on the site.
The variety of artifact types on the site suggest that a diversity of
activities took place at 42Sa6392.Additionally,Feature 1 suggests the presence
of architecture on the site,perhaps indicating the remains of surface
architecture.While sediment depth is unknown,it is quite possible that the site
harbors one or more subsurface architectural features.
Site 42Sa6393
This site was initially recorded by Thompson (1977)as a locus of cultural
materials that measured 50 meters in diameter.Artifacts that he observed on the
site included a notched axe,mano fragments,cores,flakes,and pottery sherds.
Thompson (1977:21)indicates that the site is situated on a 3 degree slope with a
western aspect.Thompson's location of the site places it about 100 meters east
of 42Sa6391.The initial documentation included a collection of pottery,which
included Mancos Corrugated,Mancos B/w,and Deadmans B/r,pottery types that are
indicative of the PueblB-I-±---F'€-F-ied.Thoffij3s0flLg--s-ite form for 42Sa6391 indicates
that the axe was also collected.Thompson implicitly suggests that the site
should be the target of future mitigation efforts.
To that end,the Antiquities Section apparently intended to test the site
in spring of 1978 (Lindsay 1978).Unfortunately,archaeologists at that time
failed to correctly relocate the site.Instead,the site designation was applied
to a locus of cultural materials well to the south of Thompson's 42Sa6393.As
noted earlier,it seems likely that Thompson's site 42Sa6397 was misidentified as
42Sa6393.James Dykman (1978b)excavated a series of trenches on the site
erroneously identified as 42Sa6393;the data from these excavations are not
reported here,but are instead discussed with 42Sa6397.
Further compounding the confusion,it is now apparent that Antiquities
Section personnel did test the location of the original 42Sa6393,but did so
35
under another site number,42Sa6391 (discussed earlier in this report).Two
parallel trenches,Trenches Band C,were placed in the approximate center of the
site.In one episode of testing,Dykman (1978a)excavated Trench B,which did not
yield any evidence for cultural features,nor did Dykman indicate the presence of
artifacts.A few months later,Nielson (1979)excavated Trench C and located a
pit structure.Nielson (1979:21 and Figure 8)reports that the structure's floor
was located about 1.4 m below modern ground surface.Nielson reports that one
diagnostic artifact,a possible Mancos Gray sherd,was recovered from the floor.
Other pottery sherds recovered from the trench included one Chapin B/g,three
plain gray,on Mancos B/w,nine corrugated body sherds,and one unidentified red
ware sherd.
Currently,the site consists of a scatter of lithic and pottery artifacts
(Figure 15).In addition,two parallel trenches and their associated backdirt
piles are very evident on the site.These are apparently Trenches Band C,
excavated by Dykman (1978b)and Nielson (1979),respectively.The site measures
approximately 60 m north/south by 45 m east/west in an area immediately west of
the crest of a finger-ridge.Two concentrations of artifacts (Artifact Clusters 1
and 2)were noted on the west side of the site.The site's lithic assemblage
includes debitage as well as ground stone items.The pottery assemblage includes
white ware jar sherds,red ware sherds,and neckbanded and corrugated jar body
sherds.It is possible that the site dates to the early to middle Pueblo II
period.However,it is also possible that the site has a late Pueblo I component
as well as a middle Pueblo II component.
The primary impacting agent to the site is probably the previous activities
of archaeologists on the site.The site was apparently trenched in the past with
heavy equipment:two backhoe trench depressions and their associated berms are
still present.As noted above,the trenches probably correspond to Trenches Band
C,which were erroneously excavated for 42Sa6391 (Dykman 1978a;Nielson 1979).
Rodent burrowing has also affected the site.
On-site sediments consist of the red aeolian loess that dominates this
portion of White Mesa.Current on-site vegetation consists of sagebrush,bunch
grasses,snakeweed,and prickly pear.Pinyon-juniper woodland is visible to the
west,near the canyon rim.
The surface artifact assemblage consists of pottery,lithic debitage,and
several ground stone tools.Most of the artifacts are found in one of the two
artifact clusters identified on the site (AC-1 and AC-2).
A total of 115 pottery sherds were documented on the surface of the site
(See Table 6).At nearly one-half of the assemblage,corrugated body sherds are
the most common type of sherd on the site.Early cooking jar types include
several possible sherds of Mancos Gray,several plain gray sherds,and one Chapin
Gray rim sherd.A number of white ware sherds are present,including one sherd
that appears to be early (either Chapin B/w or Piedra B/w).Several of the white
ware sherds appear to be Mancos B/w-these include sherds with Black Mesa and
Dogoszhi design styles.Also present are San Juan Red Ware sherds,including
several that were typed to Deadmans B/r.A variety of forms are represented on
the site,including cooking jars,bowls,white ware jars,a seed jar,and a
pitcher.
The lithic debitage assemblage is characterized by the later stages of
reduction (See Table 7).Four material types were observed for the site's
debitage assemblage:Brushy Basin chert;a translucent,mottled gray and white
chert;a translucent white chert;and a white and gray silicified sandstone.At
nearly 80 percent of the assemblage,Brushy Basin chert is clearly the dominant
material on the site.
36
site
boundary
//
M.Bond,10/22/08
o 10 m..__:__:::J
I~
/
/
I-
(f)
OJ
0::
U
OJ
(9
'\~
\
\
T1
T2
'-----/KEY
.l\datum
T#tool
AC-#artifact cluster
(iP:t!!ittliil::mi~!)berm
_backhoe trench
428a6393
Figure 15.Site 42Sa6393,site map.
37
The lithic tools found on the site (T1-T4)consist entirely of ground stone
items,all of which are undifferentiated metate fragments.These are described
below:
Tl is a metate fragment made from a dense,white silicified sandstone.One facet
exhibits use and is slightly concave on its entire surface.The artifact measures
15 x 10 x 7 cm.
T2 is made from the same material as T1 (probably Dakota silicified sandstone).
It too has a single,slightly concave used facet,but is also heavily stippled
with peck marks.T2 measures 8.5 x 8.0 x 2.5 cm.
T3 is found in AC-2.It is made from a relatively soft brown sandstone.It has
one slightly concave,used facet and measures 9.5 x 8.0 x 3.5 em.
T4 is located in the larger of the two backhoe trenches mapped during this
project.It is made of the same material as T3.It has a single slightly concave
used facet that is also heavily stippled.It measures 14.0 x 8.5 x 2.5 cm.
The pottery assemblage is rather ambiguous with regard to the number of
components on the site.The gray ware assemblage includes neckbanded sherds with
narrow bands (probably Mancos Gray),as well as corrugated jar sherds.A Chapin
Gray sherd is present as are several plain gray sherds.White ware pottery types
include Mancos B/w.Deadmans B/r is also present.Thus,it is possible that
Basketmaker III,Pueblo I,and Pueblo II components are represented at this site.
The diversity of the site's assemblage suggests that a variety of
activities occurred on the site.Paired with the presence of a pit structure
discovered in one of the backhoe trenches,these data suggest that the site may
have functioned as a habitation.
Site 42Sa6397
This site was originally recorded by Thompson (1977:22)as a "thin flake
and sherd scatter"in an area that measures 100 meters in diameter.Thompson
notes that the site is situated on a gentle three-degree slope with an eastern
aspect.While Thompson did not make any collections from the site,he did observe
"plain corrugated"and painted sherds in the assemblage,prompting him to suggest
that the site dates to around A.D.900.
Unfortunately,the site was erroneously tested under the site number
42Sa6393 by the Antiquities Section in April,1978 under the supervision of James
Dykman (1978b).Dykman's description of the site better fits Thompson's
description of 42Sa6397.Dykman (1978b:78)notes that "the site is on the end of
a small ridge that trends north to south.An artifact concentration is located on
top of the ridge and down the slope to the east."The testing report's plot of
the site varies considerably from Thompson's original placement of 42Sa6393,
moving it considerably farther south (Lindsay 1978:Figure 2),essentially siting
Dykman's 42Sa6393 in the location of Thompson's 42Sa6397.Confusing the issue
further,however,Nielson (1979:51-52)reports that he revisited 42Sa6397 in July
of 1978 and determined that testing or further mapping of the site was not
required.We can only speculate that Nielson encountered 42Sa28132,which is
indeed a sparse scatter of artifacts.Nielson's observations are discussed
further with Site 42Sa28132.
38
A total of seven backhoe trenches were excavated on the site (Figure 16).
Two of the trenches located subsurface cultural features,both of which were
classified as "storage pits.N Dykman (1978b:84)reports that only two artifacts,
both Chapin Gray artifacts,were collected from their excavations.He does not
say with what frequency artifacts were encountered,however.Dykman (1978b:84)
does conclude his comments for the site by saying,"The presence of these two
features indicate the possibility that there is probably a habitation structure
located in the area.It is,therefore,recommended that further development or
impact of this site locality should be preceded by further testing and salvage.N
As it appears now,the site consists of a scatter of lithic and pottery
artifacts,as well as fragments of sandstone rock and j acal (Figure 17).The
lithic artifact assemblage includes debitage as well as chipped stone and ground
stone tools.The pottery assemblage is dominated by plain gray jar sherds.The
site occupies a space that measures about 60 meters in diameter.Two
concentrations of cultural materials are apparent on the site,referred to here
as Artifact Clusters 1 and 2 (AC-1 and AC-2).The site is centered on the crest
of a finger-ridge with a north-to-south orientation.Previous investigations on
the site are apparent by the presence of a steel,3/4 pipe datum.The faint
remnants of the seven backhoe trenches,which were apparently backfilled,are
barely visible.
By far the greatest impacts to the site are the aforementioned
archaeological test excavations.Arguably,the conflation of site numbers also
affects the site,particularly if collections from 42Sa6393 and 42Sa6397 are
confused.Rodent disturbance has also exacted a toll on the site.It seems likely
that past chaining and railing activities have greatly affected the surface of
the site.Thompson (1977:22)notes the likelihood that the site has been
"smearedN by these activities.Grazing and other agricultural activities have
also probably affected the surface manifestations of the site in significant
ways.
The site's surficial sediments are composed of the red aeolian loess that
so characterizes this portion of White Mesa.The current vegetation on the site
consists of bunch grasses,mustard,snakeweed,prickly pear,and sagebrush.
As noted above,cultural materials on the site consist of pottery,chipped
stone debitage,and a number of lithic tools.Several loci of artifacts were
documented on the site,including two artifact clusters (AC-1 and AC-2).AC-1,
located on the south end of the site,includes a concentration of burned
sandstone and jacal (Feature 1).Most of the pottery observed in AC-1 indicates a
Basketmaker III component.However,several Mancos Corrugated rim sherds suggest
a Pueblo II period component,too.AC-2,found in the site's center,includes
small burned sandstone slabs,pottery,and lithic artifacts.A collector pile in
this location includes plain gray pottery and a neckbanded sherd.Additionally,a
collector pile at the site datum includes pottery and lithic artifacts.
The site's surface pottery assemblage,as documented for this project,
includes 37 sherds (See Table 6).Most of these sherds are cooking jar sherds
(including Chapin Gray sherds,plain gray sherds,neckbanded sherds,and
corrugated sherds).Two red ware sherds were also noted,but their vessel form
was not documented.Most of the pottery sherds occur in one of three areas on the
site:AC-l,AC-2,and the collector pile near the site datum.
All stages of reduction are represented in the site's debitage assemblage
(See Figure 7).The dominant material type for the debitage assemblage is Brushy
Basin chert,though several other material types are also present.These other
types,most or all of which derive from local sources,include:dark green
silicified mudstone;green mudstone with accretionary lapilli;translucent
mottled gray and white chert;translucent white and gray chert;translucent white
39
/'
428a6397
(Recorded as 42Sa6393 by Dykman (1978)
ncentration
/
/
I
I,
I "Pit 1
\U"////
,/.........-'~i~2
A datum
o t 10m
••=-B-=..Br:::=:=:j!
Redrawn from Dykman (1978:Figure 24)
Figure 16.Site 42Sa6397,site map (After Dykman 1978).
40
\
\
\
,
/
to 10 m
-------..__=:J
R
site
boundary
/~~
T3
"P1 ',/\\concentratioAC~/~:-~yofjaCal /
!~-//
R __---"
/
I-
(J)
l.LJ
0::
()
l.LJ
<9
Q-
--
R
------
x steel t-post
---
R
-R"""R-R-U~-----",R
/\
"collector pile,
I __,at datum '
\(~_/(with T5 and IT7)
L'~\/\/"/AC-1 -',_T4 ,,"
/
/
/
428a6397
/
I"
\
\
\
KEY '"~
&.datum '-...R rubble
T#tool
AC-#artifact cluster
c:::J backhoe trench
Figure 17.Site 42Sa6397,site map.
41
and light green chert;opaque white chert;translucent white chert;light cream
and tan silicified sandstone;and an opaque dark gray chert.
The lithic tool assemblage consists of seven items (TI-T7).These
artifacts include four metate fragments,one mana fragment,and two bifaces.
These objects are described further below.
Tl is a fragment from the margin of a trough metate.The artifact is made from a
dense,white silicified sandstone.A deep basin is apparent in the cross-section
of the artifact.This ground basin is also stipple-pecked.The object measures
16.0 x 10.5 x 4.0,though the ground facet penetrates 2.5 em deep.
T2 is similarly a fragment of a trough metate.It is also made of the dense,
white silicified sandstone.The object has a single,slightly concave facet that
is also stipple-pecked.It measures 16 x 9 x 8 em.
T3 is similar to T2.Again,it probably derived from a trough metate and was made
of the white silicified sandstone.It has a single,concave,stipple-pecked
facet.The object measures 13.0 x 9.5 x 5.0 em.
T4 is a small fragment of ground stone.It is made from white,silicified
sandstone.One facet is lightly ground.The item measures 10.2 x 5.3 x 2.2 em.
T5 appears to be a fragment of a two-hand mana.Made from white,silicified
sandstone,one facet is beveled,yielding a triangular cross-section.This
feature securely identifies the artifact as a two-hand mano.The item measures
16.5 x 12.0 x 2.5 em.
T6 is a Stage 4 biface fragment with a missing base (Figure 18a).It is made from
a translucent,light pink chert.The margins are denticulated.The artifact was
probably a projectile point.It measures 1.3 em wide x 0.3 em thick.Its length
is unknown.See the attached figure for more detail.
T7 is a Stage 2 or 3 biface fragment (Figure 18b).It is made from a translucent
light pink and lavender chert.The apparent distal end is missing.The item
measures 3.2 em wide and 0.5 em thick.Its length is unknown.See the attached
figure for more detail.
A
\
B
Figure 18.Site 42Sa6397,(A)Tool No.6,Stage 4 biface fragment;(B)Tool No.
7,Stage 2 or Stage 3 biface fragment.
42
The one feature identified on the site,Feature 1,consists of a
concentration of small fragments of burned jacal.This material is confined to a
2 by 3-meter area contained within AC-l.The pieces of jacal are very small,
friable,and appear to be burned.The fragments are 1 to 5 em in diameter.About
20 small fragments of burned sandstone co-occur with the jacal.It seems likely
that these materials represent the remains of a structure that incorporated jacal
in its architecture.
The site's pottery assemblage suggests at least two components:a
substantial Basketmaker III component and a relatively minor Pueblo II component.
Considering that several Mancos Corrugated rim sherds are located on the site,as
well as a few neckbanded sherds,it is possible that the Pueblo II occupation
could be more specifically characterized as an early Pueblo II period component.
Given that early Pueblo II components are well represented on this portion of
White Mesa,it seems reasonable to suggest that this site was contemporaneous
with this occupation.However,the site's occupation may be more complex.
Neckbanded pottery,and the red ware,may signal an intermediate occupation
during the Pueblo I period.
The function of the site is difficult to assess.The relatively small
number of artifacts in the surface assemblage may indicate one or more brief
occupations of the location.Earlier test excavations failed to locate evidence
of pit structures.However,such a feature may have been missed by the test
trenches.The discovery of two small pit features,and the presence Feature 1,
suggest the likelihood that other significant subsurface features remain to be
identified.
Site 42Sa6431
Thompson (1977:28)first documented this site,describing its location as a
place of "aeolian soil that slopes to the SWat 3 degrees."Noting that the site
was contained within an area that measures 30 meters in diameter,Thompson
describes a diverse assemblage of cultural materials."Cultural debris consists
of primary and secondary flakes,a hammerstone,1 mano and numerous ground stone
fragments as well as sherds.Sherds collected have been analyzed to reveal 2
Chapin Gray,1 Mancos Corrugated rim (16 corrugated body sherds),16 Mancos B/W,
and 3 Deadmans B/R."While brief,Thompson's description of the site's size,
setting,and artifact assemblage figured importantly in the site's re-
identification for this project.However,testing activities that apparently took
place on the site should be discussed first.
In July of 1978,Antiquities Section archaeologists had conducted test
excavations on a site that they determined to be 42Sa6392 (Nielson 1979:30-46).
As argued earlier,the locational data supplied by Thompson,scant though they
are,indicate the conflation of 42Sa6392 with 42Sa6431.Supervised by Asa
Nielson,testing activities first involved the placement of nine test trenches
(Figure 19).Test excavations located three features:a hearth,a burial,and a
lens of charcoal and daub.Cultural materials collected include 39 pottery sherds
(Chapin Gray and Plain Gray),two possible mauls,several flakes,and a "tanged"
or "split-stemmed"point that was probably curated and reworked (Nielson 1979:
Figure 20).The pottery is indicative of the Basketmaker III period,a fact that
was not lost on Nielson,who seems a little perplexed that he failed to locate a
Pueblo II period assemblage when he writes,"Subsurface collections recovered
during test excavation differ from surface collection(s)made by Thompson (1977).
The collections of subsurface material show a complete lack of corrugated or
painted wares.Thompson's collections suggest a possible Pueblo II (ca 1075-800
B.P.)occupation."As noted earlier,Thompson did not make collections from
43
428a6431
(Recorded as 42Sa6392 by Nielson (1979))
o 10m
..••---j
"[ench G
Trench
rench 0
Trench A Trench H
Redrawn from Nielson (1979:Figure 13)
Figure 19.Site 42Sa6431,site map (After Nielson 1979).
44
42Sa6392.We assume that Nielson was aware of Thompson's collections from
42Sa6431,however,which did demonstrate a strong Pueblo II period signature (see
the preceding paragraph).
The trenches that Nielson excavated in July of 1978 are now difficult to
discern.Nielson's trenches were apparently backfilled-a few alignments were
barely detectable by the differential desiccation of cheatgrass.Relocation of
the trenches was made even more difficult by the fact that at least one other
session of test excavations occurred on the site,evidently after Nielson's
initial testing efforts.
This second testing event,which apparently involved the excavation of
seven backhoe trenches,is readily apparent on the site.As is the case with
42Sa6393,these trenches were not backfilled and are accompanied by parallel
berms of backdirt (Figure 20).To date,a report for these excavations has not
been found.
In addition to the backhoe trenches,a ~-inch length of metal pipe was
located just north of the site's approximate center and in the same relative
place as the datum depicted by Nielson (1979:Figure 13)for his map of 42Sa6392.
The site,as Bond mapped it for the current project,consists of a scatter of
lithic and pottery artifacts as well as a concentration of jacal (Feature 2).A
probable midden area (Feature 1)is located in the southern portion of the site.
Feature 1 includes a lot of Pueblo II period pottery,which is consistent with
Thompson's observations and collections.It is also the same approximate size and
setting as the scatter that Thompson (1977:28)described in his survey report.
Bond also observed a dispersed scatter of plain gray pottery in the vicinity of
the datum,and east of it (See Figure 20).This scatter is in the same location
as the Basketmaker materials that Nielson observed and tested in 1978.
As we understand it now,the site covers an area that measures
approximately 120 m north/south by 60 m east/west.42Sa6431 occupies the crest of
a finger-ridge and the ridge's terminal southern end.Cultural materials may be
found on the west-and east-facing slopes on either side of the ridge crest as
well.Lithic artifacts recorded on the site include debitage and ground stone
items.The pottery assemblage,as a whole,includes white ware bowl sherds,and
corrugated,neckbanded,and plain gray jar sherds.
As noted above,a possible midden (Feature 1)is located in the southern
end of the site,on a gentle slope with a southwestern exposure.Feature 1
measures approximately 30 m in diameter.Feature 1 contains a pottery assemblage
that indicates a Pueblo II period component.A small concentration of jacal
(Feature 2),just northeast of the midden area,may represent architectural
remains associated with the midden area.Feature 2 covers a 2 m
2 area.
By far the greatest impact to the site is the archaeological test
excavations that occurred on the site.As noted above,the site was subjected to
at least two episodes of test excavations.Nielson documents the first set of
excavations,but recorded his activities as having occurred at 42Sa6392.The
conflation of these two sites may result in "off-site effects,"particularly if
future researchers mistake Nielson's collections with 42Sa6392.Rodent burrowing
has also taken place on the site.Other impacts to the site probably include
chaining and railing,and probably plowing and grazing as well.
Sediments on the site are dominated by the red aeolian loess that
characterizes this portion of White Mesa.Vegetation on the site includes
sagebrush,cheatgrass,snakeweed,mustard,juniper,Mormon tea,prickly pear,and
globe mallow.
As noted above,the site's artifact assemblage consists of pottery and
lithic artifacts.Fifty-three sherds were documented on the site's surface (See
45
site
boundary
plain gray pottery
scatter
-------If-
T
T!Y,
/
I
>
',(-',~"--~
T3 ~/
'\:,~~F1 (midden
':.::-:/
428a6431
Nielson
Trenches C
and D?f--i-----I1_-__
----------11-
!
KEY
&.datum
T#tool
berm
...backhoe ench
F#feature M.Bond,10/23/08
Figure 20.Site 42Sa6431,site map.
46
Table 6).Many of these are either corrugated jar body sherds (n=ll)or plain
gray jar body sherds (n=18).Interestingly,all of the latter are found in an
area just east of the site's datum,suggesting the presence of a Basketmaker III
component in this location.A possible Mancos Gray jar sherd was also noted in
this area.In contrast,Feature 1,the possible midden area,harbors many of the
later pottery types.These include Mancos Blw (n=9),four San Juan Red Ware
sherds (of which two are Deadmans Blr bowl rim sherds),six Late White Unpainted,
and four Late White Painted sherds.The Mancos Blw sherds exhibit Black Mesa
(n=5)and Dogoszhi (n=4)design styles.At least one of these sherds is a bowl
rim sherd.While not documented,it seems likely that the white ware sherds
represent both bowl and jar forms.
The lithic debitage assemblage (n=32)is characterized by a high frequency
of Brushy Basin chert (See Table 7).In addition to this material,a green
mudstone with accretionary lapilli,and a light "tan"and brown silicified
sandstone were observed on the site.The Brushy Basin chert and green mudstone
derive from the Morrison Formation;the third material probably comes from the
Dakota Formation.
The site's lithic tool assemblage comprises eight items (TI-T8),including
five slab metate fragments,two likely manos,and one hammerstone.Each object is
discussed further below.
Tl may actually represent two tool types.One facet of this fragmented tool is
convex,ground,and stipple-pecked,indicating this item's use as a mano.It is
not possible to distinguish whether this tool is a one-hand mano or two-hand
mano.The tool's opposing face is slightly concave,but also exhibits peck marks
and has been ground,suggesting the use of this side of the tool as a pallette or
lap stone.The object is made from a dense,fine-grained sandstone and measures
13.5 x 11.5 x 2.8 cm.
T2 is a complete hammerstone made from an alluvial cobble of gray quartzite.The
artifact is battered along its margins and measures 9.0 x 5.5 x 3.8 em.
T3 consists of several fragments of a metate made from a piece of white,tabular
sandstone.Only one facet is ground.The item measures 12.5 x 10.0 x 2.6 em.
T4 is a small fragment of a metate made from white silicified sandstone.Enough
of the object is present to indicate that the artifact had a single use surface,
which is concave.The remaining artifact measures 18 x 5 em,and was 8 cm thick.
It is possible that this item was a trough metate,but not enough of the item was
present to distinguish it from a basin metate.
T5 is a fragment of a metate.This item is made from a relatively soft,tabular,
brown sandstone.One facet is ground.None of the metate's original margins are
intact.The item measures 8.0 x 6.0 x 3.4.
T6 is a metate fragment.The artifact is made from a white silicified sandstone.
Both faces are lightly ground and pecked.An original margin is edge-flaked
(scabbled).The artifact measures 16.0 x 11.6 x 4.3 em.
T7 is a fragment of some kind of handstone,perhaps a mano, made from an alluvial
cobble.Both facets show wear.The artifact,originally disk-shaped,measures 8 x
5.5 x 3.8 em.
T8 is a small fragment of a metate made from sandstone.The item may be fire-
oxidized.Both sides are ground,though one more than the other.The artifact
measures 8.5 x 8.0 x 2.7 em.
The site's pottery assemblage suggests two components:a Basketmaker III
component and an early to middle Pueblo II component.The Basketmaker III
47
component is characterized by the presence of a relatively large number of plain
gray jar body sherds.These are localized to one portion of the site,a 30 x 40 m
area that is east of the site's datum,an observation that is consistent with
test excavations conducted by Nielson (1979).The midden area,described here as
Feature 1,contains the highest frequency of Pueblo II period pottery.Feature 1
is located at the southern end of the site.The formal pottery types most
characteristic of the Pueblo II period on the site are Mancos B/w and Deadmans
B/r,while the incidence of corrugated pottery more generally reflects a Pueblo
II/III occupation.The Mancos B/w sherds exhibit both Black Mesa and Dogoszhi
design styles.
It is reasonable to suggest at least a seasonal habitation function for
both components.Nielson's discovery of a burial in the Basketmaker component
suggests that a pithouse may be within the vicinity.Feature 1,a midden with a
variety of artifacts,indicates a high likelihood that a buried habitation
feature is present on the site.
Site 42Sa6757
Site 42Sa6757 may be described as a habitation site with at least one pit
structure that may have been a year-round dwelling,and other smaller structures
that may have served as seasonal habitations or food processing facilities
(Figure 21).The site was apparently originally documented through the efforts of
the Antiquities Section (Lindsay 1978:Table III;Worthington 1978).The site was
later tested for significance (Nielson 1979:85-95)and extent (Nielson 1981?).At
the time of its initial documentation,the site was simply recorded as a "Mesa
Verde Anasazi"site (Worthington 1978).
Site 42Sa6757 is situated on a gentle,east-facing slope of a low finger
ridge that has a north-south orientation.The current vegetation does not appear
to differ significantly from what was present at the time of the site's
excavation,which consisted of sagebrush,Russian thistle,prickly pear cactus,
snakeweed,and introduced grasses (Davis and others 1985:128).At the time of
excavation,impacts documented for the site had included historic chaining and/or
other land-leveling activities,re-seeding,and collecting (apparent by way of a
collector's artifact pile).Davis and others (1985:128-129)note that three
backhoe trenches had been excavated to test for significance and that the State
later excavated 13 other trenches to determine extent.Agenbroad (1985:Figure 8-
5)illustrates that the overburden of the aeolian loess is 50 to 70 em deep
across much of the site,at which point caliche-rich sediments are encountered.
Excavation of the site documented a total of five features,including two
pit structures and two very small habitations or field houses (Davis and others
1985:128-164).A fifth feature,Feature 5,is briefly described as a basin-shaped
hearth.The hearth is situated on the north end of the site's midden.The midden
defined and tested at 42Sa6757 was not immediately apparent at the surface (Davis
1985:164).Instead,this cultural deposit is partially buried under 3 to 5 cm of
aeolian sediments.The midden is south of the pit structures,is roughly
elliptical,and covers approximately 650 square meters.It is characterized by a
relatively dark color and relatively high concentrations of artifacts.The midden
is fairly shallow and does not appear to be more than 15 em thick.This area was
tested by backhoe trenches,but otherwise not systematically sampled.Pottery
data indicate that all of the features and the midden date to the Basketmaker III
period.Brief descriptions of Features 1 through 4 follow.
Feature 1 is a roughly D-shaped or sub-circular pithouse with a relatively
straight eastern wall.The room measured 4.5 m north-south by 4.7 m east-west,
and was approximately 1.2 m deep.Feature 1 did not have the appended antechamber
that many Basketmaker III pithouses have.Instead,the southern wall is sloped,
48
tN
I
•••,11
Io!10 III
uU~I__1
•••
••+••#*"---_.........",-........••~..
.-,.--",,-...••..••••.....a.
--
•••.,;....~~,~..:~l:..""",,~:::·s:·-..
J
,/
,/./.(,.~
./\....
j ,/•\...
/••I •~....•_~J.A_--------..~.I ,.1)·</i •/•...-•••
•I •'Lw__---------It-• I ..
I •J •I 6./•
\,\\•I-__4'::.\...----
••
datum
••••••••••••••••••••••••..-••••
428a6757
KEY
F#feature
~Plano trench
••
...#State trench
bladed area Redrawn from
Davis and others
(1985:Figure 7-27)
Figure 21.Site 42Sa6757,site map.
49
not vertical.A set of bilaterally symmetrical floor features,including wing
walls,post holes,and pits were documented,as was an uncoped hearth.The
structure was not burned;instead,it appears as though wooden architectural
elements were recycled.In spite of this,enough of a roof and/or floor artifact
assemblage was recovered to suggest a few food-processing activity areas in the
room,particularly in the area enclosed by the wing walls in the south part of a
the room,and in the area immediately surrounding the hearth.
Feature 2 is a sub-circular pit structure that measured 4.2 m in diameter
and was 45 cm deep.Like Feature 1,this room did not have the appended
antechamber common to Basketmaker III pithouses.Rather,a vent tunnel along the
southeast side of the room supplied the feature with air.Other features in the
room were organized bilaterally and in a pattern to suggest a southeast alignment
for the room.These features included wing walls,a hearth,and apparent
deflector postholes.A milling bin as well as several relatively deep pit
features were also documented in the room.The room had burned.One of the room
beams yielded a noncutting date of A.D.627.A relatively high number of ground
stone artifacts were recovered from the floor;these items,and the room's
features,indicate a primary function of food-processing for the structure.
Feature 3 is a sub-rectangular,semi-subterranean room that measured 2.3 m
north-south by 2.1 m east-west and was about 20 cm deep.The room was divided by
an interior,upright slab wall that segregated the eastern 1/3 of the room from
the western 2/3.No hearth was observed in the structure;however,I suggest that
a test trench may have obliterated an ephemeral hearth.No other internal
features were present.Two exterior postholes on the west side of the feature
indicate an expedient exterior roofing technique,such as a lean-to,might have
been used to roof the structure.The structure was not burned.Davis and others
(1985)suggest that the room was used as an informal habitation with some storage
function.
Feature 4 is a rectangular pit structure that measured 3.5 m east-west by
2.2 m north-south.It is difficult to assess how deep the original structure was;
its floor was located at about 30 em below modern ground surface.Only a few
features were found in the room.These included a hearth,a pit,and a single
posthole.The room was burned upon abandonment.Most artifacts had been removed
from the feature before burning.Davis and others (1985:162-164)suggest that the
room may have functioned as an expedient habitation.
Site 42Sa8014
Site 42Sa8014 was probably a seasonally occupied habitation (Figure 22).As
with 42Sa6757,this site was initially documented by the Utah Division of State
History Antiquities Section (Davis and others 1985:165).It was subsequently
tested for significance,although no citation for that work could be found.
Casjens (1980b:344-345)writes that the site was further tested for extent;Davis
and others (1985:Figure 7-38)indicate the location of the Antiquities Section's
trenches on the excavation plan view of the site.
Site 42Sa8014 is located near the base of the same ridge slope that
42Sa6757 occupies.Davis and others (1985:165)note that,prior to the mill's
construction,a small east-flowing drainage passed just to the north of the site.
On-site vegetation at that time was much the same as it is today,consisting of
sagebrush,Russian thistle,prickly pear cactus,snakeweed,introduced grasses,
and several juniper trees.
Two features were located and excavated on the site.One of the features is
a pit structure while the other is a slab-lined cist.Pottery assemblages
associated with both features suggest that the two were probably contemporaneous.
50
428a801'4
-m----------~+:--:+~...-~++...u ++•....++------_..._-...-
F1 +.~---,+~
f \6bc:;I )0'0'8
\~---.'~+F2+
..-
---
Ad
••u.--·'-_1
o
•••
KEY
10 m
I
..'•••••••••••••.+•
it.datum
F#feature~Plano trench
.+++Utah State Antiquities trench
.Redrawn from Davis and others
(1985:Figure 7-38)
Figure 22.Site 42Sa8014,site map.
51
One absolute date,a C-14 sample from the floor of Feature 1,yielded a date of
1455±130 B.P.Considering the pottery assemblages,this seems far too early to
accurately represent the feature's occupation.Bond (1985:274)recommends that
the site dates to the late Pueblo I period.Based on the pottery assemblage,it
seems likely that the site was in use sometime during the late ninth and/or early
tenth century.
Feature 1 is a sub-circular pit structure.The feature measures 3.3 m
north-south by 3.5 m east-west,and is about 45 cm below modern ground surface.
Six pit features and one mealing bin were located within the room,but no
postholes.The utter lack of postholes suggests that the roof was an ephemeral,
exterior structure that may have been removed upon the feature's abandonment.The
room was not burned.Though not recognized,one or two of the structure's pit
features probably served as an informal hearth.The mealing bin and artifact
assemblage suggest a variety of activities were associated with the room,
including food processing,tool production and maintenance,and perhaps hunting-
related activities.However,the feature's small size and its relatively informal
construction indicate a seasonal occupation (Davis and others 1985:172).
Feature 2 is the remains of a rectangular,slab-lined cist that measured
1.9 m east-west by 0.7 m north-south and was about 40 cm deep.The feature was
partially destroyed during testing activities.Enough of the feature remained
however to indicate that Feature 2's interior had been burned,perhaps as a part
of food-processing activities.Located only 1.2 m east of Feature 1,the cist was
most probably associated with the activities centered on the pit structure.
Newly Recorded Sites
A total of seven "new"sites,not previously recorded,were documented in
the course of this project (See Figure 5).These new sites are generally small,
but most occupy locations with relatively deep deposits of aeolian sediments.
Furthermore,most of the site locations,if not all,were subjected to
considerable ground disturbance.These historic ground-disturbing activities
apparently included chaining,railing,perhaps plowing,and re-seeding.In
addition to these disturbances,the landscape has also been grazed and many sites
have been looted or surface-collected.In combination,these impacts have reduced
the number of artifacts visible on the surface and have obscured the remains of
archaeological features.Therefore,while I may describe the sites as "small,"it
is with some qualification,and in recognition that the surface may not well
reflect the subsurface remains of the sites in question.
Site 42Sa28128
Site 42Sa28128 consists of a scatter of lithic and pottery artifacts.
Located in the southeast corner of the project area,the scatter appears to be
contained within an area that measures 30 m N/S x 20 m E/W (Figure 23).The site
is situated on a relatively flat plain a few hundred meters east of a low,sandy
ridge crest.Prior to the development of the White Mesa Mill,the landscape was
probably relatively flat,but with a slight southern aspect.
Current vegetation on the site includes bunch grasses,snakeweed,sage,
prickly pear cactus,and tumbleweed.On-site sediments appear to consist of the
deep,red,fine-grained aeolian loess characteristic of this portion of White
Mesa.Considerable sediment depth,at least 0.5 m,is indicated by surface-
stripping activities that occurred immediately north of the site.
These surface-stripping activities,probably conducted with a belly-
scraper,constitute the most serious effect to the site.Other impacting agents
52
428a28128
o 10 m_==c:m I
south edge of surface-stripped area
-----:::.....---~F ~------__I {F T~S ~-
(T5 s"T2 F ~
\F T4 )
'"T3 /
V
site boundary
----
----__.?-track road
----
KEY
A datum
S sherd
F flake
T#tool M.Bond,10/21/08
Figure 23.Site 42Sa28128,site map.,
53
include historic farming and grazing activities,and probably chaining as well.
Rodents have also burrowed through the site,unearthing artifacts that might
otherwise have gone hidden.
Cultural materials on the site include a scatter of pottery sherds,
debitage,and several ground stone tools.The pottery assemblage consists simply
of four sherds:1 white ware bowl sherd,2 white ware jar sherds,and 1
corrugated jar body sherd (See Table 6).All sherds are presumably local.The
corrugated sherd suggests that the site might post-date A.D.950.The debitage
assemblage consists of only seven flakes (See Table 7).The lithic materials
represented in this assemblage are probably local,and likely derive from the
Morrison,Burro Canyon,and Dakota Formations.The materials include chert,
mudstone,and silicified sandstone.Although small,the assemblage appears to
represent all stages of lithic reduction.
The ground stone assemblage includes five tools or tool fragments (T1-T5).
Four of the tools are metate fragments.None of these is complete enough to
ascertain the metate type,however (i.e.trough metates,basin metates,or slab
metates).These tools are described below.
Tl is a small,irregular-shaped fragment of tabular,dense white sandstone
with a single surface that is pecked and slightly concave.The artifact,probably
a metate fragment,currently measures 8.5 x 7.0 x 2.3 em.
T2 is a metate fragment that consists of the same material as T1.Both
sides of the artifact appear ground and have flat to slightly concave surfaces.
Both sides are well-smoothed,and one side is polished.No peck marks are
evident.However,multiple grinding striae are apparent on both sides.The
artifact measures 21.5 x 16.0 x 5.0 em.
T3 is also a metate fragment made from the same material as T1 and T2.One
side has a deeply ground and pecked facet.The item measures 17.5 x 13.5 x 3.5
em.
T4 is a metate fragment that consists of a light brown,fine-grained
sandstone.Both sides exhibit grinding and pecking.The object measures 13.0 x
8.5 x 3.0 em.
T5 is a possible mano blank.This item is composed of a piece of coarse
white sandstone that has been shaped into a subrectangular form.While the edges
have definitely been flaked into shape,no grinding or other use-wear is
apparent.The item measures 26.0 x 15.5 x 5.0 em.The white sandstone described
above may derive from the local Dakota Formation.
In summary,42Sa28128 consists of a scatter of artifacts in a small area.
As noted above,the only temporally diagnostic artifact recorded on the site is a
Gorrugated jar body sherd.Corrugated pottery was produced after about A.D.950
(Pueblo II and/or III periods).The surface treatment of the white ware sherds is
consistent with this assessment.However,given that the temporal assignment is
based only on a few sherds,this assessment is tentative.Given the site's size,
location,and focus on ground stone,the site may have been the locus of
specialized activities such as food processing.
Site 42Sa28129
Site 42Sa28129 consists of a scatter of lithic and pottery artifacts
(Figure 24).The site is approximately 100 m west of Site 42Sa28128.Like that
site,42Sa28129 is small and is contained within a 30 x 30 m area.The artifact
54
428a28129
M.Bond,10/21/08
s
--
site boundary
A.datum
S sherd
F flake
T#tool
KEY
Figure 24.Site 42Sa28129,site map.
55
scatter is situated on a very slight rise in an otherwise flat terrain.The
landscape rises to the west toward the crest of a low ridge.
Current vegetation on the site includes bunch grasses,snakeweed,small
sage,prickly pear cactus,and tumbleweed.On-site sediments appear to consist of
the deep,red,fine-grained aeolian loess characteristic of this portion of White
Mesa.The sediment depth is indicated in the recent (ca.within the last 10
years?)removal of at least 50 cm of sediments to the north of the site.
As with Site 42Sa28128,borrow excavations apparently occurred immediately
north of the site.At least 50 cm of fill was systematically removed or stripped
from the landscape just north of the site,possibly removing cultural materials
that had been associated with this location.Other impacting agents to the site
probably included chaining and railing,re-seeding,and historic farming and
grazing.Rodents have also burrowed through the site,unearthing artifacts that
might otherwise have gone hidden.
Cultural materials documented on the site include pottery,lithic debitage,
and several ground stone tools.The pottery assemblage consists of 14 sherds (See
Table 6).Corrugated jar body sherds dominate the assemblage (n=9).In addition
to these cooking jar sherds,one Chapin Gray jar rim sherd was found.Other
sherds include two Mancos B/w (one jar body sherd with Dogoszhi design style,one
bowl body sherd with Black Mesa design style),one Late White Unpainted jar body
sherd,and one Late White Painted sherd of unknown form.The small pottery
assemblage suggests that the primary use of the site occurred during the Pueblo
II period;however,one or more earlier components (dating to the Basketmaker III
and/or Pueblo I periods)may also be indicated.
Only five pieces of debitage were noted,but all stages of reduction are
represented (See Table 7).The flakes consisted of several material types,all of
which may have derived from the Morrison Formation.One is a "tan/olive-green
silicified sandstone,U another is a "brown silicified sandstone,U a third is a
light gray mudstone,and the fourth is Brushy Basin chert.
Three ground stone tools or tool fragments were also documented on the site
(TI-T3).All three artifacts are metate fragments,two of which are large enough
to identify as slab metate fragments.These tools are described further below.
Tl is a large,"non-portableU unifacial slab metate.Made from a white,
dense sandstone,the slab has an uneven grinding facet on one surface.Peck marks
are also apparent on this surface.Extant margins around the artifact indicate
that the object was flaked to shape it.The item measures 41.0 x 27.0 x 9.0 cm.
T2 is a fragment of a unifacial metate.The artifact is made from a brown
sandstone.The object measures 11.0 x 6.0 x 2.3 cm.
T3 is smashed,unifacial slab metate consisting of several fragments.The
item is made from a light brown sandstone similar to T2.Refit,T3 measures 29 x
35 cm,and was 2 to 4 cm thick.
As noted above,the site probably dates to the Pueblo II period or later.
The small artifact assemblage and the site's setting suggest that this location
harbored a small,special use site or temporary habitation.
56
Site 42Sa28130
The site comprises of a scatter of pottery and lithic artifacts (Figure
25).Located on relatively flat terrain with a slight slope to the southeast,the
scatter is confined to a small area that measures approximately 10 m north/south
by 30 m east/west.
As with sites 42Sa28128 and 42Sa28129,the greatest impact to the site was
a surface-stripping episode that occurred some time in the recent past.
Approximately 40 em of fill was removed in a long and wide swath immediately
south of the site.Rodents have burrowed through the site,unearthing artifacts
that might otherwise have gone hidden.Other impacting agents on the site may
include historic farming and grazing,and possibly chaining.
On-site sediments consist of the red aeolian loess that characterizes this
portion of White Mesa.Current vegetation includes sagebrush,bunch grasses,
snakeweed,and prickly pear.Much of the modern ground surface is barren.
As noted above,pottery and lithic artifacts constitute the material
cultural evident on modern ground surface.The site's pottery assemblage is very
small,and includes just Mancos Corrugated rim sherds (n=2)and several
corrugated body sherds (See Table 6).Indeed,these sherds may all derive from a
single vessel.The Mancos Corrugated rim sherds suggest that this locus may have
been used during the Pueblo II period.
The lithic artifact assemblage includes debitage and a single ground stone
tool.Only four flakes were observed on the site,but all stages of reduction
were represented (See Table 7).Three material types were noted in this small
assemblage:Brushy Basin chert,white silicified sandstone,and an opaque dark
gray chert.The lithic tool,Tool 1 (Tl),is a simple fragment of ground stone.
It consists of white sandstone,and has a single ground surface.The item was
apparently from a corner of the tool,which was both pecked and ground into
shape.The object measures 11.0 x 15.0 x 3.5 em.A limestone cobble was also
observed on the site.Though unmodified,the object is probably a manuport.
Site 42Sa28130 is the third in a cluster of four small sites in the
southeastern corner of the proj ect area.As with the preceding two sites,
42Sa28130 may date to the Pueblo II period and may have been the locus of
specialized activities such as food-processing.
Site 42Sa28131
The site is an historic camp with a single feature (Feature 1)and a few
historic artifacts (Figure 26).The site's topographic location might be
described as the bottom of a small valley or alluvial bottomland.The whole site
measures about 5 by 14 m,incorporating a fenceline to the north.Impacts to the
site and its feature include natural erosional processes associated with the wash
bottom.Additionally,fenceline construction may have impacted the site as well.
On-site sediments consist of red aeolian sediments,some of which have been
redeposited by the alluvial of the small wash that winds by and through the site.
Vegetation is fairly sparse,but includes a juniper tree,snakeweed,mustard,
cheatgrass,prickly pear,and globe mallow.
This site simply consists of several artifacts and a feature,an historic
hearth or campfire (Feature 1).The artifact assemblage includes fragments of
sanitary-seal tin cans and a rifle cartridge.Feature 1,a campfire,is lined
with small sandstone slabs and measures 1.2 m in diameter.
428a28130
57
tllN
I
o 10 m----------~.._....---
7Undary
------......
/'s ~F F F T1 \(S&
S~s\)
~/
'----------
---------------------------------------_._---------
KEY
A datum
S sherd
F flake
T#tool
north edge of surface stripped-area
(this area steps down 35 to 40 cm from
the site area to the north)
M.Bond,10/24/08
Figure 25.Site 42Sa28130,site map.
428a28131
58
-....-....
KEY
A
S
F
T#
F#oa()
datum
sherd
flake
tool
feature
rock
o 2m
ItLI1Lii=__j
barbed-wire fence
/-~..~",j~._.._..~.._.._._..-
/\
/\
/\
cans~'~/
(
;
site /I boundary //.
\~1~:'F1X;"//C!JXo--
\rifle c~ge /
--1
/
../
~_._------------_///'_/
M.Bond,10/25/08
Figure 26.Site 42Sa28131,site map.
59
The historic artifacts suggest that the site might date to A.D.1950.The
cultural affiliation of the site is difficult to assess.It could have resulted
from Anglo,Ute,or Navajo farmers,hunters,ranchers,or passers-though.
Site 42Sa28132
This site simply consists of a small,prehistoric artifact and rock scatter
(Figure 27).The artifacts include a few items of lithic debitage and several
plain gray jar body sherds.The rock consists of a few pieces of fire-cracked
rock.The site is situated on the slope of a finger-ridge,the crest of which is
just to the west.The artifact scatter is primarily concentrated in an area that
measures approximately 15 m in diameter.The site may well be associated with the
early component (Basketmaker III?)on nearby 42Sa6397,which lies just to the
north on the crest of the finger-ridge.
Rodent disturbance and natural erosional processes appear to have been the
most immediate disturbances to the site.Historic agricultural practices and land
improvement techniques such as chaining,railing,plowing,and grazing may have
also damaged the site,though these aren't immediately apparent.
The sediments on the site's surface consist of the fine-grained,red
aeolian loess that characterizes this portion of White Mesa.On-site vegetation
currently consists of snakeweed,cheatgrass,sagebrush,prickly pear,and globe
mallow.
The site simply consists of a scatter of artifacts,including pottery and
lithic debitage,and a few pieces of burned rock.The site's pottery assemblage
consists of 10 pottery sherds,all of which are Plain Gray jar body sherds (See
Table 6).The debitage consists of two secondary flakes that are made from a
white silicified sandstone (possibly from the Dakota Formation)(See Table 7).
The fragments of burned rock on the site are not particularly concentrated,but
are distributed among the artifacts.About 20 meters s'outh of the artifact
scatter is a relatively large,edge-flaked sandstone slab with no apparent use
wear.
It is possible that Nielson (1979:51-52)confused 42Sa28132 for Thompson's
(1977:22)42Sa6397,which lies just to the north.Thompson writes that 42Sa6397
has an aspect oriented to the east and northeast.Nielson alters this description
in noting that his observation of the aspect at 42Sa6397 is oriented to the
southeast,which better fits the description for this site.Further,Nielson also
notes a "single large sandstone slab"on the site,which probably corresponds to
the slab that Bond observed in his survey of the site for the current project.
Considering the exclusion of other pottery types,this small assemblage
tentatively suggests a Basketmaker III occupation of the site.It is possible
that activities conducted in this locus were associated with the apparent
Basketmaker III component at nearby 42Sa6397.We disagree with Nielson's
(1979:52)assessment that "the site is likely a secondary deposit from other
[upslope]sites,"that "testing or mapping of the site is unnecessary,"or that
"no further investigation is required."Though small,the concentration of
cultural materials,which include artifacts and rock,in this location is likely
indicative of one or more subsurface features.
60
428a28132
M.Bond,10/24/08
F
}
5 55}
/1\site b undery/k~//~')
/T1
/~
R
/
55 55 5
/5 A
I
\
A datum
S sherd
F flake
T#tool
R rock
KEY
Figure 27.Site 42Sa28132,site map.
61
Site 42Sa28133
This site consists of a very small scatter of artifacts and several pieces
of sandstone (Figure 28).All items are confined to an area measuring 5 m in
diameter.The site is located on a small "benchU or flat step,on the slope of a
finger-ridge,the crest of which lies east of the site.No diagnostic artifacts
are present that might indicate the site's age.
Old rodent burrows are apparent on the site.Otherwise natural erosional
processes probably constitute the greatest current impacting agent to the site.
The site has probably endured past impacts by chaining and railing,as well as
historic grazing and agricultural activities.
On-site sediments consist primarily of the red aeolian loess that
characterizes this part of White Mesa.The current vegetation includes snakeweed,
bunch grasses,and prickly pear cactus.Sagebrush grows close by.To the west,
one can see the pinyon-j uniper woodland along the canyon rim that overlooks
Cottonwood Wash.
As noted above,the site manifests itself on modern ground surface as a
scatter of lithic tools and several fragments of sandstone.The artifacts consist
of three stone tools (T1-T3,detailed below).The several pieces of sandstone are
small and tabular.These may be remnants of one or more broken artifacts or may
be architectural.
Three tool fragments were documented on the site.Two of these are ground
stone tools (T1 and T3)and the third is a hammerstone fragment (T2).
Tl is a metate fragment made from white silicified sandstone.This item has a
single ground facet.The artifact measures 9.5 x 13.0 x 2.3 ern.
T2 is a hammerstone fragment made from an alluvial cobble of silicified gray
mudstone.Battering marks occur on one margin of the artifact.The remaining
tool measures 5.5 x 5.5 x 4.5 em.
T3 is a complete ground stone implement that may have functioned as a type of
netherstone.The artifact is made from a brown sandstone.It has a single,
lightly ground and pecked facet.The item measures 29 x 18 x 5 ern.The bottom of
the artifact is gray,as if it was discolored by fire.
None of the artifacts is temporally diagnostic.It is possible that the
site represents the remnants of a special activity locus,such as a food-
processing facility.
Site 42Sa28134
Site 42Sa28134 is the last in a cluster of four small artifact scatters in
this portion of the the project area (the other sites being 42Sa28128,42Sa28129,
and 42Sa28130).This site consists of a small scatter of lithic artifacts (Figure
29).The artifacts include several pieces of lithic debitage and two ground stone
tools.The site occupies a space measuring about 10 m in diameter and is located
on the crest of a small finger-ridge that rises just slightly above the grassy
flats of White Mesa.
Rodent burrows pose the most immediate impact to the site.Other impacts
may include historic agricultural clearing and other associated activities.The
construction of the old fenceline about 15 meters north of the site and its
associated two-track road may have also affected the appearance of the site.
428a28133
KEY
62
""\
\
)
/
--</1~site boundary
datum
tool
sandstone rock
M.Bond,10/25/08
Figure 28.Site 42Sa28133,site map.
63
428a28134 o 10 m
-=:'LJII I
2-tr ck ro d (associa ed with fenceline)-------------------------------------------------
/
KEY
A datum
F flake
T#tool M.Bond,10/24/08
L-,__
Figure 29.Site 42Sa28134,site map.
Site 42Sa28134 is
However,like the other
this site may represent
processing feature.
64
On-site sediments consist of the reddish aeolian loess that characterizes
this portion of White Mesa.Current vegetation consists of bunch grasses,
snakeweed,and prickly pear cactus.Doubtless this represents a departure from
the site's original vegetation,particularly if this location had been cleared
for farming and/or grazing in the historic past.To the west,near the edge of
the mesa overlooking Cottonwood Wash,is pinyon-juniper woodland.
The site simply consists of a small scatter of lithic debitage and a few
ground stone tools.The debitage assemblage comprises four flakes,including
three secondary flakes and one tertiary flake (See Table 7).Two material types
were observed in this small debitage assemblage:a white silicified sandstone
(probably from the Dakota Formation)and Brushy Basin chert.
Two ground stone tools (T1 and T2)were documented on the site,and are
described further below.
Tl is a metate fragment.It is made from a dark brown,fine-grained sandstone.
The artifact consists of two pieces.These articulate and demonstrate that both
faces are lightly ground.Together the fragments measure 13.0 x 9.5 x 4.0 em.
T2 is a large piece of white silicified sandstone with a single slightly concave
facet.The object measures 12.0 x 8.5 x 7.0 em.
difficult to assess for its temporal association.
three small sites in this corner of the project area,
the remains of a special activity site,such as a food-
Isolated Finds of Cultural Materials
A total of 16 isolated finds of cultural materials was documented during
the course of this inventory project (Figure 30).Table 8 describes these items.
65
I r 1i~.;(1\L.I'IIJ'\r I((
\/
i---
1 SCALE 1:24000
L.aeS=:C::=EF+3S=:C::=F+3=:=f2:=::e==a::::=:J====:=::i0i:=s====i=s======================a1 MILE
lOOOeSS:::ls==:Es=i0=:==lOOO:e::==:::.52S000===3000:e===4i5000E::==5000:E15===i6000s:===70p0 FEET
Figure 30.Denison Mines White Mesa Mill Ce1l4B Project Map showing the location of
isolated finds ofcultural material.
--------------_.-.-
.._----------.----.._-----~--._...-
66
__,.-__;_________~lJl(3~~I~Qlat(3~LFinds,_Whitef\t1e~?f\I1il~rve~__
IF #UTMs 0 .t·--.--'--.--escnp Ion
____~~t__tJorthll~£l~----.------..----....--------
1 631365 4154367 Cobble mano.I-----------..-1---------...------.---..---.--------------..--------.-----.----.----.------.-------~__§~.1261 4154374 Ground-stol1_(3 fragment.__._..._______. .... _
f--~--_63128§4154605 G~ound-f>ton~JrClgment in a patch.of wolflJerry,__._.._... . ... .._
--±.i3~1201"1:1546~"1:~~~hancLmano_frilgm(3..nt an<:l a DeCl.dmarl~ir".sherd...__
Slab metate fragment.Made from a white/tan silicified sandstone,the object has a single,flat
,--"-~11~i'54677!§':gfacet Aport;O"Oft~art;fact's or;g;~edge ;s;"tact~"d shaped.Measure~40 rt30x
6 631210 4154393 Possible ground-st~ne artifact consisting of a~~-!_shattered slab..____.._
7 630875 4154409 Slab metate fragment.Made from a white silicified sandstone,the artifact has a single partial facet.
____._~!iionof the artifact's original_f>~abl:>led margin is intact,Mea~lJres 18 x 7 x]~m_._
8 631114 4154356 Two-hand mano fragment.The artifact is unifacial,worn,and weathered,and is made from coarse,
.II ..~_~li9b!J?!ownf>ar1d-f>!~n~Ihearti[Cl~I1l~asLlI:~sJ~.O~J3.0_x2:]~I11·____..-~--.----.----
Trough metate fragment.Made from a white silicified sandstone.Trough is about 1.75 cm deep.The
9 631190 4154351 artifact measures 15.5 x 9.0 x 4.7 cm.A portion of the original margin is present,and is pecked and
10 631 ~~r~-1-~~-;~~I~~t~~~f~~:~~.a~e~d~~~~hae~~~~~lj~i~j~({~:n~~1~~ee ~rf~-~~~~has one-Siighilyconcave-,---~_._._~I_.~I1Qfac~LMeaf>L!!"esl:Q.~6_"Q)(~§~!l1_".__....___..__
11 631 O§L_1.1_~~Groul1<:1=ston~f~~~nt.Has_a singlEUli".ound fa~~LI\1(3ClsLJr~J>_.~:L><_.z.~)(?_"1 cm:....
Ground-stone fragment.Made from a fine,gray and reddish brown sandstone,the item has two
12 630799 4154521 ground faces.No original edge remains. Measures 20.0 x 18.0 x 2.8 cm.A Chapin 8/w sherd is 14
I----t-.--------m to the easL A piece of debitage is~..rn to th~.J>QlJ.th_:...__.._._
13 631071 4154510 Metate fragment.Made from a tan/brown sandstone,the item has two facets.One facet is slightly
-~-~-~9~~4563~~~~:~~at;~~~~.e~i:d:a~~:~e ~t~~~:~ii~~:n~~t~:e~{h~~~ila~tmhasa single,-slightly-concave-"-
__. .__'.....__..face_t_6J?2_rtion ofthe original edge sL!.rvives .Cl!l.Qjf>~cabb~<:I.MeClf>!Jres 1~5 x 11.Q2<:?}cm,_
15 630804 4154590 Metate fragment.One facet exhibits a slightly concave surface and has deep peck marks.Measures
12.6 x 8.7 x 3.8 cm.--t--o -.---.-.---------.-----------.-----.------
16 630909 4154644 Metate fragment.Made from a fine,white sandstone,the artifact has a single slightly concave facet.
The facet exhibits faint peck marks.Measures 19.7 x 10.2 x 4.5 cm.
67
CHAPTER 5:EVALUATION OF SIGNIFICANCE AND MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
Evaluation of Significance
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)for the evaluation of site
significance are outlined in 36 CFR 60.4 as follows:
The quality of significance in American history,architecture,archaeology,and
culture is present in districts,sites,buildings,structures and objects of
State and local importance that possess integrity of location,design,setting,
materials,workmanship,feeling,and association,and that they:
a)...are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the
broad patterns of our history;or
b)...are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past;or
c)...embody the distinctive characteristic of a type,period,or method of
construction;or that represents the work of a master,or that possess high
artistic values,or that represents a significant and distinguishable entity
whose components may lack individual distinction;or
d)..have yielded,or may be expected to yield information important in prehistory
or history.
In addition,36 CFR 60.4 also states that cultural resources that may meet
the above criteria,but have achieved such significance within the past 50 years,
shall not be considered eligible for nomination to the NRHP unless they are
integral parts of districts that do meet the criteria.
Fourteen sites are documented within the project area.Two of these sites,
42Sa6757 and 42Sa8014,have been the subjects of past mitigation efforts (Davis
1985).While it is likely that most of the cultural features associated with
these sites have been excavated,it is possible that small features peripheral to
the excavated portions of these sites have not been located.In other words,
while known features were mitigated,intact subsurface sediments remain
unexamined on both sites,making the two sites eligible under criterion (d).
Four of the sites (42Sa639l,42Sa6393,42Sa6397,and 42Sa6431)in the
project area have been tested in the past,and have demonstrated the presence of
significant subsurface stratigraphy.Site 42Sa6391 was tested by Dykman (1978a)
and Nielson (1979);two pit structures and one cist were located in these limited
excavations.The pottery assemblage on the site suggests that the site was
occupied during the middle Pueblo II period.The diversity of artifact types
suggests that a variety of activities occurred on the site.These materials,and
the subsurface features,suggest that data recovered from the site may have been
a locus of habitation for one or more ancestral Pueblo family groups.Data
recovered from the site might address a problems under a number of research
domains including,but not limited to,chronology,settlement,subsistence,and
social structure.Thus,site 42Sa639l is eligible under criterion (d).
Site 42Sa6393.was incorrectly tested as a part of 42Sa639l (Dykman 1978a;
Nielson 1979).The site's pottery assemblage suggests that the site may have
dated to the early to middle Pueblo II periods.The relatively diverse artifact
assemblage observed on the site's surface,and a pit structure located during
test excavations by Nielson (1979),suggest that the site may have functioned as
a habitation for one or more ancestral Pueblo family groups.Data recovered from
the site might address problems under a number of research domains including,but
not limited to,chronology,settlement,subsistence,and social structure.Thus,
site 42Sa6393 is eligible under criterion (d).
68
Site 42Sa6397 was also misidentified during testing phase excavations by
the Antiquities Section of the Division of State History (Dykman 1978b).Tested
as 42Sa6393,at least two pit features were located in backhoe trenches excavated
on the site.The pottery assemblage suggests at least two components on the site:
a Basketmaker III period component and an early Pueblo II period component are
suggested.The site's functions remain ambiguous.At the least,it seems likely
that subsurface investigations on the site would yield data pertinent to such
research domains as chronology,settlement,subsistence,and social structure.
Thus,the site is eligible for nomination to the NRHP under criterion (d).This
site is not to be confused with the locus identified by Nielson (1979:51-52)as
42Sa6397,which that author suggests is not significant,an assessment with which
we disagree anyway.
Site 42Sa6431 was tested in 1978 as 42Sa6392 (Nielson 1979),resulting in
even more confusion in this portion of the White Mesa mill property.Nielson's
test excavations resulted in the documentation of three cultural features,
including a probable hearth,a burial,and a subsurface lens of charcoal and
daub.At least two components are apparent on the site.A Basketmaker III
component is associated with the features documented by Nielson (1979).Such
features would yield data pertinent to research domains such as chronology,
subsistence,and social structure.A midden on the site is associated with the
Pueblo II period,suggesting the presence of a habitation feature.Should such a
feature be located,research issues under such domains as chronology,settlement,
subsistence,and social structure may be addressed.Thus the site is eligible for
nomination to the NRHP under criterion (d)
The remaining eight sites (42Sa6392,and 42Sa28128 through 42Sa28134)on
the property are relatively small.However,all eight sites rest on sediments
that have the high potential to yield significant subsurface cultural
stratigraphy.
Pottery assemblage data suggest that Site 42Sa6392 dates to the early to
middle Pueblo II period.The artifact assemblage,and the possible remains of a
j acal structure,suggest that the site may have functioned as a seasonal
habitation.Data recovery efforts at the site may provide information pertinent
to research domains such as chronology,subsistence,and settlement.Thus,the
site is eligible for nomination to the NRHP under criterion (d).
Site 42Sa28128 may date to the Pueblo II and/or Pueblo III periods.The
relatively small artifact assemblage suggests that the site was a locus of
limited activity,perhaps including food processing.Data recovered from
subsurface deposits might be used to address research domains such as chronology,
settlement,and sUbsistence.The site is eligible for nomination to the NRHP
under criterion (d).
Based on pottery assemblage data,Site 42Sa28129 may harbor features
associated with one or more components that include the Pueblo II period and
Basketmaker III and Pueblo I periods.The site's artifact assemblage suggest
limited activity functions (such as food processing)or seasonal habitation.Data
from significant subsurface deposits may yield information pertinent to research
domains such as chronology,subsistence,and settlement.The site is eligible for
nomination to the NRHP under criterion (d).
Site 42Sa28130 appears to date to the Pueblo II period.Its small artifact
assemblage suggests a limited activity function such as food processing.
Subsurface deposits could yield data pertinent to research domains such as
chronology,subsistence,and settlement.The site is eligibile for nomination to
the NRHP under criterion (d).
69
Site 42Sa28131 is an historic site with at least one feature,a hearth,
that probably contains significant deposits.This site is eligible under
nomination to the NRHP under criterion (d).
Site 42Sa28132 is a possible Basketmaker III period site that may be
associated with nearby 42Sa6397.The artifact assemblage is ambiguous with regard
to function,though the small size of the assemblage suggests that only few
activities took place in this locus.However,one or more subsurface features may
be present.Such subsurface deposits may yield data pertinent to research domains
such as chronology,subsistence,and settlement.Thus,42Sa28132 is considered
eligible for nomination to the NRHP under criterion (d).
Both 42Sa28133 and 42Sa28134 are small artifact assemblages of unknown
aboriginal affiliation.While chronologically diagnostic artifacts are absent
from the surface,food processing activities are indicated on both.Research
domains that might be addressed with data from subsurface deposits in these sites
include chronology,subsistence,and settlement.Both sites are therefore
considered eligible for nomination to the NRHP under criterion (d).
Management Recommendations
We recommend that all of the archaeological sites in the White Mesa Mill
Cell 4B project area wilr-require further investigation.The nature of these
investigations will vary according to the individual site,generally by the
degree to which they have been previously documented.
Two of the sites,42Sa6757 and 42Sa8014,have been subjected to intensive
mitigation efforts in the past.While it is likely that the main structural
features for each site have been documented,we suggest that the remains of
smaller,peripheral features may still be present,particularly at 42Sa6757.We
recommend that a careful,systematic program of surface stripping be developed to
investigate these areas.Such features might include the remains of surface
structures north of the pitstructures documented at these sites (especially
Features 1 and 2 at 42Sa6757 and Feature 1 at 42Sa8014),and human burials in the
midden area at 42Sa6757.Further,the midden area associated with 42Sa6757
remains to be better characterized.We recommend that the midden area be
systematically sampled prior to surface stripping.
Four of the sites have been previously tested and are known to harbor
subsurface features.These sites include 42Sa6391,42Sa6393,42Sa6397,and
42Sa6431.We recommend that the previously excavated trenches on these sites be
relocated and,if necessary,reopened to define the presence or absence of
cultural stratigraphy.This is particularly true at 42Sa6393 and 42Sa6431,where
previous testing operations poorly documented the location of backhoe trenches
and their associated subsurface features.Additionally,we recommend the
development of a testing program for these sites to better document the nature,
location,and extent of subsurface cultural deposits and/or features.
Based on surface evidence,eight of the sites in the project area are
relatively small.These sites include 42SaSa6392,and 42Sa28128 through
42Sa28133.We recommend that a systematic program of testing be developed for
these sites to investigate the nature,location,and extent of subsurface
cultural deposits and/or features for these sites.
70
REFERENCES
Agenbroad,Larry D.
1985 Chapter VIII:Caliche:Relationship of Geomorphology and Pithouse
Construction,White Mesa,Utah.In Anasazi Subsistence and Settlement on
White Mesa,San Juan County,Utah,by William E.Davis,pp.175-183.Ms.
on file at Abajo Archaeology,Bluff,Utah.
Agenbroad,Larry D.,Jim I.Mead,and Lisa W.Nelson (Editors)
1990 Megafauna and Man:Discovery of America's Heartland.The Mammoth Site of
Hot Springs,South Dakota,Inc.and Northern Arizona University,Hot
Springs,South Dakota.
Anderson,Diana Elder
1991 Holocene Alluvial Geochronology and Archaeology of Lower Butler Wash,San
Juan Coun ty,Utah.A Thesis for the Degree of Master of Science in
Quaternary Studies,Northern Arizona University,Flagstaff.
Atkins,Victoria M.(Editor)
1993 Anasazi Basketmaker:Papers from the 1990 Wetherill-Grand Gulch Symposium.
Cultural Resource Series No.24.Bureau of Land Management,Utah State
Office,Salt Lake City.
Baker,Shane A.
1990 Rattlesnake Ruin (42Sa18434):A Case of Violent Death and Perimortem
Mutilation in the Anasazi Culture of San Juan County,Utah.A Thesis
presented to the Department of Anthropology,Brigham Young University.
Benson,Michael P.
1980a Chapter 11,Site 42Sa6385-Radon Ridge.In Archaeological Excavations on
White Mesa,San Juan County,Utah,1979,edited by Laurel A.Casjens,pp.
183-238.Division of State History,Antiquities Section,Salt Lake City,
Utah.
1980b Chapter 10,Site 42Sa7754-Three Meter Isle.In Archaeological Excavations
on White Mesa,San Juan County,Utah,1979,edited by Laurel A.Casjens,
pp.165-182.Division of State History,Antiquities Section,Salt Lake
City,Utah.
Berge,Dale L.
1975 Archaeological Survey of the Pinto-Abajo Transmission Line,Southeastern
Utah.Brigham Young University,Provo.
Berry,Claudia F.and Michael S.Berry
1986 Chronological and Conceptual Models of the Southwestern Archaic.In
Anthropology of the Desert West:Essays in Honor of Jesse D.Jennings,
Carol J.Condie and Don D.Fowler (Editors).University of Utah
Anthropological Papers No.110.Department of Anthropology,University of
Utah,Salt Lake City.
Betancourt,Julio L.and Norma Biggar
1985 Preliminary Assessment of Late Quaternary Vegetation and Climate of
Southeastern Utah Based on Analyses of Packrat Middens.Office of Nuclear
Waste Isolation,Battelle Memorial Institute,Columbus,Ohio.
Binford,Lewis
1962 Archaeology as Anthropology.American Antiquity 28:217-225.
71
Black,Kevin D.and Michael D.Metcalf
1986 The Castle Valley Archaeological Project:An Inventory and Predictive
Model of Selected Tracts.Cultural Resource Series No.19.Bureau of Land
Management,Utah State Office,Salt Lake City.
Bond,
1992
Mark C.,William E.Davis,Winston B.Hurst,Deborah A.Westfall
Cultural Resource Inventory and Evaluative Testing Along SR-262,Utah-
Colorado State Line to Montezuma Creek,Navajo Nation Lands,San Juan
County,Utah.Ms.on file at Abajo Archaeology,Bluff,Utah.
Cameron,Catherine M.(Editor)
2009 Chaco and Post-Chaco in the Northern San Juan Region:Excavations at the
Bluff Great House.University of Arizona Press,Tucson.
Casjens,Laurel A.(Editor)
1980a Archaeological Excavations on White Mesa,San Juan County,Utah,1979.
Division of State History,Antiquities Section,Salt Lake City,Utah.
1980b Chapter 17:Sites Tested for Extent,42Sa8014 and 6382.In Archaeological
Excavations on White Mesa,San Juan County,Utah,1979,edited by Laurel
A.Casjens,pp.344-345.Division of State History,Antiquities Section,
Salt Lake City,Utah.
Casjens,Laurel A.and Gregory L.Seward
1980 White Mesa Archaeological Survey,Preliminary Report.Unpublished Report.
Unpublished report prepared by the Antiquities Section,Division of State
History,State of Utah.
Cole,
1993
Sally J.
Basketmaker Rock Art at the Green Mask Site,Southeastern Utah.In Anasazi
Basketmaker:Papers from the 1990 Wetherill-Grand Gulch Symposium.
Cultural Resource Series No.24.Edited by Victoria Atkins.Bureau of Land
Management,Utah State Office,Salt Lake City.
Condie,Carol J.and Don D.Fowler (Editors)
1986 Anthropology of the Desert West:Essays in Honor of Jesse D.Jennings.
University of Utah Anthropological Papers No.110.Department of
Anthropology,University of Utah,Salt Lake City.
Cordell,Linda
1994 The Nature of Explanation in Archaeology:A Position Statement,in
Understanding Complexity in the Prehistoric Southwest,edited by George J.
Gumerman and Murray Gell-Mann,pp.149-162.Santa Fe Institute,Santa Fe.
1997 Archaeology of the Southwest,Second Edition.Academic Press,San Diego,
California.
Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
2001 The Crow Canyon Archaeological Center Field Manual.Available:
http://www.crov,canyon.org/fieldmanual.Date of use:January 16,2009.
Davis,William E.
1984 42Sa16011:Excavation of a Basketmaker Limited Activity Site North of
Recapture Creek,San Juan County,Utah.Ms.on file at Abajo Archaeology,
Bluff,Utah.
1985 Anasazi Subsistence and Settlement on White Mesa,San Juan County,Utah.
Ms.on file at Abajo Archaeology,Bluff,Utah.
72
2008 Site 42Sa27732:Denison Mines (USA)Corporation White Mesa Mill DeCon Pad
Pueblo III Anasazi Burial and Associated Features,San Juan County,Utah.
Ms.on file,Abajo Archaeology,Bluff,Utah.
Davis,William E.,Winston B.Hurst,and Deborah A.Westfall
2003 Class I Cultural Resource Inventory of the Proposed White Mesa Mill Site,
White Mesa Mill Materials Borrow Area and Two Associated Corridor Routes,
Grand and San Juan Counties,Utah.Ms.on file at Abajo Archaeology,
Bluff,Utah.
de Haan,Petrus A.
1972 An Archaeological Survey of Lower Montezuma Canyon,Southeastern Utah.
M.A.Thesis Presented to the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology,
Brigham Young University,Provo,Utah.
Dean,Jeffrey S.,Robert C.Euler,George J.Gumerman,Fred Plog,Richard H.
Hevly,and Thor N.V.Karlstrom
1985 Human Behavior,Demography,and Paleoenvironment on the Colorado Plateaus.
American Antiquity 50:537-554.
Dohm,Karen
1981 Basketmaker II Spatial Characteristics on Cedar Mesa,Utah.M.A.Thesis
Presented to the Department of Anthropology,Washington State University.
Dykman,James L.
1978a Site 42Sa6391 in Archeological Test Excavations on White Mesa,San Juan
County,Southeastern Utah,edited by La Mar W.Lindsay,pp.69-77.
Unpublished report prepared by Antiquities Section,Division of State
History,State of Utah.
1978b Site 42Sa6393 in Archeological Test Excavations on White Mesa,San Juan
County,Southeastern Utah,edited by La Mar W.Lindsay,pp.78-84.
Unpublished report prepared by Antiquities Section,Division of State
History,State of Utah.
Fike,Richard E.and LaMar W.Lindsay
1976 Archaeological Survey of the Bluff Bench,
Areas,San Juan County,Utah,1973-1974.
Papers,No.9.
San Juan River and White Mesa
Antiquities Section Selected
Firor,James,Rand A.Greubel,and Alan D.Reed
1998 Archaeological Data Recovery at Four Anasazi Sites on
Highway 191,San Juan County,Utah.Ms.on file,
Transportation,Salt Lake City,Utah.
White Mesa Along US
Utah Department of
Fowler,Andrew P.
1989 An Anasazi Brownware/Redware Ceramic Tradition.Unpublished manuscript.
Geib,
1996
Phil R.
Archaic Occupancy of the Glen Canyon Region.In Glen Canyon Revisited,
edited by Phil R.Geib,pp.15-39.University of Utah Press
Anthropological Papers,No.119.University of Utah,Salt Lake.
Graham,Russell W.
1990 Evolution of New Ecosystems at the End of the Pleistocene.In Megafauna
and Man:Discovery of America's Heartland,Editors Larry D.Agenbroad,Jim
I.Mead,and Lisa W.Nelson.The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs South Dakota,
Inc.and Northern Arizona University,Hot Springs,South Dakota.
73
Greubel,Rand A.
1998 Investigations at the Happy Salamander Site (42Sa7660).In Archaeological
Data Recovery at Four Anasazi Sites on White Mesa Along US Highway 191,
San Juan County,Utah,edited by James Firor,Rand A.Greubel,and Alan D.
Reed,pp.158-251.Ms.on file,Utah Department of Transportation,Salt
Lake City,Utah.
Haury,Emil W.
1975 The Stratigraphy and Archaeology of Ventana Cave.Second Printing.The
University of Arizona Press.
Haury,Emil W.,E.B.Sayles,and William W.Wasley
1959 The Lehner Mammoth Site,Southeastern Arizona.In Emil W.
Prehistory of the American Southwest.Edited by J.Jefferson
David E.Doyel.University of Arizona Press,Tucson,Arizona.
Haury's
Reid and
Holmer,Richard N.
1986 Common Projectile Points of the Intermountain West.In Anthropology of the
Desert West:Essays in Honor of Jesse D.Jennings.Edited by Carol J.
Condie and Don D.Fowler.University of Utah Anthropological Papers No.
110.Department of Anthropology,University of Utah,Salt Lake City.
Honeycutt,Linda and Jerry Fetterman
1985 The Alkali Ridge Cul tural Resource Survey and Vandalism Study,
Southeastern Utah.Ms.on file,Bureau of Land Management,Monticello.
Hurst,Winston B.
1981 The Blanding Navajos:A Case Study of Off-Reservation Navajo Migration and
Settlement.Unpublished M.A.Thesis,Eastern New Mexico University.
1992 Chapter III:Previous Archaeological Research and Regional Prehistory,pp
11 -74.In Cultural Resource Inventory and Evaluative Testing along SR-
262,Utah -Colorado State Line to Montezuma Creek,Navajo Nation Lands,
San Juan County,Utah by Mark C.Bond,William E.Davis,Winston B.Hurst,
Deborah A.Westfall.Abajo Archaeology,Bluff,Utah.
2004 Archaeological Data Recovery at Casa Coyote (42Sa3775):A Basketmaker III
Pit House Hamlet on White Mesa,San Juan County,Utah.Ms.on file,Abajo
Archaeology,Bluff,Utah.
Hurst,Winston B.and Jonathan D.Till
2009 Chapter 4:Some Observations Regarding the "Chaco Phenomenon in the
Northwestern San Juan Provinces.In Chaco and Post-Chaco in the Northern
San Juan Region:Excavations at the Bluff Great House,edited by Catherine
M.Cameron,pp.44-80.University of Arizona Press,Tucson.
Hurst,Winston B.,Mark C.Bond,and William E.Davis
1995 A Technological Proposal for Archaeological Data Recovery at Sites
42Sa7657,42Sa7659,42Sa7660,and 42Sa20977,U.S.191:White Mesa to
Shirttail Junction,San Juan County,Utah.Abajo Archaeology,Bluff,Utah.
IMACS
1990 User's Guide:Instruction and Computer Codes for Use with the IMACS Site
Form.Prepared by the University of Utah,the Bureau of Land Management,
and the U.S.Forest Service.Revised Edition.
Irwin-Williams,Cynthia
1972 The Structure of Chacoan Society in the Northern Southwest:Investigations
at the Salmon Site,Eastern New Mexico,1972.Contributions in
Anthropology 4(3).Eastern New Mexico University,Portales.
74
1979 Post-Pleistocene Archaeology,7000 -2000 B.C.In Southwest,edited by
Alfonso Ortiz,pp.31-42.Handbook of North American Indians 9,
Smithsonian Institution,Washington,D.C.
Jalbert,Joseph Peter and Catherine Cameron
2000 Chacoan and Local Influences in Three Great House Communities
Northern San Juan Region.In Great House Communities Across the
Landscape,edited by John Kantner and Nancy M.Mahoney,pp.
Anthropological Papers 64.University of Arizona Press,Tucson.
in the
Chacoan
79-90.
Janetski,Joel C.
1993 The Archaic to Formative Transition North of the Anasazi:A Basketmaker
Perspective.In Anasazi Basketmaker:Papers from the 1990 Wetherill-Grand
Gulch Symposium,ed.Victoria M.Atkins.Cultural Resource Series No.
24:223-241.Bureau of Land Management,Utah State Office,Salt Lake City.
Jennings,Jesse
1978 Prehistory of Utah and the Eastern Great Basin.University of Utah
Anthropological Papers No.98.Department of Anthropology,University of
Utah,Salt Lake City.
Kantner,John
2004 Ancient Puebloan Southwest.Cambridge University Press,Cambridge.
Lekson,Stephen H.
1988 The Idea of the Kiva in Anasazi Archaeology.Kiva 53(3):213-234.
Lightfoot,Ricky R.and Mary C.Etzkorn (Editors)
1993 The Duckfoot Site,Volume 1:Descriptive Archaeology.Occasional Paper,
no.3.Crow Canyon Archaeological Center,Cortez,Colorado.
Lightfoot,Ricky R.
1994 The Duckfoot Site,
Occasional Papers,
Colorado.
Vol ume 2:Archaeology of the House and Household.
no.4.Crow Canyon Archaeological Center,Cortez,
Lindsay,Alexander J.,J.Richard Ambler,Mary Anne Stein,Philip M.Hobler.
1968 Survey and Excavations North and East of Navajo Mountain,Utah,1959-1962.
Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin No.45.Flagstaff,Arizona.
Lindsay,LaMar W.(Editor)
1978 Archeological Test Excavations on White Mesa,San Juan
Southeastern Utah.Unpublished report prepared by Antiquities
Division of State History,State of Utah.
Coun ty,
Section,
Lipe,
1993
Lipe,
1999
William D.
The Basketmaker II Period in the Four Corners Area.In Anasazi
Basketmaker:Papers from the 1990 Wetherill-Grand Gulch Symposium,ed.
Victoria M.Atkins.Cultural Resource Series No.24:1-10.Bureau of Land
Management,Utah State Office,Salt Lake City.
William D.and Bonnie L.Pitblado
Paleoindian and Archaic Periods.In Colorado Prehistory:A Context for the
Southern Colorado River Basin,edited by Lipe,William D.,Mark D.Varien,
and Richard H.Wilshusen,pp.95-131.Colorado Council of Professional
Archaeologists,Denver,Colorado.
Lipe,
1999
1999
75
William D.and Mark D.Varien
Pueblo II (A.D.900-1150).In Colorado Prehistory:A Context for the
Southern Colorado River Basin,edited by Lipe,William D.,Mark D.Varien,
and Richard H.Wilshusen,pp.242-289.Colorado Council of Professional
Archaeologists,Denver,Colorado.
Pueblo III (A.D.1150-1300).In Colorado Prehistory:A Context for the
Southern Colorado River Basin,edited by Lipe,William D.,Mark D.Varien,
and Richard H.Wilshusen,pp.290-352.Colorado Council of Professional
Archaeologists,Denver,Colorado.
Lipe,William D.,Mark D.Varien,and Richard H.Wilshusen (Editors)
1999 Colorado Prehistory:A Context for the Southern Colorado River Basin.
Colorado Council of Professional Archaeologists,Denver,Colorado.
McLellan,George Edwin
1969 The Origins,Development,and Typology of Anasazi Kivas and Great Kivas.
Unpublished Ph.D.dissertation,Department of Anthropology,University of
Colorado,Boulder.
McPherson,Robert S.
1995 A History of San Juan County:In the Palm of Time.Utah State Historical
Society,Salt Lake City,Utah.
Mahoney,Nancy M.
2000 Redefining the Scale of Chacoan Communities.In Great House Communities
Across the Chacoan Landscape,edited by John Kantner and Nancy M.Mahoney,
pp.19-27.Anthropological Papers 64.University of Arizona Press,Tucson.
Manning,Steven James
1992 The Lobed-circle Image in the Basketmaker Petroglyphs of Southeastern
Utah.Utah Archaeology 5(1):1-38.
Martin,Paul S.
1990 Who or What Destroyed Our Mammoths?In Megafauna and Man,Larry D.
Agenbroad,Jim I.Mead,and Lisa W.Nelson,eds.The Mammoth Site of Hot
Springs,South Dakota,Inc.and Northern Arizona University,Hot Springs,
South Dakota.
Matson,R.G.
1991 The Origins of Southwestern Agriculture.University of Arizona Press,
Tucson.
Matson,R.G.,W.O.Lipe,W.R.Haase
1985 Adaptational Continuities and Occupational Discontinuities:The Cedar Mesa
Anasazi.Submitted February,1985 for publication in Proceedings of the
1983 Anasazi Symposium edited by James Muller.
Mead,
1986
James L.,Larry D.Agenbroad,Owen K.Davis,
Dung of Mammuthus in the Arid Southwest,
Research 25:121-127.
and Paul S.Martin
North America.Quaternary
Montgomery,Keith R.
1994 Cui tural Resource Inven tory and Eval uation of the Proposed Whi te Mesa
Sanitary Landfill Project Area,San Juan County,Utah.Abajo Archaeology,
Bluff,Utah.
Neily,R.B.
1982 Basketmaker Settlement and
163 Archaeological Report.
Section,Salt Lake City.
76
Subsistence Along the San Juan River:The US
Utah Division of State History,Antiquities
Nielson,Asa S.
1979 Additional Archaeological Test Excavations and Inventory on White Mesa,
San Juan County,Southeastern Utah.Division of State History,Antiquities
Section,Salt Lake City,Utah.
1980a Chapter 7,Site 42Sa6437-Proton Point.In Archaeological Excava tions on
White Mesa,San Juan County,Utah,1979,edited by Laurel A.Casjens,pp.
89-120.Division of State History,Antiquities Section,Salt Lake City,
Utah.
1980b Chapter 19,Ceramics.In Archaeological Excavations on White Mesa,San
Juan County,Utah,1979,edited by Laurel A.Casjens,pp.350-410.
Division of State History,Antiquities Section,Salt Lake City,Utah.
Nielson,Asa S.,Joel C.Janetski,and James D.Wilde (Editors)
1985 Recapture Wash Archaeological Project Report (Final).Brigham
University Museum of Peoples and Cultures Technical Series No.
Provo,Utah.
Young
85-7,
Nickens,Paul R.
1982 Contributions to the Prehistory of Southeastern Utah.Cultural Resource
Series No.19.Bureau of Land Management,Utah State Office,Salt Lake
City.
Ortman,Scott G.
2000 Artifacts.In The Archaeology of Castle Rock Pueblo:A Thirteenth-Century
Village in Southwestern Colorado,edited by Kristin A.Kuckelman.
Available:lerock.Date of use:January 16,
2009.
Ortman,Scott G.,Erin L.Baxter,Carole L.Graham,G.Robin Lyle,Lew W.Matis,
Jamie A.Merewether,R.David Satterwhite,and Jonathan D.Till
2005 The Crow Canyon Archaeological Center Laboratory Manual,Version 1.
Avai 1able b_~!::I:>-=-ll~.":J.":~~_<::E<?~<::i3:_0_Z?Q'<?E9l~~~()_:L_i:l_!_()EYIl:l~0g~}.Da teof use :January
16,2009.
Ortman,Scott G.,Mark D.Varien,and T.Lee Gripp
2007 Empirical Bayesian Methods for Archaeological Survey Data:An Application
from the Mesa Verde Region.American Antiquity 72(2):241-272.
Pachak,Joe
1994 Early Rock Art on the San Juan River.In Blue Mountain Shadows (13):16-21.
San Juan County Historical Commission,Blanding,Utah.
Prudden,T.Mitchell
1914 The Circular Kivas of Small Ruins in the San Juan Watershed.American
Anthropologist 16:33-58.
1918 A Further Study of Prehistoric Small House Ruins in the San Juan
Watershed.Memoirs of the American Anthropological Association 5(1).
Richins,Lane D.and Richard K.Talbot
1989 Sandy Ridge:An Aceramic Habitation Site in Southeastern Utah.Utah
Archaeology 2(1):77-87.
77
Roberts,Frank H.
1939 The Development of a Unit-Type Dwelling.In So Live the Works of Man,
edited by Donald D.Brand and Fred E.Harvey,pp.311-323.University of
New Mexico Press,Albuquerque.
Rohn,
1989
Arthur H.
Northern San Juan Prehistory.In Dynamics of Southwest Prehistory,edited
by Linda Cordell and George J.Gumerman.Smithsonian Institution Press.
Washington D.C.
Schroedl,Alan R.
1991 Paleo-Indian Occupation in the Eastern Great Basin and Northern Colorado
Plateau.Utah Archaeology 1991 4(1):1-15.
Schaafsma,Polly
1980 Indian Rock Art of the Southwest.School of American Research.Santa Fe,
New Mexico.
Smiley,Frances E.
1993 Early Farmers in the Northern Southwest:A View from Marsh Pass.In
Anasazi Basketmaker:Papers from the 1990 Wetherill-Grand Gulch Symposium,
ed.Victoria M.Atkins.Cultural Resource Series No.24:243-254.Bureau of
Land Management,Utah State Office,Salt Lake City.
Smith,Rachel Leah
1998 Kivas of the Northern San Juan and the Northern Rio Grande Regions,A.D.
1150-1350:A Comparative Analysis.Unpublished Master's thesis,Department
of Anthropology,Washington State University,Pullman.
Stokes,William Lee
1986 Geology of Utah.Utah Museum of Natural History and Utah Geological and
Mineral Survey.Salt Lake City.
Talbot,Richard A.,Allison Bingham and Asa S.Nielson
1982 Archaeological Excavations at 42Sa9937 (Aromatic Village)in San Juan
County,Utah.Brigham Young University Department of Anthropology,Provo,
Utah.
Thompson,Richard A.
1977 An Intensive Cultural Resource Inventory Conducted on White Mesa,San Juan
County,Utah.International Learning and Research,Inc.,Cedar City,Utah.
Till,Jonathan D.
In prep.Excavations at Site 42Sa27732,A Pueblo III Period Habitation.Abajo
Archaeology,Bluff,Utah.
Tipps,Betsy L.
1988 The Tar Sands Project:An Inventory and Predictive Model for Central and
Southern Utah.Utah State Office,Bureau of Land Management,Cultural
Resource Series No.22.Salt Lake City.
Van West,Carla R.
1994 Modeling Prehistoric Agricultural Productivity
GIS Approach.Reports of Investigations
Anthropology,Washington State University,
Archaeological Center,Cortez,Colorado.
in Southwestern Colorado:A
No.67.Department of
Pullman,and Crow Canyon
Varien,Mark D.and Barbara J.Mills
1997 Accumulations Research:Problems and Prospects for Estimating Site
Occupation Span.Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 4(2):141-191.
78
Varien,Mark D.,Scott G.Ortman,Timothy A.Kohler,Donna M.Glowacki,and C.
David Johnson
2007 Historical Ecology in the Mesa Verde Region:Results from the Village
Ecodynamics Project.American Antiquity 72(2):273-299.
Varien,Mark D.,William D.Lipe,Michael A.Adler,Ian M.Thompson,and Bruce A.
Bradley
1996 Southwestern Colorado and Southeastern Utah Settlement Patterns:A.D.1100
to 1300.In The Prehistoric Pueblo World,A.D.1150-1350,edited by
Michael A.Adler,pp.86-113.The University of Arizona Press,Tucson.
Westfall,Deborah A.
1995 Cultural and Paleontological Resource
Utah Department of Transportation U.S.
US-191/SR-262 to White Mesa Road,
Archaeology,Bluff,Utah.
Inventory and Evaluative Testing:
191 Improvement Project,Junction
San Juan Coun ty,Utah.Abaj 0
Whitten,Penelope,Timothy Kearns,and Marilyn Swift
1986 A Report on the Archaeological Survey and Testing of a C02 Pipeline Right-
of-way on Cajon Mesa,San Juan County,Utah and Montezuma County,
Colorado.Division of Conservation Archaeology,Farmington,New Mexico.
Worthington,Anne
1978 Site Form for 42Sa6757.Dated 4/27/78.Utah Division of State History,
Antiquities Section,Salt Lake City.
79
APPENDIX A:
Intermountain Antiquities Computer System (IMACS)
Site Forms
on file at:
Utah Division of State History
80
APPENDIX B:
PORTION OF BLUE-LINE MAP
"ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES"
By D.L.M,6/21/88
I
I
I
I-
I
[
I
l
IMACS SITE FORM
PART A -ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
1.STATE NO.:42Sa28128
2 .AGENCY NO:
3.TEMP NO.:Site 1
4.STATE:Utah COUNTY:San Juan
5.PROJECT:Cultural Resource Inventory of the Proposed Denison Mines (USA)
Corporation White Mesa Mill Cell 4B,San Juan County,Utah
6.REPORT NO.:U-09-AS-0334p
7.SITE NAME/PROPERTY NAME:N/A
8.CLASS:[X]PREHISTORIC []HISTORIC []PALEONTOLOGIC
[]ETHNOGRAPHIC
9.SITE TYPE:Artifact scatter
10.ELEVATION:5574 ft.
11.UTM GRID:Zone 12,631332 m East,4154376 m North
12.[SE]OF [SE]OF [NE]OF SECTION [32],T.[37S],R.[22E]
13.MERIDIAN:SLC (1)
14.MAP REFERENCE:Black Mesa Butte,Utah,Provisional Edition 1985
15.AERIAL PHOTO:N/A
16.LOCATION AND ACCESS:The site is situated in the approximate mid-section
of White Mesa,a north-to-south oriented mesa that parallels drainage
systems to the east and west.By traveling approximately five miles south
of Blanding,Utah on US Highway 191,one arrives at the long driveway
entrance to the White Mesa Uranium Mill (currently under the ownership of
Denison Mines),which is located on the west side of the highway.The site
may then be reached by traveling approximately one mile to the west,
essentially approaching the rim of Cottonwood Wash Canyon.The site may
only be accessed by permission of the land owner.
17.LAND OWNER:Private (PR)-White Mesa Mill,Denison Mines (USA)
18.FEDERAL ADMIN.UNITS:
19.LOCATION OF CURATED MATERIALS:N/A
20.SITE DESCRIPTION:Site 42Sa28128 consists of a scatter of lithic and
pottery artifacts that appears to be contained within an area that
measures 30 m N/S x 20 m E/W.The scatter is situated on a relatively flat
plain just east of a low sandy ridge.Lithic artifacts include debitage
and ground stone items;pottery artifacts include white ware bowl and jar
sherds as well as a corrugated cooking jar sherd.The few pottery sherds
noted on the surface suggest a use of the site at one or more times during
the years that span the Pueblo II and III periods.
21.SITE CONDITION:[]EXCELLENT (A)[]GOOD (B)
[Xl FAIR (C)[l POOR (D)
22.IMPACT AGENT(S):Impacting agents on the site may include historic farming
(AG)and grazing (GR),and possibly chaining (CL).More important,
perhaps,were possible borrow excavations that apparently occurred
immediately north of the site (OT).It appears that at least 0.5 m of fill
was systematically removed or stripped from the landscape just north of
the site,possibly removing cultural materials that had been associated
with the site.Rodents have burrowed through the site (RO),unearthing
artifacts that might otherwise have gone hidden.
23.NAT.REGISTER STATUS:[Xl SIGNIFICANT (C)
[l NONSIGNIFICANT (D)
[l UNEVALUATED (Z)
JUSTIFY:The site is deemed significant by virtue of the presence of
subsurface cultural deposits.Site 42Sa28128 may date to the Pueblo II
and/or Pueblo III periods.The relatively small artifact assemblage
suggests that the site was a locus of limited activity,perhaps including
food processing.Data recovered from subsurface deposits might be used to
address research domains such as chronology,settlement,and subsistence.
The site is eligible for nomination to the NRHP under criterion (d).
24.PHOTOS:See attached
25.RECORDED BY:Mark Bond
26.SURVEY ORGANIZATION:Abajo Archaeology (AS)
27.ASSISTING CREW MEMBERS:Jonathan Till
28.SURVEY DATE:10/21/08
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
[X]PART B [X]TOPO MAP
[]ARTIFACT/FEATURE SKETCH []PART C
[X]SITE SKETCH [ ]CONTINUATION SHEETS
[]PART E [X]PHOTOS
[]OTHER:
PART A -ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
29.SLOPE:[0]DEGREES ASPECT:[]DEGREES
30.DISTANCE TO PERMANENT WATER:[29]X 100 METERS
TYPE OF WATER SOURCE:[]SPRING/SEEP (A)
[X]STREAM/RIVER (B)[]LAKE (C)[]OTHER (D)
NAME OF WATER SOURCE:Cottonwood Wash
31.GEOGRAPHIC UNIT:Blanding Basin (CAJ)
32.TOPOGRAPHIC LOCATION
PRIMARY LANDFORM:Mesa (C)
SECONDARY LANDFORM:Plain (0)
DESCRIBE:The site is generally situated along the midsection of the
north-to-south oriented White Mesa.White Mesa itself is a long landform
that parallels the drainage systems of Cottonwood Wash on the west,and
Recapture Wash to the east.These drainages channel water from the Abajo
Mountains (north)to the San Juan River (south).More specifically,the
site is located on a relatively level plain a few hundred meters east of a
low,sandy ridge.Prior to the development of the White Mesa Mill,the
landscape was probably relatively flat with a slight southern aspect.
33.ON-SITE DEPOSITIONAL CONTEXT:Aeolian (S)
DESCRIPTION OF SOIL:On-site sediments appear to consist of the deep,red,
fine-grained aeolian loess characteristic of this portion of White Mesa.
The sediment depth is indicated in the recent (ca.within the last 10
years?)removal of sediments to the north of the site.
34.VEGETATION
A.LIFE ZONE:Upper Sonoran (E)
B.COMMUNITY:
PRIMARY ON-SITE:grassland (M)
SECONDARY ON-SITE:Big sagebrush (P)
SURROUNDING SITE:pinyon-juniper (H)
DESCRIBE:Current vegetation on the site includes bunch grasses,
snakeweed,immature sage,prickly pear cactus,and tumbleweed.The
landscape and vegetation have been much altered from their original state
by historic land-clearing practices.The original vegetation was probably
much like that to the west,along the Cottonwood Canyon rim,which seems
to represent the sage to juniper ecotone.
35.MISCELLANEOUS TEXT:
36.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
PART B -PREHISTORIC SITES
1.SITE TYPE:Artifact scatter
2.CULTURE -CULTURAL AFFILIATION:Ancestral Pueblo,Pueblo II-III periods
(P4)
DATING METHOD:Ceramic cross-dating (M)
DESCRIBE:Diagnostic artifacts recorded on the site include a corrugated
jar body sherd.Corrugated pottery was produced after about A.D.950.The
surface treatment of the white ware sherds is consistent with this
assessment.Given that the temporal assignment is based only on a few
sherds,this assessment is extremely tentative.
3.SITE DIMENSIONS:[30]m by [20]m
AREA:[600]sq m
4.SURFACE COLLECTION/METHOD:None (A)
5.ESTIMATED DEPTH OF CULTURAL FILL:More than 100 em (D)
HOW ESTIMATED (IF TESTED,SHOW LOCATION ON SITE MAP):This observation is
based on a large area of stripped sediments immediately north of the site.
6.EXCAVATION STATUS:[ ]EXCAVATED (A)[]TESTED (B)
[X]UNEXCAVATED (C)
TESTING METHOD:
7.SUMMARY OF ARTIFACTS AND DEBRIS:Ceramic scatter (CS),lithic scatter
(LS),and groundstone scatter (GS)
DESCRIBE:The site consists of a scatter of pottery sherds,debitage,and
several groundstone tools.The pottery consists of several white ware
sherds,and one corrugated gray jar body sherd.Documented chipped stone
artifacts include 7 pieces of debitage.The groundstone assemblage
includes 5 tools or tool fragments.These are described below.
8.LITHIC TOOLS:
#TYPE
4 metate fragments (MZ)
1 unknown handstone (NZ)
DESCRIBE:Five groundstone tools (T1-T5)were documented on the site.Four
of these are metate fragments.None of these is complete enough to
ascertain the metate type (i.e.trough metates,basin metates,or slab
metates).
T1 is a small,irregular-shaped fragment of tabular,dense white sandstone
with a single surface that is pecked and slightly concave.The artifact,
probably a metate fragment,currently measures 8.5 x 7.0 x 2.3 em.
T2 is a metate fragment that consists of the same material as T1.Both
sides of the artifact appear ground and have flat to slightly concave
surfaces.Both sides are well-smoothed,and one side is polished.No peck
marks are evident.However,multiple grinding striae are apparent on both
sides.The artifact measures 21.5 x 16.0 x 5.0 em.
T3 is also a metate fragment made from the same material as T1 and T2.One
side has a deeply ground and pecked facet.The item measures 17.5 x 13.5 x
3.5 em.
T4 is a metate fragment that consists of a light brown,fine-grained
sandstone.Both sides exhibit grinding and pecking.The object measures
13.0 x 8.5 x 3.0 em.
T5 is a possible mano blank.This item is composed of a piece of coarse
white sandstone that has been shaped into a subrectangular form.While the
edges have definitely been flaked into shape,no grinding or other use-
wear is apparent.The item measures 26.0 x 15.5 x 5.0 em.The white
sandstone described above may derive from the local Dakota Formation.
9.LITHIC DEBITAGE -ESTIMATED QUANTITY:7 pieces of debitage (B)
MATERIAL TYPE:A few varieties of Morrison mudstone,including an "olive
green"silicified mudstone;a coarse-grained "tan/cream"mudstone;a
"tan/light green"silicified sandstone,which is probably a Morrison
silicified sandstone;and a light gray opaque chert.
FLAKING STAGES:(0)NOT PRESENT (1)RARE
(2)COMMON (3)DOMINANT
[2]DECORTICATION [2]SECONDARY [2]TERTIARY
[2]SHATTER [ ]CORE
10.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (ALL LITHICS):2/sq.meter
11.CERAMIC ARTIFACTS:
#TYPE
B Mesa Verde white ware (Ee)
B Mesa Verde corrugated gray ware (EI)
DESCRIBE:The pottery assemblage consists simply of four sherds:1 white
ware bowl sherd,2 white ware jar sherds,and 1 corrugated jar body sherd.
All sherds are presumably local.
12.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (CERAMICS):l/sq.meter
13.NON-ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
DESCRIBE:
14.ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
#MATERIAL TYPE
DESCRIBE:
15.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
0.0 0.5 milesl-----·-··-r'"-J"~l-_..'1.1-·--T-----1r---1--.J-T---"lL----l --I
0.0 0.5 1.0 km
428a28128
south edge of surface-stripped area
site boundary
----
----2-track road
KEY
.dt.datum
S sherd
F flake
T#tool M.Bond,10/21/08
l....-•
---
Top:42Sa28128,overview,facing north,cap over datum,Abajo Mountains in
background
Bottom:42Sa28128,overview,facing nOlih,close-up ofcap over datum
IMACS SITE FORM
PART A -ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
1.STATE NO.:42Sa28129
2 .AGENCY NO:
3.TEMP NO.:Site 2
4.STATE:Utah COUNTY:San Juan
5.PROJECT:Cultural Resource Inventory of the Proposed Denison Mines (USA)
Corporation White Mesa Mill Cell 4B,San Juan County,utah
6.REPORT NO.:U-09-AS-0334p
7.SITE NAME/PROPERTY NAME:N/A
8.CLASS:[X]PREHISTORIC []HISTORIC []PALEONTOLOGIC
[]ETHNOGRAPHIC
9.SITE TYPE:Artifact scatter
10.ELEVATION:5579 ft.
11.UTM GRID:Zone 12,631232 m East,4154393 m North
12.[SW]OF [SE]OF [NE]OF SECTION [32],T.[37S],R.[22E]
13.MERIDIAN:SLC (1)
14.MAP REFERENCE:Black Mesa Butte,Utah,Provisional Edition 1985
15.AERIAL PHOTO:N/A
16.LOCATION AND ACCESS:The site is situated in the approximate mid-section
of White Mesa,a north-to-south oriented mesa that parallels drainage
systems to the east and west.By traveling approximately five miles south
of Blanding,Utah on US Highway 191,one arrives at the long driveway
entrance to the White Mesa Uranium Mill (currently under the ownership of
Denison Mines),which is located on the west side of the highway.The site
may then be reached by traveling approximately one mile to the west,
essentially approaching the rim of Cottonwood Wash Canyon.The site may
only be accessed by permission of the land owner.
17.LAND OWNER:Private (PR)-White Mesa Mill,Denison Mines (USA)
18.FEDERAL ADMIN.UNITS:
19.LOCATION OF CURATED MATERIALS:N/A
20.SITE DESCRIPTION:Site 42Sa28129 consists of a scatter of lithic and
pottery artifacts contained within a 30 x 30 m area.This artifact scatter
is concentrated on a very slight rise in an otherwise flat terrain.The
landscape rises to the west toward the crest of a low ridge.Lithic
artifacts include debitage and ground stone tools;pottery items include
white ware bowl and jar sherds,as well as corrugated cooking jar sherds
and one Chapin Gray jar rim.The small pottery assemblage suggests that
the primary use of the site occurred during the Pueblo II period;however,
one or more earlier components (dating to the Basketmaker III and/or
Pueblo I periods)may also be indicated.
21.SITE CONDITION:[]EXCELLENT (A)[]GOOD (B)
[X]FAIR (C)[ ]POOR (D)
22.IMPACT AGENT(S):Impacting agents on the site may include historic farming
(AG)and grazing (GR),and possibly chaining (CL).More important,
perhaps,were borrow excavations that apparently occurred immediately
north of the site (OT).It appears that at least 0.5 m of fill was
systematically removed or stripped from the landscape just north of the
site,possibly removing cultural materials that had been associated with
the site.Rodents have burrowed through the site (RO),unearthing
artifacts that might otherwise have gone hidden.
23.NAT.REGISTER STATUS:[X]SIGNIFICANT (C)
[]NONSIGNIFICANT (D)
[]UNEVALUATED (Z)
JUSTIFY:The site is deemed significant by virtue of the presence of
subsurface cultural deposits.Based on pottery assemblage data,Site
42Sa28129 may harbor features associated with one or more components that
include the Pueblo II period and Basketmaker III and Pueblo I periods.The
site's artifact assemblage suggest limited activity functions (such as
food processing)or seasonal habitation.Data from significant subsurface
deposits may yield information pertinent to research domains such as
chronology,subsistence,and settlement.The site is eligible for
nomination to the NRHP under criterion (d).
24.PHOTOS:See attached.
25.RECORDED BY:Mark Bond
26.SURVEY ORGANIZATION:Abajo Archaeology (AS)
27.ASSISTING CREW MEMBERS:Jonathan Till
28.SURVEY DATE:10/21/08
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
[X]PART B [X]TOPO MAP
[]ARTIFACT/FEATURE SKETCH []PART C
[X]SITE SKETCH [ ]CONTINUATION SHEETS
[]PART E [X]PHOTOS
[]OTHER:
PART A -ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
29.SLOPE:[1]DEGREES ASPECT:[180]DEGREES
30.DISTANCE TO PERMANENT WATER:[28]X 100 METERS
TYPE OF WATER SOURCE:[]SPRING/SEEP (A)
[X]STREAM/RIVER (B)[]LAKE (C)[]OTHER (D)
NAME OF WATER SOURCE:Cottonwood Wash
31.GEOGRAPHIC UNIT:Blanding Basin (CAJ)
32.TOPOGRAPHIC LOCATION
PRIMARY LANDFORM:Mesa (C)
SECONDARY LANDFORM:Plain (0)
DESCRIBE:The site is generally situated along the midsection of the
north-to-south oriented White Mesa.White Mesa itself is a long landform
that parallels the drainage systems of Cottonwood Wash on the west,and
Recapture Wash to the east.These drainages channel water from the Abajo
Mountains (north)to the San Juan River (south).More specifically,the
site is located on a relatively level plain just below,and east of,the
base of a low,sandy finger-ridge.
33.ON-SITE DEPOSITIONAL CONTEXT:Aeolian (S)
DESCRIPTION OF SOIL:On-site sediments appear to consist of the deep,red,
fine-grained aeolian loess characteristic of this portion of White Mesa.
The sediment depth is indicated in the recent (ca.within the last 10
years?)removal of at least 50 cm of sediments to the north of the site.
34.VEGETATION
A.LIFE ZONE:Upper Sonoran (E)
B.COMMUNITY:
PRIMARY ON-SITE:grassland (M)
SECONDARY ON-SITE:Big sagebrush (P)
SURROUNDING SITE:juniper-sage (2)
DESCRIBE:Current vegetation on the site includes bunch grasses,
snakeweed,small sage,prickly pear cactus,and tumbleweed.The landscape
and vegetation have been much altered from their original state by
historic land-clearing practices.The original vegetation was probably
much like that to the west,along the Cottonwood Canyon rim,which seems
to represent the sage to juniper ecotone.
35.MISCELLANEOUS TEXT:
36.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
PART B -PREHISTORIC SITES
1.SITE TYPE:Artifact scatter
2.CULTURE -CULTURAL AFFILIATION:Ancestral Pueblo,Pueblo II period (P3)
DATING METHOD:Ceramic cross-dating (M)
DESCRIBE:Although small,the pottery assemblage suggests a Pueblo II
period association.Corrugated body sherds,a white ware jar body sherd
with Dogoszhi design,and a bowl body sherd with Black Mesa design suggest
a Pueblo II period designation.One Chapin Gray jar rim sherd was also
noted,suggesting an earlier presence on or near the site as well.
3.SITE DIMENSIONS:[30]m by [30]m
AREA:[900]sq m
4.SURFACE COLLECTION/METHOD:None (A)
5.ESTIMATED DEPTH OF CULTURAL FILL:Fill noted but depth unknown (E)
HOW ESTIMATED (IF TESTED,SHOW LOCATION ON SITE MAP):At least 50 cm of
sediment depth are apparent by the stripping of sediments to the immediate
north of the site.
6.EXCAVATION STATUS:[ ]EXCAVATED (A)[TESTED (B)
[X]UNEXCAVATED (C)
TESTING METHOD:
7.SUMMARY OF ARTIFACTS AND DEBRIS:Ceramic scatter (CS),lithic scatter
(LS),and groundstone scatter (GS)
DESCRIBE:The site consists of a scatter of pottery sherds,debitage,and
several groundstone tools.The pottery consists of corrugated jar body
sherds,white ware bowl and jar sherds,and one Chapin Gray jar rim sherd.
Only five pieces of debitage were noted,but consisted of several material
types.Three groundstone tools or tool fragments were also documented on
the site (T1-T3).These are described further below.
8.LITHIC TOOLS:
#TYPE
1 slab metate,portable (ME)
1 slab metate,nonportable (MF)
1 metate fragment (MZ)
DESCRIBE:Three groundstone tools (T1-T3)were documented on the site.All
three artifacts are metate fragments,two of which are large enough to
identify as slab metate fragments.
T1 is a large,"non-portable"unifacial slab metate.Made from a white,
dense sandstone,the slab has an uneven grinding facet on one surface.
Peck marks are also apparent on this surface.Extant margins around the
artifact indicate that the obj ect was flaked to shape it.The item
measures 41.0 x 27.0 x 9.0 cm.
T2 is a fragment of a unifacial metate.The artifact is made from a brown
sandstone.The object measures 11.0 x 6.0 x 2.3 cm.
T3 is smashed,unifacial slab metate consisting of several fragments.The
item is made from a light brown sandstone similar to T2.Refit,T3
measures 29 x 35 cm,and was 2 to 4 cm thick.
9.LITHIC DEBITAGE -ESTIMATED QUANTITY:5 pieces of debitage (B)
MATERIAL TYPE:Several material types were observed on the site,all of
which may have derived from the Morrison formation.One is a "tan/olive-
green silicified sandstone,"another is a "brown silicified sandstone,"a
third is a light gray mudstone,and the fourth is Brushy Basin chert.
FLAKING STAGES:(0)NOT PRESENT (1)RARE
(2)COMMON (3)DOMINANT
[2]DECORTICATION [2]SECONDARY [2]TERTIARY
[]SHATTER [ ]CORE
10.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (ALL LITHICS):2/sq.m
11.CERAMIC ARTIFACTS:
#TYPE
B Mesa Verde corrugated ware (E1)
B Mancos B/w (EP)
B Late White Painted (EC)
B Late White Unpainted (EC)
DESCRIBE:The pottery assemblage consists of 14 sherds.Corrugated jar
body sherds dominate the assemblage (n=9).In addition to these cooking
jar sherds,1 Chapin Gray jar rim sherd was found.Other sherds include 2
Mancos B/w (one jar body sherd with Dogoszhi design style,one bowl body
sherd with Black Mesa design style),one Late White Unpainted jar body
sherd,and one Late White Painted sherd of unknown form.
12.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (CERAMICS):2/sq.m
13.NON-ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
DESCRIBE:
14.ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
#MATERIAL TYPE
DESCRIBE:
15.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
0.0 0.5 milesI~..,L,---T--TLT-+--'--r
0.0 0.5 1.0 km
r-----------.,....---------------------
428a28129
--~
(
\T3
\T2 s
KEY
.A datum
S sherd
F flake
T#tool
site boundary
M.Bond,10/21/08
1-._---------------------------
Top:42Sa28129,overview,facing north,close-up ofcap over datum
Bottom:42Sa28129,overview,facing north,cap over datum;note the sediment cut in the
immediate background ofthe datum
IMACS SITE FORM
PART A -ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
1.STATE NO.:42Sa28130
2 .AGENCY NO:
3 .TEMP NO.:Site 8
4.STATE:Utah COUNTY:San Juan
5.PROJECT:Cultural Resource Inventory of the Proposed Denison Mines (USA)
Corporation White Mesa Mill Cell 48,San Juan County,Utah
6.REPORT NO.:U-09-AS-0334p
7.SITE NAME/PROPERTY NAME:N/A
8.CLASS:[X]PREHISTORIC []HISTORIC []PALEONTOLOGIC
[]ETHNOGRAPHIC
9.SITE TYPE:Artifact scatter
10.ELEVATION:5578 ft.
11.UTM GRID:Zone 12,631285 m East,4154451 m North
12.[SE]OF [SE]OF [NE]OF SECTION [32],T.[37S],R.[22E]
13.MERIDIAN:SLC (1)
14.MAP REFERENCE:Black Mesa Butte,Utah,Provisional Edition 1985
15.AERIAL PHOTO:N/A
16.LOCATION AND ACCESS:The site is situated in the approximate mid-section
of White Mesa,a north-to-south oriented mesa that parallels drainage
systems to the east and west.By traveling approximately five miles south
of Blanding,Utah on US Highway 191,one arrives at the long driveway
entrance to the White Mesa Uranium Mill (currently under the ownership of
Denison Mines),which is located on the west side of the highway.The site
may then be reached by traveling approximately one mile to the west,
essentially approaching the rim of Cottonwood Wash Canyon.The site may
only be accessed by permission of the land owner.
17.LAND OWNER:Private (PR)--White Mesa Mill,Denison Mines (USA)
18.FEDERAL ADMIN.UNITS:
19.LOCATION OF CURATED MATERIALS:N/A
20.SITE DESCRIPTION:Site 42Sa28130 consists of a scatter of lithic and
pottery artifacts.Located on relatively flat terrain with a slight slope
to the southeast,the scatter is confined to a small area that measures
approximately 10 m north/south by 30 m east/west.The lithic artifact
assemblage includes debitage and a single ground stone tool.The pottery
assemblage consists of several gray ware (corrugated)jar sherds.A few
Mancos Corrugated rim sherds suggest that this locus may have been used
during the Pueblo II period.
21.SITE CONDITION:[]EXCELLENT (A)[]GOOD (B)
[X]FAIR (C)[ ]POOR (D)
22.IMPACT AGENT(S):Perhaps the greatest impact to the site was a surface-
stripping episode that occurred some time in the recent past (OT).
Approximately 40 cm of fill was removed in a long and wide swath just
immediately south of the site.Rodents have burrowed through the site
(RO),unearthing artifacts that might otherwise have gone hidden.Other
impacting agents on the site may include historic farming (AG)and grazing
(GR),and possibly chaining (CL).
23.NAT.REGISTER STATUS:[X]SIGNIFICANT (C)
[]NONSIGNIFICANT (D)
[]UNEVALUATED (Z)
JUSTIFY:The site is deemed significant by virtue of the presence of
subsurface cultural deposits.Site 42Sa28130 appears to date to the Pueblo
II period.Its small artifact assemblage suggests a limited activity
function such as food processing.Subsurface deposits could yield data
pertinent to research domains such as chronology,subsistence,and
settlement.The site is eligibile for nomination to the NRHP under
criterion (d).
24.PHOTOS:
25.RECORDED BY:Mark Bond
26.SURVEY ORGANIZATION:Abajo Archaeology (AS)
27.ASSISTING CREW MEMBERS:Jonathan Till
28.SURVEY DATE:10/24/08
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
[Xl PART B [Xl TOPO MAP
[l ARTIFACT/FEATURE SKETCH []PART C
[Xl SITE SKETCH [ l CONTINUATION SHEETS
[l PART E [Xl PHOTOS
[l OTHER:
PART A -ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
29.SLOPE:[2]DEGREES ASPECT:[100]DEGREES
30.DISTANCE TO PERMANENT WATER:[29]X 100 METERS
TYPE OF WATER SOURCE:[]SPRING/SEEP (A)
[X]STREAM/RIVER (B)[]LAKE (C)[]OTHER (D)
NAME OF WATER SOURCE:Cottonwood Wash
31.GEOGRAPHIC UNIT:Blanding Basin (CAJ)
32.TOPOGRAPHIC LOCATION
PRIMARY LANDFORM:Mesa (C)
SECONDARY LANDFORM:Plain (0),Slope (Q)
DESCRIBE:The site is generally situated along the midsection of the
north-to-south oriented White Mesa.White Mesa itself is a long landform
that parallels the drainage systems of Cottonwood Wash on the west,and
Recapture Wash to the east.These drainages channel water from the Abajo
Mountains (north)to the San Juan River (south).More immediately,the
site located on a very gently sloped plain that slowly drops to the
southeast.
33.ON-SITE DEPOSITIONAL CONTEXT:Aeolian (S)
DESCRIPTION OF SOIL:On-site sediments consist of the red aeolian loess
that characterizes this portion of White Mesa.
34.VEGETATION
A.LIFE ZONE:Upper Sonoran (E)
B.COMMUNITY:
PRIMARY ON-SITE:Big sagebrush (P)
SECONDARY ON-SITE:Barren (R)
SURROUNDING SITE:Juniper-sage (2)
DESCRIBE:Current on-site vegetation includes small sagebrush,bunch
grasses,snakeweed,mustard,and prickly pear.Most of the modern ground
surface is not covered by vegetation.The landscape and vegetation have
been much altered from their original state by historic land-clearing
practices.The original vegetation was probably much like that to the
west,along the Cottonwood Canyon rim,which seems to represent the sage
to juniper ecotone.
35.MISCELLANEOUS TEXT:
36.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
PART B -PREHISTORIC SITES
1.SITE TYPE:Artifact scatter
2.CULTURE -CULTURAL AFFILIATION:Ancestral Pueblo,Pueblo II (P3)
DATING METHOD:Ceramic cross-dating (M)
DESCRIBE:The site's pottery assemblage is very small,and includes just
Mancos Corrugated rim sherds (n=2)and several corrugated body sherds.
Indeed,these sherds may all derive from a single vessel.
3.SITE DIMENSIONS:[10]m by [30]m
AREA:[300]sq m
4.SURFACE COLLECTION/METHOD:None (A)
5.ESTIMATED DEPTH OF CULTURAL FILL:Depth suspected but not tested (F)
HOW ESTIMATED (IF TESTED,SHOW LOCATION ON SITE MAP):An area of surface
stripping occurs immediately south of the site.At least 35 to 40 ern of
fill was removed in this area,suggesting that cultural deposits could be
this deep at the least.
6.EXCAVATION STATUS:[ ]EXCAVATED (A)[TESTED (B)
[X]UNEXCAVATED (C)
TESTING METHOD:
7.SUMMARY OF ARTIFACTS AND DEBRIS:Ceramic scatter (CS),lithic scatter
(LS),and ground and pecked stone artifacts (GS).
DESCRIBE:The site's cultural materials consist of a small scatter of
pottery sherds and lithic debitage.Additionally a single lithic tool,a
fragment of ground stone (Tl),was noted on the site.Also nearby is a
limestone cobble,an item that probably represents a manuport.
8.LITHIC TOOLS:
#TYPE
1 metate fragment (MZ)
DESCRIBE:Only one tool was documented on this site.This object,Tool 1
(Tl),is a simple fragment of ground stone.It consists of white
sandstone,and has a single ground surface.The item was apparently from a
corner of the tool,which was both pecked and ground into shape.The
object measures 11.0 x 15.0 x 3.5 ern.
9.LITHIC DEBITAGE -ESTIMATED QUANTITY:4 (B)
MATERIAL TYPE:Three material types were noted in this small assemblage:
Brushy Basin chert,white silicified sandstone,and an opaque dark gray
chert.
FLAKING STAGES:(0)NOT PRESENT (1)RARE
(2)COMMON (3)DOMINANT
[2]DECORTICATION [2]SECONDARY [2]TERTIARY
[0]SHATTER [0]CORE
10.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (ALL LITHICS):II sq.meter
11.CERAMIC ARTIFACTS:
#TYPE
B Mancos Corrugated (ET)
B Corrugated body sherds (El)
DESCRIBE:The sherds in the pottery assemblage may derive from a single,
Mancos Corrugated vessel.The assemblage simply consists of 2 Mancos
Corrugated jar rim sherds and 6 corrugated jar body sherds.
12.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (CERAMICS):2/sq.meter
13.NON-ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
DESCRIBE:
14.ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
#MATERIAL TYPE
DESCRIBE:
15.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
0.0 0.5 miles
t----r---.l--].rL_--l-~r--l-Lr-·-r-'"!··-T
0.0 0.5 1.0 km
428a28130
At
o 10 miIn:::::a::::M ==
/
(
\
F
------
~
T1 \
)
./
KEY
--------------------------------------------north edge of surface stripped-area
(this area steps down 35 to 40 cm from
the site area to the north)
Jt.datum
S sherd
F flake
T#tool M.Bond,10/24/08
1-_----------------------,-----
)
/
Top:42Sa28130,overview,facing NNE,Abajo Mountains in background
Bottom:42Sa28130,overview,facing NNE,cap over datum
IMACS SITE FORM
PART A -ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
1.STATE NO.:42Sa28131
2 .AGENCY NO:
3.TEMP NO.:Site 9
4.STATE:Utah COUNTY:San Juan
5.PROJECT:Cultural Resource Inventory of the Proposed Denison Mines (USA)
Corporation White Mesa Mill Cell 4B,San Juan County,Utah
6.REPORT NO.:U-09-AS-0334p
7.SITE NAME/PROPERTY NAME:N/A
8.CLASS:[ ]PREHISTORIC [X]HISTORIC []PALEONTOLOGIC
[ ]ETHNOGRAPHIC
9.SITE TYPE:Camp
10.ELEVATION:5584 ft.
11.UTM GRID:Zone 12,631293 m East,4154650 m North
12.[NE]OF [SE]OF [NE]OF SECTION [32],T.[37S],R.[22E]
13.MERIDIAN:SLC (1)
14.MAP REFERENCE:Black Mesa Butte,Utah,Provisional Edition 1985
15.AERIAL PHOTO:N/A
16.LOCATION AND ACCESS:The site is situated in the approximate mid-section
of White Mesa,a north-to-south oriented mesa that parallels drainage
systems to the east and west.By traveling approximately five miles south
of Blanding,Utah on US Highway 191,one arrives at the long driveway
entrance to the White Mesa Uranium Mill (currently under the ownership of
Denison Mines),which is located on the west side of the highway.The site
may then be reached by traveling approximately one mile to the west,
essentially approaching the rim of Cottonwood Wash Canyon.The site may
only be accessed by permission of the land owner.
17.LAND OWNER:Private (PR)--White Mesa Mill,Denison Mines (USA)
18.FEDERAL ADMIN.UNITS:
19.LOCATION OF CURATED MATERIALS:N/A
20.SITE DESCRIPTION:Site 42Sa28131 is an historic camp with a single feature
and a few artifacts.The site is situated on an alluvial flat,immediately
adjacent to a small wash or rill.The feature is a hearth (Feature 1),
lined with small sandstone slabs,that measures 1.2 m in diameter.The
artifacts consist of two fragments of sanitary-sealed tin cans and a
single rifle cartridge.These items suggest that the site might date to
A.D.1945 (see Part C,#4).The whole site measures about 6 by 14 m,
incorporating a fenceline to the north.
21.SITE CONDITION:[]EXCELLENT (A)[]GOOD (B)
[X]FAIR (C)[ ]POOR (D)
22.IMPACT AGENT(S):The most immediate threat to this historic feature is
posed by the erosional forces of a small wash adjacent to the feature
(ER).Just north of the site is an access road for the Mill (RD).
Considering the nature of the facility,it seems appropriate to note the
potential for development projects (PR)to impact the site.
23.NAT.REGISTER STATUS:[X]SIGNIFICANT (C)
[ ]NONSIGNIFICANT (D)
[ ]UNEVALUATED (Z)
JUSTIFY:The site is deemed significant by virtue of the presence of
subsurface cultural deposits.Site 42Sa28131 is an historic site with at
least one feature,a hearth,that probably contains significant deposits.
This site is eligible under nomination to the NRHP under criterion (d).
24.PHOTOS:See attached
25.RECORDED BY:Mark Bond
26.SURVEY ORGANIZATION:Abajo Archaeology (AS)
27.ASSISTING CREW MEMBERS:Jonathan Till
28.SURVEY DATE:10/25/08
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
[X]PART B [X]TOPO MAP
[ ]ARTIFACT/FEATURE SKETCH []PART C
[X]SITE SKETCH [ ]CONTINUATION SHEETS
[ ]PART E [X]PHOTOS
[ ]OTHER:
PART A -ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
29.SLOPE:[2]DEGREES ASPECT:[150]DEGREES
30.DISTANCE TO PERMANENT WATER:[29]X 100 METERS
TYPE OF WATER SOURCE:[]SPRING/SEEP (A)
[X]STREAM/RIVER (B)[]LAKE (C)[]OTHER (D)
NAME OF WATER SOURCE:Cottonwood Wash
31.GEOGRAPHIC UNIT:Blanding Basin (CAJ)
32.TOPOGRAPHIC LOCATION
PRIMARY LANDFORM:Mesa (C)
SECONDARY LANDFORM:Floodplain (J)
DESCRIBE:The site is generally situated along the midsection of the
north-to-south oriented White Mesa.White Mesa itself is a long landform
that parallels the drainage systems of Cottonwood Wash on the west,and
Recapture Wash to the east.These drainages channel water from the Abajo
Mountains (north)to the San Juan River (south).More immediately,the
site is found among low dunes of White Mesa's interior.It is nestled in a
small "valley"among these dunes,and immediately along the small wash or
rill at the bottom of this small valley.
33.ON-SITE DEPOSITIONAL CONTEXT:Alluvial Plain (H)
DESCRIPTION OF SOIL:On-site sediments probably derive from two processes,
aeolian and alluvial.Aeolian materials consist of the fine,light reddish
brown sands deposited on the top of White Mesa.This same material,as
well as finer local silt and clay,is also redeposited alluvium from the
nearby wash bottom.
34 .VEGETATION
A.LIFE ZONE:Upper Sonoran (E)
B.COMMUNITY:
PRIMARY ON-SITE:grassland (M)
SECONDARY ON-SITE:juniper-sage (2)
SURROUNDING SITE:developed (U)
DESCRIBE:On-site vegetation consists of grasses,cheatgrass,mustard,
heron's bill,and globemallow.Nearby are juniper and sage.The landscape
and its vegetation has been radically altered by the on-going development
activities at the Mill.
35.MISCELLANEOUS TEXT:
36.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
PART C -HISTORIC SITES
1.SITE TYPE:Camp
2.HISTORIC THEME (s):Farming/ranching (FR)
3.CULTURE:
CULTURAL AFFILIATION DATING METHOD
Unknown (ZZ)Cross-dating/diagnostic artifacts
DESCRIBE:A cultural affiliation cannot be determined base on the
small assemblage of items recorded with the site.It is likely
associated with farming and/or ranching activities,and may have
been associated with Anglo,Navajo,or Ute farm or ranch hands.
4.OLDEST DATE:1942 RECENT DATE:
HOW DETERMINED:Present are two sanitary-seal tin cans and a rifle
cartridge.The rifle cartridge is a 2 1/8-inch long,British .303
cartridge with a rebated rim.It has a VPT 42 headstamp,dating its
creation in 1942.The cartridge probably came to the United States
soon after the cessation of World War II.
5.SITE DIMENSIONS:[6]m x [14]m Area:[84]Sq.m
6.SURFACE COLLECTION/METHOD:None (A)
SAMPLING METHOD:
7.ESTIMATED DEPTH OF CULTURAL FILL:Fill noted,by exact depth unknown
(E)
HOW ESTIMATED (If tested,show location on map):
8.EXCAVATION STATUS:[EXCAVATED
[]TESTED
[X]UNEXCAVATED
TESTING METHOD:
9.SUMMARY OF ARTIFACTS AND DEBRIS:Ammunition with marks (AW),
Sanitary cans (TC)
DESCRIBE:This site simply consists of several artifacts and a
feature,an historic hearth or campfire feature (Feature 1).The
artifact assemblage includes fragments of sanitary-seal tin cans and
a rifle cartridge.
10.CERAMIC ARTIFACTS:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
#
PASTE
GLAZE/SLIP
DECORATION
PATTERN
VESSEL FORM(s)
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF CERAMIC TRADEMARKS:[ ]
DESCRIBE:
11.GLASS:
#
MANUFACTURE
COLOR
FUNCTION
TRADEMARK
DECORATION
DESCRIBE:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
12.MAXIMUM DENSITY #/SQ.M (glass and ceramics):
13.TIN CANS:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
TYPE
OPENING
SIZE
MODIFIED
LABEL/MARK
FUNCTION
DESCRIBE:Two sanitary-seal cans were noted on the site,but more
specific data were not recorded.
14.LANDSCAPE AND CONSTRUCTED FEATURES (locate on site map):
DESCRIBE:
15.BUILDING AND STRUCTURES (locate on site map):
#MATERIAL TYPE
DESCRIBE:
16.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
Location for 42Sa28131,Black Mesa Butte,Utah,7.5'
0.0 O.S miles
~---r--L,-,L··]·---T-rL·r---+-'--····-T
0.0 O.S 1.0 km
~-------------
428a28131
--._--....--
o "mIL::m::=t.=J
.._~..;;ed7\nce
//-~\-.._.._.._..__.._.._..-
I \
I \
I can_~\
\~~~)F1X I
@;::>'"\ .;X.--I
rifle cartridge /
KEY
At.
S
F
T#
F#O~
datum
sherd
flake
tool
feature
rock
/
../
/
/
/
M.Bond,10/25/08
42Sa28131,overview,facing SW;site is on other side offenceline;juniper tree on right;
lathe stands over site datum
IMACS SITE FORM
PART A -ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
1.STATE NO.:42Sa28132
2 .AGENCY NO:
3.TEMP NO.:Site 10
4.STATE:Utah COUNTY:San Juan
5.PROJECT:Cultural Resource Inventory of the Proposed Denison Mines (USA)
Corporation White Mesa Mill Cell 4B,San Juan County,Utah
6.REPORT NO.:U-09-AS-0334p
7.SITE NAME/PROPERTY NAME:N/A
8.CLASS:[X]PREHISTORIC []HISTORIC []PALEONTOLOGIC
[]ETHNOGRAPHIC
9.SITE TYPE:artifact and rock scatter
10.ELEVATION:5587 ft.
11.UTM GRID:Zone 12,631113 m East,4154386 m North
12.[SW]OF [SE]OF [NE]OF SECTION [32],T.[37S],R.[22E]
13.MERIDIAN:SLC (1)
14.MAP REFERENCE:Black Mesa Butte,Utah,Provisional Edition 1985
15.AERIAL PHOTO:N/A
16.LOCATION AND ACCESS:The site is situated in the approximate mid-section
of White Mesa,a north-to-south oriented mesa that parallels drainage
systems to the east and west.By traveling approximately five miles south
of Blanding,Utah on US Highway 191,one arrives at the long driveway
entrance to the White Mesa Uranium Mill (currently under the ownership of
Denison Mines),which is located on the west side of the highway.The site
may then be reached by traveling approximately one mile to the west,
essentially approaching the rim of Cottonwood Wash Canyon.The site may
only be accessed by permission of the land owner.
17.LAND OWNER:Private (PR)--White Mesa Mill,Denison Mines (USA)
18.FEDERAL ADMIN.UNITS:
19.LOCATION OF CURATED MATERIALS:N/A
20.SITE DESCRIPTION:Site 42Sa28132 simply consists of a small artifact and
rock scatter.The artifacts include a few pieces of lithic debitage and
several plain gray jar body sherds.The rock consists of a few pieces of
fire-cracked rock.The site is situated on the slope of a finger-ridge,
the crest of which is just to the west.The artifact scatter is primarily
concentrated in an area that measures approximately 15 m in diameter.The
site may well be associated with the early (Basketmaker III?)component on
nearby Site 42Sa6397,which lies just to the north on the crest of the
finger-ridge.
21.SITE CONDITION:[]EXCELLENT (A)[]GOOD (B)
[X]FAIR (C)[ ]POOR (D)
22.IMPACT AGENT(S):Rodent disturbance (RO)and natural erosional processes
(ER)appear to have been the most immediate disturbances to the site.
Historic agricultural practices and land improvement techniques may have
also damaged the site,though these aren't immediately apparent.
23.NAT.REGISTER STATUS:[X]SIGNIFICANT (C)
[]NONSIGNIFICANT (D)
[]UNEVALUATED (Z)
JUSTIFY:The site is deemed significant by virtue of the presence of
subsurface cultural deposits.Site 42Sa28132 is a possible Basketmaker III
period site that may be associated with nearby 42Sa6397.The artifact
assemblage is ambiguous with regard to function,though the small size of
the assemblage suggests that only few activities took place in this locus.
However,one or more subsurface features may be present.Such subsurface
deposits may yield data pertinent to research domains such as chronology,
subsistence,and settlement.Thus,42Sa28132 is considered eligible for
nomination to the NRHP under criterion (d).
24.PHOTOS:See attached
25.RECORDED BY:Mark Bond
26.SURVEY ORGANIZATION:Abajo Archaeology (AS)
27.ASSISTING CREW MEMBERS:Jonathan Till
28.SURVEY DATE:10/24/08
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
[Xl PART B [Xl TOPO MAP
[l ARTIFACT/FEATURE SKETCH [l PART C
[Xl SITE SKETCH [ l CONTINUATION SHEETS
[l PART E [Xl PHOTOS
[l OTHER:
PART A -ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
29.SLOPE:[5]DEGREES ASPECT:[135]DEGREES
30.DISTANCE TO PERMANENT WATER:[26]X 100 METERS
TYPE OF WATER SOURCE:[]SPRING/SEEP (A)
[X]STREAM/RIVER (B)[]LAKE (C)(]OTHER (D)
NAME OF WATER SOURCE:Cottonwood Wash
31.GEOGRAPHIC UNIT:Blanding Basin (CAJ)
32.TOPOGRAPHIC LOCATION
PRIMARY LANDFORM:Mesa (C)
SECONDARY LANDFORM:Ridge (P),Slope (Q)
DESCRIBE:The site is generally situated along the midsection of the
north-to-south oriented White Mesa.White Mesa itself is a long landform
that parallels the drainage systems of Cottonwood Wash on the west,and
Recapture Wash to the east.These drainages channel water from the Abajo
Mountains (north)to the San Juan River (south).More immediately,the
site is located on the slope of a finger-ridge,the crest of which is
immediately west of the cluster of artifacts defining the site.
33.ON-SITE DEPOSITIONAL CONTEXT:Aeolian (S)
DESCRIPTION OF SOIL:The sediments on the site's surface consist of the
fine-grained,red aeolian loess that characterizes this portion of White
Mesa.
34.VEGETATION
A.LIFE ZONE:Upper Sonoran (E)
B.COMMUNITY:
PRIMARY ON-SITE:Grassland (M)
SECONDARY ON-SITE:Big sagebrush (P)
SURROUNDING SITE:Big sagebrush(P)
DESCRIBE:On-site vegetation includes sagebrush,snakeweed,cheatgrass,
and mustard.There are several barren patches in the vicinity as well.The
landscape and vegetation have been much altered from their original state
by historic land-clearing practices.The original vegetation was probably
much like that to the west,along the Cottonwood Canyon rim,which seems
to represent the sage to juniper ecotone.
35.MISCELLANEOUS TEXT:
36.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
PART B -PREHISTORIC SITES
1.SITE TYPE:Artifact and rock scatter
2.CULTURE -CULTURAL AFFILIATION:Ancestral Pueblo,Basketmaker III (B5)
DATING METHOD:Ceramic cross-dating (M)
DESCRIBE:The pottery assemblage of the site simply consists of 10 pottery
sherds,all of which are plain gray jar body sherds.Considering the
exclusion of other pottery types,this small assemblage very tentatively
suggests a Basketmaker III occupation of the site.
3.SITE DIMENSIONS:[15]m by [15]m
AREA:[177]sq m
4.SURFACE COLLECTION/METHOD:None (A)
5.ESTIMATED DEPTH OF CULTURAL FILL:Depth suspected,but not tested (F)
HOW ESTIMATED (IF TESTED,SHOW LOCATION ON SITE MAP):
6.EXCAVATION STATUS:[ ]EXCAVATED (A)[]TESTED (B)
[X]UNEXCAVATED (C)
TESTING METHOD:
7.SUMMARY OF ARTIFACTS AND DEBRIS:Ceramic scatter (CS),lithic scatter (LS)
DESCRIBE:The site simply consists of a scatter of artifacts,including
pottery and lithic debitage,and a few pieces of burned rock.
8.LITHIC TOOLS:
#TYPE
DESCRIBE:
9.LITHIC DEBITAGE -ESTIMATED QUANTITY:2 (B)
MATERIAL TYPE:The two secondary flakes noted on the site are made from a
white silicified sandstone (possibly from the Dakota Formation).
FLAKING STAGES:(0)NOT PRESENT (1)RARE
(2)COMMON (3)DOMINANT
[0]DECORTICATION [3]SECONDARY [0]TERTIARY
[0]SHATTER [0]CORE
10.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (ALL LITHICS):l/sq.meter
11.CERAMIC ARTIFACTS:
#TYPE
C Plain gray jar body (EY)
DESCRIBE:A total of 10 sherds were documented on the site.All of these
are plain gray jar body sherds.
12.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (CERAMICS):2/sq.meter
13.NON-ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
DESCRIBE:
14.ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
#MATERIAL TYPE
DESCRIBE:
15.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
0.0 0.5 milesI-,-',,,----,t--,··'r---rJ.--,-···-/--,----1
0.0 0.5 1.0 km
,.-----------------------------
428a28132
o '10 rn
...=-:::m i
KEY
A datum
S sherd
F flake
T#tool
R rock
,,/"
/R
R 8
/
88 88 8
/8 A
I
\
T1
F
M.Bond,10/24/08
1----------------------'---------
Top:42Sa28132,overview,facing south,cap over datum;truck in background is near
project's south boundary
Bottom:42Sa28132,overview,facing WNW,cap over datum
IMACS SITE FORM
PART A -ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
1.STATE NO.:42Sa28133
2 .AGENCY NO:
3.TEMP NO.:Site 11
4.STATE:Utah COUNTY:San Juan
5.PROJECT:Cultural Resource Inventory of the Proposed Denison Mines (USA)
Corporation White Mesa Mill Cell 4B,San Juan County,Utah
6.REPORT NO.:U-09-AS-0334p
7.SITE NAME/PROPERTY NAME:N/A
8.CLASS:[X]PREHISTORIC []HISTORIC []PALEONTOLOGIC
[]ETHNOGRAPHIC
9.SITE TYPE:Artifact and rock scatter
10.ELEVATION:5585 ft.
11.UTM GRID:Zone 12,630855 m East,4154516 m North
12.[C]OF [SW]OF [NE]OF SECTION [32],T.[37S],R.[38S]
13.MERIDIAN:SLC (1)
14.MAP REFERENCE:Black Mesa Butte,Utah,Provisional Edition 1985
15.AERIAL PHOTO:N/A
16.LOCATION AND ACCESS:The site is situated in the approximate mid-section
of White Mesa,a north-to-south oriented mesa that parallels drainage
systems to the east and west.By traveling approximately five miles south
of Blanding,Utah on US Highway 191,one arrives at the long driveway
entrance to the White Mesa Uranium Mill (currently under the ownership of
Denison Mines),which is located on the west side of the highway.The site
may then be reached by traveling approximately one mile to the west,
essentially approaching the rim of Cottonwood Wash Canyon.The site may
only be accessed by permission of the land owner.
17.LAND OWNER:Private (PR)--White Mesa Mill,Denison Mines (USA)
18.FEDERAL ADMIN.UNITS:
19.LOCATION OF CURATED MATERIALS:N/A
20.SITE DESCRIPTION:Site 42Sa28133 consists of a very small scatter of
artifacts and several pieces of sandstone rock.Considering the setting,
it seems likely that all of these items must be manuports.The artifacts
consist of three stone tools (a ground stone fragment,a hammerstone
fragment,and a possible lapstone).The several pieces of sandstone are
small and tabular.These may be remnants of one or more broken artifacts
or may be architectural.All items are confined to an area measuring 5 m
in diameter.
21.SITE CONDITION:[]EXCELLENT (A)[]GOOD (B)
[X]FAIR (C)[ ]POOR (D)
22.IMPACT AGENT (S):Old rodent burrows are apparent on the site (RO).
Otherwise natural erosional processes (ER)probably constitute the
greatest impacting agent to the site.
23.NAT.REGISTER STATUS:[X]SIGNIFICANT (C)
[]NONSIGNIFICANT (D)
[]UNEVALUATED (Z)
JUSTIFY:The site is deemed significant by virtue of the presence of
subsurface cultural deposits.Site 42Sa28133 is a small artifact
assemblage of unknown aboriginal affiliation.While chronologically
diagnostic artifacts are absent from the surface,food processing
activities are indicated.Research domains that might be addressed with
data from subsurface deposits in this site includes chronology,
subsistence,and settlement.The site is therefore considered eligible for
nomination to the NRHP under criterion (d).
24.PHOTOS:See attached
25.RECORDED BY:Mark Bond
26.SURVEY ORGANIZATION:Abajo Archaeology (AS)
27.ASSISTING CREW MEMBERS:Jonathan Till
28.SURVEY DATE:10/25/08
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
[X]PART B [X]TOPO MAP
[]ARTIFACT/FEATURE SKETCH []PART C
[X]SITE SKETCH [ ]CONTINUATION SHEETS
[]PART E [X]PHOTOS
[]OTHER:
PART A -ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
29.SLOPE:[]DEGREES ASPECT:[]DEGREES
30.DISTANCE TO PERMANENT WATER:[24]X 100 METERS
TYPE OF WATER SOURCE:[]SPRING/SEEP (A)
[X]STREAM/RIVER (B)[]LAKE (C)[]OTHER (D)
NAME OF WATER SOURCE:Cottonwood Wash
31.GEOGRAPHIC UNIT:Blanding Basin (CAJ)
32.TOPOGRAPHIC LOCATION
PRIMARY LANDFORM:Mesa (C)
SECONDARY LANDFORM:Ridge (P),Slope (Q),Bench (R)
DESCRIBE:The site is generally situated along the midsection of the
north-to-south oriented White Mesa.White Mesa itself is a long landform
that parallels the drainage systems of Cottonwood Wash on the west,and
Recapture Wash to the east.These drainages channel water from the Abajo
Mountains (north)to the San Juan River (south).More immediately,the
site is located on a small "benchU or flat step,on the slope of a finger-
ridge,the crest of which lies east of the site.
33.ON-SITE DEPOSITIONAL CONTEXT:Aeolian (S)
DESCRIPTION OF SOIL:On-site sediments consist primarily of the red
aeolian loess that characterizes this part of White Mesa.
34.VEGETATION
A.LIFE ZONE:Upper Sonoran (E)
B.COMMUNITY:
PRIMARY ON-SITE:Grassland (M)
SECONDARY ON-SITE:Big sagebrush (P)
SURROUNDING SITE:Juniper-sage (2)
DESCRIBE:On-site vegetation includes snakeweed,bunch grasses,and
prickly pear cactus.Sagebrush grows close by.The landscape and
vegetation have been much altered from their original state by historic
land-clearing practices.The original vegetation was probably much like
that to the west,along the Cottonwood Canyon rim,which seems to
represent the sage to juniper ecotone.
35.MISCELLANEOUS TEXT:
36.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
PART B -PREHISTORIC SITES
1.SITE TYPE:Artifact and rock scatter
2.CULTURE -CULTURAL AFFILIATION:Unknown Aboriginal (ZZ)
DATING METHOD:None (A)
DESCRIBE:No diagnostic artifacts were observed in association with this
site.
3.SITE DIMENSIONS:[5]m by [5]m
AREA:[20]sq m
4.SURFACE COLLECTION/METHOD:None (A)
5.ESTIMATED DEPTH OF CULTURAL FILL:Depth suspected,but not tested (F)
HOW ESTIMATED (IF TESTED,SHOW LOCATION ON SITE MAP):
6.EXCAVATION STATUS:[ ]EXCAVATED (A)[]TESTED (B)
[X]UNEXCAVATED (C)
TESTING METHOD:
7.SUMMARY OF ARTIFACTS AND DEBRIS:Ground/pecked stone (GS)
DESCRIBE:The artifact assemblage consists of three tools (TI-T3),of
which two are groundstone artifacts (Tl and T3)and one is a hammerstone
fragment (T2).
8.LITHIC TOOLS:
#TYPE
2 Metate fragment (MZ)
1 Hammerstone (IF)
DESCRIBE:Three tool fragments were documented on the site.Two of these
are groundstone tools (Tl and T3)and the third is a hammerstone fragment
(T2).
Tl is a metate fragment made from white silicified sandstone.This item
has a single ground facet.The artifact measures 9.5 x 13.0 x 2.3 em.
T2 is a hammerstone fragment made from an alluvial cobble of silicified
gray mudstone.Battering marks occur on one margin of the artifact.The
remaining tool measures 5.5 x 5.5 x 4.5 em.
T3 is a complete groundstone implement that may have functioned as a type
of netherstone.The artifact is made from a brown sandstone.It has a
single,lightly ground and pecked facet.The item measures 29 x 18 x 5 em.
The bottom of the artifact is gray,as if it was discolored by fire.
9.LITHIC DEBITAGE -ESTIMATED QUANTITY:
MATERIAL TYPE:
FLAKING STAGES:(0)NOT PRESENT (1)RARE
(2)COMMON (3)DOMINANT
[]DECORTICATION []SECONDARY []TERTIARY
[]SHATTER [ ]CORE
10.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (ALL LITHICS):
11.CERAMIC ARTIFACTS:
#TYPE
DESCRIBE:
12.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (CERAMICS):
13.NON-ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
DESCRIBE:
14.ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
#MATERIAL TYPE
DESCRIBE:
15.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
Location for 42Sa28133,Black Mesa Butte,Utah,7.5'
0.0 0.5 miles
I 'r,l,----r--,.··'r"'·r-L,-!--._,--r
0.0 0.5 1.0 km
...-------------,----------------_._-
o 2m
a:::JILIilI_J
------
'"\
\
)
//IA
-<:
------------site boundary
~
/
I ~2
(
\
~
~
428a28133
A.datum
tool
sandstone rock
M.Bond,101.25/08
~----------------~--------
Top:42Sa28133,overview,facing north,cap over datum;sediment push piles and Abajo
Mountains in background
Bottom:42Sa28133,overview,facing NW,cap over datum;powerline poles mark west
edge ofCell 4B project area;Bears Ears and Elk Ridge in far background
IMACS SITE FORM
PART A -ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
10 STATE NO.:42Sa28134
2 •AGENCY NO:
3.TEMP NO.:Site 12
4.STATE:Utah COUNTY:San Juan
5.PROJECT:Cultural Resource Inventory of the Proposed Denison Mines (USA)
Corporation White Mesa Mill Cell 4B,San Juan County,Utah
6.REPORT NO.:U-09-AS-0334p
7.SITE NAME/PROPERTY NAME:N/A
8.CLASS:[X]PREHISTORIC []HISTORIC []PALEONTOLOGIC
[]ETHNOGRAPHIC
9.SITE TYPE:Lithic artifact scatter
10.ELEVATION:5571 ft.
11.UTM GRID:Zone 12,631284 m East,4154318 m North
12.[NE]OF [NE]OF [SE]OF SECTION [32],T.[37S],R.[22El
13.MERIDIAN:SLC (1)
14.MAP REFERENCE:Black Mesa Butte,Utah,Provisional Edition 1985
15.AERIAL PHOTO:N/A
16.LOCATION AND ACCESS:The site is situated in the approximate mid-section
of White Mesa,a north-to-south oriented mesa that parallels drainage
systems to the east and west.By traveling approximately five miles south
of Blanding,Utah on US Highway 191,one arrives at the long driveway
entrance to the White Mesa Uranium Mill (currently under the ownership of
Denison Mines),which is located on the west side of the highway.The site
may then be reached by traveling approximately one mile to the west,
essentially approaching the rim of Cottonwood Wash Canyon.The site may
only be accessed by permission of the land owner.
17.LAND OWNER:Private (PR)--White Mesa Mill,Denison Mines (USA)
18.FEDERAL ADMIN.UNITS:
19.LOCATION OF CURATED MATERIALS:N/A
20.SITE DESCRIPTION:Site 42Sa28134 consists of a small scatter of lithic
artifacts.The artifacts include several pieces of lithic debitage and two
ground stone tools.The site occupies a space measuring about 10 m in
diameter and is located on the crest of a small finger-ridge.No
diagnostic artifacts are present that might indicate the site's age.
21.SITE CONDITION:[l EXCELLENT (A)[l GOOD (B)
[Xl FAIR (C)[1 POOR (D)
22.IMPACT AGENT(S):Rodent burrows pose the most immediate impact to the site
(RO).Other impacts may include historic agricultural clearing and other
associated activities (AG,GR).The construction of the old fenceline to
the immediate north of the site (ca.15 m)and its associated two-track
road may have also affected the appearance of the site (aT).
23.NAT.REGISTER STATUS:[Xl SIGNIFICANT (C)
[1 NONSIGNIFICANT (D)
[1 UNEVALUATED (Z)
JUSTIFY:The site is deemed significant by virtue of the presence of
subsurface cultural deposits.Site 42Sa28134 is a small artifact
assemblage of unknown aboriginal affiliation.While chronologically
diagnostic artifacts are absent from the surface,food processing
activities are indicated on both.Research domains that might be addressed
with data from subsurface deposits in this site includes chronology,
subsistence,and settlement.The site is therefore considered eligible for
nomination to the NRHP under criterion (d).
24.PHOTOS:See attached
25.RECORDED BY:Mark Bond
26.SURVEY ORGANIZATION:Abajo Archaeology (AS)
27.ASSISTING CREW MEMBERS:Jonathan Till
28.SURVEY DATE:10/24/08
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
[X]PART B [X]TOPO MAP
[ ]ARTIFACT/FEATURE SKETCH []PART C
[X]SITE SKETCH [ ]CONTINUATION SHEETS
[ ]PART E [X]PHOTOS
[ ]OTHER:
PART A -ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
29.SLOPE:[98]DEGREES ASPECT:[]DEGREES
30.DISTANCE TO PERMANENT WATER:[28]X 100 METERS
TYPE OF WATER SOURCE:[]SPRING/SEEP (A)
[X]STREAM/RIVER (B)[]LAKE (C)[]OTHER (D)
NAME OF WATER SOURCE:Cottonwood Wash
31.GEOGRAPHIC UNIT:Blanding Basin (CAJ)
32.TOPOGRAPHIC LOCATION
PRIMARY LANDFORM:Mesa (C)
SECONDARY LANDFORM:Ridge (P),Plain (0)
DESCRIBE:The site is generally situated along the midsection of the
north-to-south oriented White Mesa.White Mesa itself is a long landform
that parallels the drainage systems of Cottonwood Wash on the west,and
Recapture Wash to the east.These drainages channel water from the Abajo
Mountains (north)to the San Juan River (south).More immediately,this
small site is situated on the crest of a small finger-ridge that rises
just slightly above the grassy flats of White Mesa.
33.ON-SITE DEPOSITIONAL CONTEXT:Aeolian (S)
DESCRIPTION OF SOIL:On-site sediments consist of the reddish aeolian
loess that characterizes this portion of White Mesa.
34.VEGETATION
A.LIFE ZONE:Upper Sonoran (E)
B.COMMUNITY:
PRIMARY ON-SITE:Grassland (M)
SECONDARY ON-SITE:Barren (R)
SURROUNDING SITE:Big sagebrush (Q)
DESCRIBE:Current on-site vegetation consists of bunch grasses,snakeweed,
and prickly pear cactus.Doubtless this represents a departure from the
site's original vegetation,particularly if this location had been cleared
for farming and/or grazing in the historic past.To the west,near the
edge of the mesa overlooking Cottonwood Wash,vegetation expected of the
sage to juniper ecotone is present.
35.MISCELLANEOUS TEXT:
36.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
PART B -PREHISTORIC SITES
1.SITE TYPE:Lithic artifact scatter
2.CULTURE -CULTURAL AFFILIATION:Unknown Aboriginal (ZZ)
DATING METHOD:None (A)
DESCRIBE:No diagnostic artifacts were observed on the site.
3.SITE DIMENSIONS:[10]m by [10]m
AREA:[7 9]sq m
4.SURFACE COLLECTION/METHOD:None (A)
5.ESTIMATED DEPTH OF CULTURAL FILL:Depth suspected,but not tested (F)
HOW ESTIMATED (IF TESTED,SHOW LOCATION ON SITE MAP):
6.EXCAVATION STATUS:[ ]EXCAVATED (A)[]TESTED (B)
[X]UNEXCAVATED (C)
TESTING METHOD:
7.SUMMARY OF ARTIFACTS AND DEBRIS:Lithic scatter (LS)and ground and pecked
stone artifacts (GS)
DESCRIBE:The site simply consists of a small scatter of lithic debitage
and a few groundstone artifacts.
8.LITHIC TOOLS:
#TYPE
2 Metate fragment (MZ)
DESCRIBE:Two tools (T1 and T2)were documented on the site.Both items
are groundstone artifacts.
T1 is a metate fragment.It is made from a dark brown,fine-grained
sandstone.The artifact consists of two pieces.These articulate and
demonstrate that both faces are lightly ground.Together the fragments
measure 13.0 x 9.5 x 4.0 em.
T2 is a large piece of white silicified sandstone with a single slightly
concave facet.The object measures 12.0 x 8.5 x 7.0 em.
9.LITHIC DEBITAGE -ESTIMATED QUANTITY:4 (B)
MATERIAL TYPE:Two material types were observed in this small debitage
assemblage:a white silicified sandstone (probably from the Dakota
Formation),and Brushy Basin chert.
FLAKING STAGES:(0)NOT PRESENT (1)RARE
(2)COMMON (3)DOMINANT
[2]DECORTICATION [2]SECONDARY [0]TERTIARY
[0]SHATTER [0]CORE
10.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (ALL LITHICS):l/sq.meters
11.CERAMIC ARTIFACTS:
#TYPE
DESCRIBE:
12.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (CERAMICS):
13.NON-ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
DESCRIBE:
14.ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
#MATERIAL TYPE
DESCRIBE:
15.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
0.0
!----T--J--r -_..rL.---r---Jr---r-_Lj
0.0 0.5
0.5 miles·1 ..r
1.0 km
428a28134 o 10 m
IIL11~~=I
-----------------------------------2-tr ck ro d (associa ed with fenceline)- - - - - --------------------------------------------
KEY
&datum
F flake
T#tool M.Bond,10/24/08
1.....-._
Top:42Sa28134,overview,facing SW,lathe stands over datum
Bottom:42Sa28134,overview,facing south,lathe stands over datum
IMACS SITE FORM
PART A -ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
1.STATE NO.:42Sa6391
2 .AGENCY NO:
3.TEMP NO.:Site 4 (Abajo Archaeology,2009)
4.STATE:Utah COUNTY:San Juan
5.PROJECT:Cultural Resource Inventory of the Proposed Denison Mines (USA)
Corporation White Mesa Mill Cell 4B,San Juan County,Utah
6.REPORT NO.:U-09-AS-0334p
7.SITE NAME/PROPERTY NAME:N/A
8.CLASS:[X]PREHISTORIC []HISTORIC []PALEONTOLOGIC
[]ETHNOGRAPHIC
9.SITE TYPE:Habitation
10.ELEVATION:5600 ft.
11.UTM GRID:Zone 12,630940 m East,4154617 m North
12.[NE]OF [SW]OF [NE]OF SECTION [32],T.[37S],R.[22E]
13.MERIDIAN:SLC (1)
14.MAP REFERENCE:Black Mesa Butte,Utah,Provisional Edition 1985
15.AERIAL PHOTO:N/A
16.LOCATION AND ACCESS:The site is situated in the approximate mid-section
of White Mesa,a north-to-south oriented mesa that parallels drainage
systems to the east and west.By traveling approximately five miles south
of Blanding,Utah on US Highway 191,one arrives at the long driveway
entrance to the White Mesa Uranium Mill (currently under the ownership of
Denison Mines),which is located on the west side of the highway.The site
may then be reached by traveling approximately one mile to the west,
essentially approaching the rim of Cottonwood Wash Canyon.The site may
only be accessed by permission of the land owner.
17.LAND OWNER:Private (PR)--White Mesa Mill,Denison Mines (USA)
18.FEDERAL ADMIN.UNITS:
19.LOCATION OF CURATED MATERIALS:Thompson (1977)collected items from the
site when it was first recorded.These were curated at Southern Utah State
College (SUSC).It was not reported where the Division of State History
curated its materials during James Dykman's testing activities in 1978
(Lindsay 1978).These materials are assumed to have been curated at the
Utah Museum of Natural History (UMH).
20.SITE DESCRIPTION:The site was initially documented by Thompson (1977:21)
as a "very thin scatter of sherds,flakes,and ground stone fragments near
the top of a very low ridge."Thompson noted that the site covered an area
about 40 m in diameter.No collections were procured from the site at that
time.Based on the pottery sherds observed,Thompson recommended that the
site dated to A.D.900 or later.Thompson (1977:14)indicated that the
site would require mitigation.
Soon after Thompson's initial documentation of the site,the site
was the subject of two testing programs performed by the Antiquities
Section of the Utah Division of State History (Lindsay 1978;Nielson
1979).Refer to Part B,#6 for more details of the testing.The salient
point here is that two loci were tested,each locus separated by more than
100 meters.Considering the great distance between these two cultural
loci,it is now apparent that the eastern locus (with Trenches B and C)is
the site that Thompson had recorded as 42Sa6393.For this reason,the
materials and data from Trenches Band C will be discussed below with
42Sa6393.The salient point here is that at least two pit structures and
one cist have been documented as subsurface features on 42Sa6391 proper.
The current survey project places the 42Sa6391 slightly east of its
previously given location (ca.40 meters).As it appears now,42Sa6391
consists of a scatter of lithic and pottery artifacts.Sandstone rock on
the surface may be the remains of architecture,though there does not
appear to be any patterning to its occurrence on the surface.The scatter
is contained within an area that measures about 40 m north/south by 30 m
east/west,and occupies the crest of a low,sandy finger-ridge.A 3/4-in.
steel pipe,representing an earlier site datum,indicates that the site
had been previously documented.The faint traces of at least one,and
perhaps two,of the previously excavated test trenches just east of the
site datum are just barely discernable.These trenches appear to have been
backfilled.
The artifact scatter comprises pottery,lithic debitage,one chipped
stone tool (a biface),and pecked and ground stone tools.As noted
earlier,there is a scatter of sandstone rock on the site,suggesting the
presence of subsurface architecture.
21.SITE CONDITION:[]EXCELLENT (A)[]GOOD (B)
[X]FAIR (C)[ ]POOR (D)
22.IMPACT AGENT(S):Recent archaeological investigations,taking place in the
late 1970s/early 1980s,may have posed the most extensive effects to the
site (RE).A collector pile indicates historic visits and collections on
the site (VA).Rodent disturbance is also evident on modern ground surface
(RO).Impacting agents on the site may also include historic farming (AG)
and grazing (GR),and possibly chaining (eL).
23.NAT.REGISTER STATUS:[X]SIGNIFICANT (C)
[]NONSIGNIFICANT (D)
[]UNEVALUATED (Z)
JUSTIFY:The site is deemed significant by virtue of the presence of
subsurface cultural deposits.Site 42Sa6391 was tested by Dykman (1978a)
and Nielson (1979);two pit structures and one cist were located in these
limited excavations.The pottery assemblage on the site suggests that the
site was occupied during the middle Pueblo II period.The diversity of
artifact types suggests that a variety of activities occurred on the site.
These materials,and the subsurface features,suggest that data recovered
from the site may have been a locus of habitation for one or more
ancestral Pueblo family groups.Data recovered from the site might address
a problems under a number of research domains including,but not limited
to,chronology,settlement,subsistence,and social structure.Thus,site
42Sa6391 is eligible under criterion (d).
24.PHOTOS:Exposures 237 and 238
25.RECORDED BY:Mark Bond
26.SURVEY ORGANIZATION:Abajo Archaeology (AS)
27.ASSISTING CREW MEMBERS:Jonathan Till
28.SURVEY DATE:10/22/08
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
[X]PART B [X]TOPO MAP
[X]ARTIFACT/FEATURE SKETCH []PART C
[X]SITE SKETCH [ ]CONTINUATION SHEETS
[]PART E [X]PHOTOS
[]OTHER:
PART A -ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
29.SLOPE:[98]DEGREES ASPECT:[]DEGREES
30.DISTANCE TO PERMANENT WATER:[25]X 100 METERS
TYPE OF WATER SOURCE:[]SPRING/SEEP (A)
[X]STREAM/RIVER (B)[]LAKE (C)[]OTHER (D)
NAME OF WATER SOURCE:Cottonwood Wash
31.GEOGRAPHIC UNIT:Blanding Basin (CAJ)
32.TOPOGRAPHIC LOCATION
PRIMARY LANDFORM:Mesa (C)
SECONDARY LANDFORM:Ridge (P)
DESCRIBE:The site is generally situated along the midsection of the
north-to-south oriented White Mesa.White Mesa itself is a long landform
that parallels the drainage systems of Cottonwood Wash on the west,and
Recapture Wash to the east.These drainages channel water from the Abajo
Mountains (north)to the San Juan River (south).More specifically,the
site is located on the crest of a small finger-ridge.The main ridge lies
just to the east.
33.ON-SITE DEPOSITIONAL CONTEXT:Aeolian (S)
DESCRIPTION OF SOIL:The surface of the site is composed of the fine,red
aeolian loess that dominates the sediments in the immediate area.Rodent
burrows are notable for the white,calcium carbonate-rich chunks of earth.
If the burrows are shallow,this suggests a high B-horizon.If the burrows
are deep,then rodents are unearthing deep subsoils.
34.VEGETATION
A.LIFE ZONE:Upper Sonoran (E)
B.COMMUNITY:
PRIMARY ON-SITE:Big sagebrush (P)
SECONDARY ON-SITE:Grassland (M)
SURROUNDING SITE:Juniper-sage (2)
DESCRIBE:Current on-site vegetation consists of little sagebrush,bunch
grasses,snakeweed,and prickly pear cactus.The landscape and vegetation
have been much altered from their original state by historic land-clearing
practices.The original vegetation was probably much like that to the
west,along the Cottonwood Canyon rim,which seems to represent the sage
to juniper ecotone.
35.MISCELLANEOUS TEXT:
36.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
PART B -PREHISTORIC SITES
1.SITE TYPE:Habitation
2.CULTURE -CULTURAL AFFILIATION:Ancestral Pueblo,Pueblo II period (P3)
DATING METHOD:Ceramic cross-dating (M)
DESCRIBE:The pottery assemblage suggests an association with the early to
middle Pueblo II period.This tentative assessment is based on the
presence of corrugated body sherds,narrow neckbanded sherds (probably
late Mancos Neckbanded),Mancos Black-on-white sherds (with Dogoszhi and
Black Mesa design styles),and a red ware sherd.Alternatively,there
might be both a Pueblo I component and a Pueblo II component on the site.
3.SITE DIMENSIONS:[40]m by [30]m
AREA:[1200]sq m
4.SURFACE COLLECTION/METHOD:None (A)
5.ESTIMATED DEPTH OF CULTURAL FILL:Depth suspected,but not tested (F)
HOW ESTIMATED (IF TESTED,SHOW LOCATION ON SITE MAP):
6.EXCAVATION STATUS:[ ]EXCAVATED (A)[X]TESTED (B)
[]UNEXCAVATED (C)
TESTING METHOD:The site was first tested under the supervision of
James Dykman (1978a)in April of 1978.Dykman (1978a:71)notes that the
site's surface manifestations consisted of a "large,10 m by 6 m artifact
concentration.This concentration included ceramics,chipped stone,and
ground stone that has a density of up to 20 artifacts per square meter."
Dykman (1978a:71)indicates that two test trenches were excavated at that
time:one trench,Trench A,was excavated close to the site datum;the
second trench,Trench B,was excavated 100 m east of the site's datum to
"bisect a small concentration of cultural material."While the testing
report provided a map showing Trench A in relation to the site datum,
Trench B was not.Trench A located two features (Dykman 1978a:73).The
first of these is an apparent pit structure of unknown size and depth.The
second feature consisted of a small cist,lined with sandstone slabs,that
contained a partial Mancos Corrugated jar (Dykman 1978a:Figures 22 and
23)and an unfinished stone adze.
Several months later the site was again tested,this time under the
supervision of Asa Nielson (1979).Nielson notes that the previously
excavated Trench B was "about 125 m"east of the site's datum.Nielson
emplaced two additional trenches on the site.Trench C was located 132 m
east of the datum,apparently parallel to Trench B.Like Dykman,Nielson
did not provide a map illustrating the far-flung trench's relationship to
the site's datum.Trench 0,like Trench A,was placed much closer to the
site's datum.Trench C located a pit structure in the site's eastern
locus.Trench 0 also located a pit structure.
7.SUMMARY OF ARTIFACTS AND DEBRIS:Ceramic scatter (CS),lithic scatter
(LS),and ground stone and pecked stone artifacts (GS).Also present is a
scatter of fragmented sandstone.
DESCRIBE:The artifact scatter comprises pottery,lithic debitage,one
chipped stone tool (a biface),and pecked and ground stone tools.
Additionally,there is a scatter of sandstone rock on the site,suggesting
the presence of subsurface architecture.The pottery assemblage includes
corrugated and neckbanded jar body sherds,white ware bowl and jar body
sherds,and one red ware sherd of unknown form.
8.LITHIC TOOLS:
#TYPE
1 Biface (IG)
4 Metate fragment (MZ)
3 Hammerstone (IF)
DESCRIBE:A total of eight tools (T1-T8)were located and described for
the site.The tools included four undifferentiated metate fragments,one
biface,and 3 hammerstones.Tools T4-T8 are located in the collector pile
about 20 m east of the site datum.
Tl is a metate fragment made from a dense white and brown sandstone.One
facet is ground and exhibits peck marks.The object measures 11.5 x 5.8 x
4.3 em.
T2 is another metate fragment made from a white,silicified sandstone.One
facet is ground-this facet is slightly concave and exhibits pecking.The
item measures 6.5 x 7.2 x 6.5 em.
The biface,T3,is a stage 4 biface made from a mottled,light and dark
gray opaque chert.The item appears to have broken during manufacture as
the distal end of the artifact exhibits a transverse fracture.The tool
measures 3.4 x 2.3 x 0.6 em (the last measurement,thickness,is the only
complete measure of the artifact).See the attached figure for more
detail.
T4 is a hammerstone made from a disk-shaped white quartzite alluvial
cobble.The artifact measures 7.5 x 7.0 x 2.8 em.
T5 is a peckingstone made from a subrectangular nodule of Brushy Basin
chert.The artifact measures 7.3 x 6.5 x 6.0 em.
T6 is a small,well-used,disk-shaped hammerstone made from a light gray
chert.The artifact measures 6.0 x 4.8 x 2.5 em.
T7 is a fire-reddened metate fragment made from a white,silicified
sandstone.A one face is slightly concave and bears peck marks.The
artifact measures 13.5 x 10.0 x 4.5 em.
T8 is a metate fragment made from a dark brown sandstone.The item
measures 10.1 x 9.8 x 1.7 em.
9.LITHIC DEBITAGE -ESTIMATED QUANTITY:92 (D)
MATERIAL TYPE:Nine material types were observed in the debitage
assemblage;most of these materials probably derive from the Morrison and
Dakota Formations.These artifacts include:a translucent gray and white
chert (most abundant);a translucent,mottled,gray and white chert;an
opaque white chert;an opaque light gray chert;Brushy Basin chert;a
gray,white,and olive silicified sandstone;a green silicified mudstone;
a dark green and brown mudstone;and a chalcedony.
FLAKING STAGES:(0)NOT PRESENT (1)RARE
(2)COMMON (3)DOMINANT
[0]DECORTICATION [2]SECONDARY [2]TERTIARY
[2]SHATTER [0]CORE
10.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (ALL LITHICS):
11.CERAMIC ARTIFACTS:
#TYPE
C Corrugated body sherds (El)
B Mancos B/w (EP)
C Mesa Verde White Ware (Ee)
B Neckbanded,NFS (22)
B Mancos Gray (EG)
B San Juan Red Ware (EB)
DESCRIBE:A total of 51 sherds were documented on the surface of the site;
12 of these sherds were found in the collector pile on the site.
Corrugated jar body sherds are the most abundant pottery sherd types
(n=23).The rest of the assemblage includes 3 Mancos B/w sherds (1 jar,1
bowl,1 form unknown),14 Late White Unpainted sherds (3 bowl body,3 jar
body,and 8 form unknown),1 Late White Painted bowl sherd,4
undifferentiated neckbanded jar sherds,4 Mancos Gray jar sherds,and 2
San Juan Red Ware sherds (form unknown).
12.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (CERAMICS):3/square meter
13.NON-ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
DESCRIBE:
14.ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
#MATERIAL TYPE
2 Earthen/Subterranean (I)Pithouse (AF)
1 Masonry (8)Cist (AE)
DESCRIBE:Dykman (1978:73)located two features in Trench A (Dykman
1978:73).The first of these is an apparent pit structure of unknown size
and depth.It seems likely that this feature represents a pithouse.The
second feature consisted of a small cist,lined with sandstone slabs,that
contained a partial Mancos Corrugated jar (Dykman 1978:Figures 22 and 23)
and an unfinished stone adze.Trench D,excavated several months later by
Nielson (1979:24),revealed the location of a second pithouse.Nielson
suggests that the structure is a north-to-south oriented structure with a
bench.It seems likely that this feature is a pithouse.
15.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
0.0~l--!
0.0
0.5 miles
---rL-,---']---rL ,-f---·-j----r
0.5 1.0 km
r-----------------------,------
o 10 mnp~__
------------collector pile ~----'''~,
(includes T4-T8)
/
~
\possible old trench
location )
/
/
T3
I::-_
--J
-- --
T1
T
[
""
/
t
\
1
site boundary
428a6391
~~-~-------------~-----..------------------At-
KEY
A datum
T#tool M.Bond,10/22/08
1------------------------------
t
o 10 m....I
42Sa6391
KEY
A pipe datum
cist
pR struct~\"1 '_Trench A "":.\
\'/"-"- -\""A)"1"__,,
L \J artifactTrenc~D concentration
pit structure
r-'
I ~cultural feature\,_r ~-~~,~-----I
site 428a6391
Tool 4F 3
Actual Size
Top:42Sa6391,stake at datum,orange jug and yellow folder marking west ends ofold
trenches,facing west;powerline pole on right marks west edge ofproject area
Bottom:42Sa6391,stake at datum,orange jug and yellow folder marking locations ofold
trenches
Top:42Sa6391,overview,facing SW,cap over datum
Bottom:42Sa6391,overview,facing SW,close-up of cap over datum
IMACS SITE FORM
PART A -ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
1.STATE NO.:42Sa6392
2 .AGENCY NO:
3.TEMP NO.:Site 3
4.STATE:Utah COUNTY:San Juan
5.PROJECT:Cultural Resource Inventory of the Proposed Denison Mines (USA)
Corporation White Mesa Mill Cell 4B,San Juan County,Utah
6.REPORT NO.:U-09-AS-0334p
7.SITE NAME/PROPERTY NAME:N/A
8.CLASS:[X]PREHISTORIC []HISTORIC []PALEONTOLOGIC
[]ETHNOGRAPHIC
9.SITE TYPE:Seasonal habitation
10.ELEVATION:5587 ft.
11.UTM GRID:Zone 12,630859 m East,4151457 m North
12.[SE]OF [SW]OF [NE]OF SECTION [32],T.[37S],R.[22E]
13.MERIDIAN:SLC (1)
14.MAP REFERENCE:Black Mesa Butte,Utah,Provisional Edition 1985
15.AERIAL PHOTO:N/A
16.LOCATION AND ACCESS:The site is situated in the approximate mid-section
of White Mesa,a north-to-south oriented mesa that parallels drainage
systems to the east and west.By traveling approximately five miles south
of Blanding,Utah on US Highway 191,one arrives at the long driveway
entrance to the White Mesa Uranium Mill (currently under the ownership of
Denison Mines),which is located on the west side of the highway.The site
may then be reached by traveling approximately one mile to the west,
essentially approaching the rim of Cottonwood Wash Canyon.The site may
only be accessed by permission of the land owner.
17.LAND OWNER:Private (PR)-White Mesa Mill,Denison Mines (USA)
18.FEDERAL ADMIN.UNITS:
19.LOCATION OF CURATED MATERIALS:N/A
20.SITE DESCRIPTION:This site was first documented by Thompson (1977)and
subsequently confused with a site located just to the south,42Sa6431,
during test excavations conducted by the Antiquities Section (Nielson
1979;30-46).Thompson (1977:21)described the site as being "40 meters in
diameter and is found in a very narrow,natural crescentic depression with
an opening drainage falling at 3 degrees to the W."As noted earlier,this
does not fit the description of the site tested later by Nielson as
42Sa6392.That site,as Nielson (1979:30)notes,is found on a "small,
south-west oriented ridge."It is important that future researchers
examining collections made from 42Sa6392 during test excavations by the
Antiquities Section in the late 1970s and early 1980s are not from
42Sa6392,but rather 42Sa6431.Thompson,apparently,did not collect
anything from 42Sa6392 during its initial documentation.
At the time of its initial documentation,the site manifested itself as a
"thin scatter of...flakes,ground stone fragments,and a few sherds either
painted or corrugated..."(Thompson 1977:21).Thompson proffers that the
site dates to after A.D.900,and suggests that the site would require
further mitigation.
Our documentation of 42Sa6392 places the site about 100 m west and
slightly north of its previously recorded location.The site currently
manifests as a scatter of lithic and pottery artifacts and includes a
small concentration of jacal.The site occupies an area measuring
approximately 40 m in diameter,although the centrally located cluster of
jacal materials is smaller,covering an area that measures about 5 m in
diameter.The site is perched on a slight west-facing slope below the
crest of a finger-ridge.On the ground,Thompson's observation that the
site is in a "natural crescentic depressionu is suggested by a very slight
depression in the middle of the site area that may be more impressionistic
than real.Lithic artifacts include debitage and flaked and ground stone
tools.Pottery items include white ware bowl sherds,and neckbanded and
corrugated cooking jar sherds.The pottery may indicate a primary use of
the site during the years that span the early to middle Pueblo II periods.
21.SITE CONDITION:[]EXCELLENT (A)[]GOOD (B)
[X]FAIR (C)[ ]POOR (D)
22.IMPACT AGENT(S):Rodents probably posed the greatest recent impact to the
site (RO).Other impacting agents on the site may include historic farming
(AG)and grazing (GR),and possibly chaining (eL).
23.NAT.REGISTER STATUS:[X]SIGNIFICANT (C)
[]NONSIGNIFICANT (D)
[]UNEVALUATED (Z)
JUSTIFY:The site is deemed significant by virtue of the presence of
subsurface cultural deposits.Pottery assemblage data suggest that Site
42Sa6392 dates to the early to middle Pueblo II period.The artifact
assemblage,and the possible remains of a jacal structure,suggest that
the site may have functioned as a seasonal habitation.Data recovery
efforts at the site may provide information pertinent to research domains
such as chronology,subsistence,and settlement.Thus,the site is
eligible for nomination to the NRHP under criterion (d).
24.PHOTOS:See attached
25.RECORDED BY:Mark Bond
26.SURVEY ORGANIZATION:Abajo Archaeology (AS)
27.ASSISTING CREW MEMBERS:Jonathan Till
28.SURVEY DATE:10/22/08
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
[X]PART B [X]TOPO MAP
[X]ARTIFACT/FEATURE SKETCH []PART C
[X]SITE SKETCH [ ]CONTINUATION SHEETS
[]PART E [X]PHOTOS
[]OTHER:
PART A -ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
29.SLOPE:[270]DEGREES ASPECT:[10]DEGREES
30.DISTANCE TO PERMANENT WATER:[24]X 100 METERS
TYPE OF WATER SOURCE:[]SPRING/SEEP (A)
[X]STREAM/RIVER (B)[]LAKE (C)[]OTHER (D)
NAME OF WATER SOURCE:Cottonwood Wash
31.GEOGRAPHIC UNIT:Blanding Basin (CAJ)
32.TOPOGRAPHIC LOCATION
PRIMARY LANDFORM:Mesa (C)
SECONDARY LANDFORM:Ridge (P),Slope (Q)
DESCRIBE:The site is generally situated along the midsection of the
north-to-south oriented White Mesa.White Mesa itself is a long landform
that parallels the drainage systems of Cottonwood Wash on the west,and
Recapture Wash to the east.These drainages channel water from the Abajo
Mountains (north)to the San Juan River (south).More immediately,the
site is located on the west-facing slope of a low finger-ridge found on
the in-land portion of the larger mesa.
33.ON-SITE DEPOSITIONAL CONTEXT:Aeolian (S)
DESCRIPTION OF SOIL:Sediments appear to consist of the deep,fine-
grained,reddish brown aeolian sediments forming much of this portion of
White Mesa's surface.
34.VEGETATION
A.LIFE ZONE:Opper Sonoran (E)
B.COMMUNITY:
PRIMARY ON-SITE:Big sagebrush (P)
SECONDARY ON-SITE:Barren (R)
SURROUNDING SITE:Juniper-sage (2)
DESCRIBE:On-site vegetation,which is sparse,currently consists of bunch
grasses,immature sage,snakeweed,prickly pear cactus,and Russian
thistle (tumbleweed).The landscape and vegetation have been much altered
from their original state by historic land-clearing practices.The
original vegetation was probably much like that to the west,along the
Cottonwood Canyon rim,which seems to represent the sage to juniper
ecotone.
35.MISCELLANEOUS TEXT:
36.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
PART B -PREHISTORIC SITES
1.SITE TYPE:Seasonal habitation
2.CULTURE -CULTURAL AFFILIATION:Ancestral Pueblo,Pueblo II period (P3)
DATING METHOD:Ceramic cross-dating (M)
DESCRIBE:Although small,the pottery assemblage suggests an association
with the early to middle Pueblo II period.This tentative assessment is
based on the presence of corrugated body sherds,narrow neckbanded sherds
(probably late Mancos Neckbanded),and one BlufflDeadmans Blr sherd.
Alternatively,there might be both a Pueblo I component and a Pueblo II
component on the site.
3.SITE DIMENSIONS:[40]m by [40]m
AREA:[1260]sq m
4.SURFACE COLLECTION/METHOD:None (A)
5.ESTIMATED DEPTH OF CULTURAL FILL:Depth suspected,but not tested (F)
HOW ESTIMATED (IF TESTED,SHOW LOCATION ON SITE MAP):
6.EXCAVATION STATUS:[ ]EXCAVATED (A)[]TESTED (B)
[X]UNEXCAVATED (C)
TESTING METHOD:
7.SUMMARY OF ARTIFACTS AND DEBRIS:Ceramic scatter (CS),lithic scatter
(LS),and groundstone (GS).Also present is a concentration of jacal (JA).
DESCRIBE:The artifact scatter consists of a scatter of pottery sherds,
chipped stone artifacts,and a groundstone tool.In addition there is a
concentration of jacal that measures about 5 m in diameter.Several pieces
of sandstone rock,measuring up to 10 em in diameter,are associated with
the jacal fragments.The pottery assemblage consists of 6 corrugated body
sherds,1 plain gray body sherd,3 neckbanded gray sherds,1 white ware
bowl sherd,and one red ware bowl sherd.The chipped stone artifact
scatter is more substantial and includes 62 pieces of debitage and one
biface (Tl).The groundstone artifact (T2)consists of an undifferentiated
metate fragment.All artifacts are discussed further below.
8.LITHIC TOOLS:
#TYPE
1 Biface (IG)
1 Metate fragment (MZ)
DESCRIBE:The chipped stone tool,Tl,is a Stage 3 or Stage 4 biface made
from a light gray translucent chert.The artifact may be a projectile
point preform.See the attached figure for more detail.The groundstone
artifact,T2,is a metate fragment that probably derived from the margin
of the larger tool.The artifact was made from a brown sandstone.Only one
facet was apparently ground,and only lightly so.T2 measures 13.5 x 6.5 x
4.0 em.
9.LITHIC DEBITAGE -ESTIMATED QUANTITY:62 (D)
MATERIAL TYPE:At least 11 material types are represented in the debitage
assemblage,most of which are probably associated with Morrison and Dakota
Formations.The materials are as follows:light gray,translucent chert
(most abundant);opaque white chert;opaque,mottled white and gray chert;
translucent white and gray chert;opaque,mottled gray and brown chert;
fine-grained,black basalt;opaque,gray chert;olive and tan silicified
siltstone;Brushy Basin chert;tan silicified sandstone;and an opaque tan
chert.
FLAKING STAGES:(0)NOT PRESENT (1)RARE
(2)COMMON (3)DOMINANT
[0]DECORTICATION [2]SECONDARY [3]TERTIARY
[1]SHATTER [0]CORE
10.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (ALL LITHICS):3/square meter
11.CERAMIC ARTIFACTS:
#TYPE
B Corrugated body sherds (E1)
B Mancos Gray (narrow neckbanded)
B Plain gray body sherd (EY)
B Late White,Painted (EC)
B Bluff/Deadmans B/r (EB)
DESCRIBE:A total of 12 sherds were documented on the site's surface.
These include cooking jar sherds as well as bowl sherds.Included in the
assemblage are 6 corrugated jar body sherds,1 plain gray jar body sherd,
3 Mancos Gray jar sherds (including 1 jar rim),1 Late White Painted bowl
sherd,and 1 Bluff/Oeadmans B/r bowl body sherd.
12.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (CERAMICS):2/square meter
13.NON-ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
DESCRIBE:
14.ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
#MATERIAL TYPE
1 Jacal (0)Unknown (ZZ)
DESCRIBE:This feature (Feature 1)consists of a concentration of jacal
and sandstone rubble.The concentration lies in the approximate center of
the artifact scatter and measures about 5 m in diameter.The chunks of
jacal measure 5 to 6 cm in diameter,while the sandstone rock measures
about 10 cm in diameter.These materials are also associated with
considerable rodent disturbance,suggesting that the jacal and rock could
have been extracted from subsurface contexts by industrious rodents.
15.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
Location for 42Sa6392,Black Mesa Butte,Utah,7.5'
\~
0.0 0.5 miles
1---,...L,-rL "'--b-L.r ·-i--·r··f
0.0 0.5 1.0 km
TNlrrN
~11V2'
07/06/09
...---------------------;--------
;0
CJ
G)
li1
\--I
()
'1J
)
/
F
F
F
F
site boundary
T1
--
T2
".--.....
-
/
(\,
'"F F'--
428a6392
KEY
At.datu
S sherd
F flake
T#tool M.Bond 10/22/013
L...-..~_
Top:42Sa6392,overview,facing north,cap over datum
Bottom:42Sa6392,overview,facing north,close-up ofcap over datum
Site 42Sa6392
Tool if:1
Actual Size
IMACS SITE FORM
PART A -ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
1.STATE NO.:42Sa6393
2 .AGENCY NO:
3.TEMP NO.:Site 5
4.STATE:Utah COUNTY:San Juan
5.PROJECT:Cultural Resource Inventory of the Proposed Denison Mines (USA)
Corporation White Mesa Mill Cell 4B,San Juan County,Utah
6.REPORT NO.:U-09-AS-0334p
7.SITE NAME/PROPERTY NAME:N/A
8.CLASS:[X]PREHISTORIC []HISTORIC []PALEONTOLOGIC
[]ETHNOGRAPHIC
9.SITE TYPE:Habitation
10.ELEVATION:5604 ft.
11.UTM GRID:Zone 12,631078 m East,4154612 m North
12.[NW]OF [SE]OF [NE]OF SECTION [32],T.[37S],R.[22E]
13.MERIDIAN:SLC (1)
14.MAP REFERENCE:Black Mesa Butte,Utah,Provisional Edition 1985
15.AERIAL PHOTO:N/A
16.LOCATION AND ACCESS:The site is situated in the approximate mid-section
of White Mesa,a north-to-south oriented mesa that parallels drainage
systems to the east and west.By traveling approximately five miles south
of Blanding,Utah on US Highway 191,one arrives at the long driveway
entrance to the White Mesa Uranium Mill (currently under the ownership of
Denison Mines),which is located on the west side of the highway.The site
may then be reached by traveling approximately one mile to the west,
essentially approaching the rim of Cottonwood Wash Canyon.The site may
only be accessed by permission of the land owner.
17.LAND OWNER:Private (PR)--White Mesa Mill,Denison Mines (USA)
18.FEDERAL ADMIN.UNITS:
19.LOCATION OF CURATED MATERIALS:Thompson (1977)collected items from the
site when it was first recorded.These were curated at Southern Utah State
College (SUSC).It was not reported where the Division of State History
curated its materials during James Dykman's testing activities in 1978
(Lindsay 1978).These materials are assumed to have been curated at the
Utah Museum of Natural History (UMH).
20.SITE DESCRIPTION:This site was initially recorded by Thompson (1977)as a
locus of cultural materials that measured 50 meters in diameter.Artifacts
that he observed on the site included a notched axe,mano fragments,
cores,flakes,and pottery sherds.Thompson (1977:21)indicates that the
site is situated on a 3 degree slope with a western aspect.Thompson's
location of the site places it about 100 meters east of 42Sa6391.The
initial documentation included a collection of pottery,which included
Mancos Corrugated,Mancos B/w,and Deadmans B/r,pottery types that are
indicative of the Pueblo II period.Thompson's site form for 42Sa6391
indicates that the axe was also collected.Thompson implicitly suggests
that the site should be the target of future mitigation efforts.
To that end,the Antiquities Section apparently intended to test the
site in spring of 1978 (Lindsay 1978).Unfortunately,archaeologists at
that time failed to correctly relocate the site.Instead,the site
designation was applied to a locus of cultural materials well to the south
of Thompson's 42Sa6393.As noted earlier,it seems likely that Thompson's
site 42Sa6397 was misidentified as 42Sa6393.James Dykman (1978b)
excavated a series of trenches on the site erroneously identified as
42Sa6393;the data from these excavations are not reported here,but are
instead discussed with 42Sa6397.
Further compounding the confusion,it is now apparent that
Antiquities Section personnel did test the location of the original
42Sa6393,but did so under another site number,42Sa6391.The details of
these test excavations are discussed in Part B,#6.It will suffice to say
here that one of the two test trenches yielded evidence of a pit
structure,which may be a pithouse.
Currently,the site consists of a scatter of lithic and pottery
artifacts.In addition,two parallel trenches and their associated
backdirt piles are very evident on the site.These are apparently Trenches
Band C,excavated by Dykman (1978b)and Nielson (1979),respectively.The
site measures approximately 60 m north/south by 45 m east/west in an area
immediately west of the crest of a finger-ridge.Two concentrations of
artifacts (Artifact Clusters 1 and 2)were noted on the west side of the
site.The site's lithic assemblage includes debitage as well as ground
stone items.The pottery assemblage includes white ware jar sherds,red
ware sherds,and neckbanded and corrugated jar body sherds.It is possible
that the site dates to the early to middle Pueblo II period.However,it
is also possible that the site has a late Pueblo I component as well as a
middle Pueblo II component.
21.SITE CONDITION:[]EXCELLENT (A)[]GOOD (B)
[X]FAIR (C)[ ]POOR (D)
22.IMPACT AGENT(S):The primary impacting agent to the site is probably the
previous activities of archaeologists on the site (RE).The site was
apparently trenched in the past with heavy equipment:two backhoe trench
depressions and their associated berms are still present.Rodent burrowing
has also affected the site (RO).
23.NAT.REGISTER STATUS:[X]SIGNIFICANT (C)
[]NONSIGNIFICANT (D)
[]UNEVALUATED (Z)
JUSTIFY:The site is deemed significant by virtue of the presence of
subsurface cultural deposits.Site 42Sa6393 was incorrectly tested as a
part of 42Sa6391 (Dykman 1978a;Nielson 1979).The site's pottery
assemblage suggests that the site may have dated to the early to middle
Pueblo II periods.The relatively diverse artifact assemblage observed on
the site's surface,and a pit structure located during test excavations by
Nielson (1979),suggest that the site may have functioned as a habitation
for one or more ancestral Pueblo family groups.Data recovered from the
site might address problems under a number of research domains including,
but not limited to,chronology,settlement,subsistence,and social
structure.Thus,site 42Sa6393 is eligible under criterion (d).
24.PHOTOS:See attached
25.RECORDED BY:Mark Bond
26.SURVEY ORGANIZATION:Abajo Archaeology (AS)
27.ASSISTING CREW MEMBERS:Jonathan Till
28.SURVEY DATE:10/22/08
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
[X]PART B [X]TOPO MAP
[]ARTIFACT/FEATURE SKETCH []PART C
[X]SITE SKETCH [ ]CONTINUATION SHEETS
[]PART E [X]PHOTOS
[]OTHER:
PART A -ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
29.SLOPE:[270]DEGREES ASPECT:[5]DEGREES
30.DISTANCE TO PERMANENT WATER:[26]X 100 METERS
TYPE OF WATER SOURCE:[]SPRING/SEEP (A)
[X]STREAM/RIVER (B)[]LAKE (C)[]OTHER (D)
NAME OF WATER SOURCE:Cottonwood Wash
31.GEOGRAPHIC UNIT:Blanding Basin (CAJ)
32.TOPOGRAPHIC LOCATION
PRIMARY LANDFORM:Mesa (C)
SECONDARY LANDFORM:Ridge (P),Slope (Q)
DESCRIBE:The site is generally situated along the midsection of the
north-to-south oriented White Mesa.White Mesa itself is a long landform
that parallels the drainage systems of Cottonwood Wash on the west,and
Recapture Wash to the east.These drainages channel water from the Abajo
Mountains (north)to the San Juan River (south).More immediately,the
site is located on a slight ridge slope immediately west of the finger-
ridge's crest.
33.ON-SITE DEPOSITIONAL CONTEXT:Aeolian (S)
DESCRIPTION OF SOIL:On-site sediments consist of the red aeolian loess
that dominates this portion of White Mesa.
34.VEGETATION
A.LIFE ZONE:Upper Sonoran (E)
B.COMMUNITY:
PRIMARY ON-SITE:Big sagebrush (P)
SECONDARY ON-SITE:Barren (R)
SURROUNDING SITE:Juniper-sage (2)
DESCRIBE:Current on-site vegetation consists of little sagebrush,bunch
grasses,snakeweed,and prickly pear.The landscape and vegetation have
been much altered from their original state by historic land-clearing
practices.The original vegetation was probably much like that to the
west,along the Cottonwood Canyon rim,which seems to represent the sage
to juniper ecotone.
35.MISCELLANEOUS TEXT:
36.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
PART B -PREHISTORIC SITES
1.SITE TYPE:Habitation
2.CULTURE -CULTURAL AFFILIATION:Ancestral Pueblo,Basketmaker III (B5)and
Pueblo I-II periods (P2)
DATING METHOD:Ceramic cross-dating (M)
DESCRIBE:The pottery assemblage is rather ambiguous to the assessment of
the number of components on the site.The gray ware assemblage includes
narrow neckbanded sherds (probably Mancos Gray),as well as corrugated jar
sherds.A Chapin Gray sherd is present as are several plain gray sherds.
White ware pottery types include Mancos B/w.Deadmans B/r is also present.
Thus,it is possible that the entire assemblage might represent an early
to middle Pueblo II component.It is also possible that a late Pueblo I
period component is represented as well as a later Pueblo II component.It
is also possible that a Basketmaker III component is represented in
combination with one or more of the aforementioned components.
3.SITE DIMENSIONS:[60]m by [45]m
AREA:[2700]sq m
4.SURFACE COLLECTION/METHOD:Grab sample (B).Thompson (1977:21)
collected sherds from the site,including 41 corrugated body sherds,
4 Mancos Corrugated sherds,18 Mancos B/w,and 5 Deadmans B/r.
5.ESTIMATED DEPTH OF CULTURAL FILL:More than 100 cm (D)
HOW ESTIMATED (IF TESTED,SHOW LOCATION ON SITE MAP):Test excavations,
conducted with backhoes,located a pit structure,the floor of which is
1.4 m below modern ground surface.
6.EXCAVATION STATUS:[ ]EXCAVATED (A)[X]TESTED (B)
[]UNEXCAVATED (C)
TESTING METHOD:Two parallel backhoe trenches,Trenches Band C,were
placed in the approximate center of the site.In one episode of testing,
Dykman (1978)excavated Trench B,which did not yield any evidence for
cultural features,nor did Dykman indicate the presence of artifacts.A
few months later,Nielson (1979)excavated Trench C and located a pit
structure.Nielson (1979:21 and Figure 8)reports that the structure's
floor was located about 1.4 m below modern ground surface.Nielson reports
that one diagnostic artifact,a possible Mancos Gray sherd,was recovered
from the floor.Other pottery sherds recovered from the trench included
one Chapin B/g,three plain gray,on Mancos B/w,nine corrugated body
sherds,and one unidentified red ware sherd.
The backhoe trenches were not backfilled.Currently the trenches,
and their associated backfill piles,are readily apparent on the modern
ground surface.
7.SUMMARY OF ARTIFACTS AND DEBRIS:Ceramic scatter (CS),lithic scatter
(LS),and groundstone artifacts (GS).
DESCRIBE:The artifact assemblage consists of pottery,lithic debitage,
and several groundstone tools.Most of the artifacts are found in one of
the two artifact clusters identified on the site (AC-1 and AC-2).The
pottery assemblage (n=115)includes plain gray cooking jar sherds,
neckbanded cooking jar sherds,and corrugated cooking jar sherds;
additionally,white ware bowls and jars are represented as is a pitcher
form;several red ware sherds are also present,one of which derived from
a seed jar.The debitage is perhaps characterized by its high frequency of
Brushy Basin chert.The groundstone tool assemblage (T1-T4)consists
entirely of undifferentiated metate fragments.Artifact assemblage
components are discussed further below.
8.LITHIC TOOLS:
#TYPE
4 metate fragments (MZ)
DESCRIBE:The lithic tools found on the site (T1-T4)consist entirely of
groundstone items,all of which are undifferentiated metate fragments.
T1 is a metate fragment made from a dense,white silicified sandstone.One
facet exhibits use and is slightly concave on its entire surface.The
artifact measures 15 x 10 x 7 cm.
T2 is made from the same material as T1 (probably Dakota silicified
sandstone).It too has a single,slightly concave used facet,but is also
heavily stippled with peck marks.T2 measures 8.5 x 8.0 x 2.5 cm.
T3 is found in AC-2.It is made from a relatively soft brown sandstone.It
has one slightly concave,used facet and measures 9.5 x 8.0 x 3.5 cm.
T4 is located in the larger of the two backhoe trenches mapped during this
project.It is made of the same material as T3.It has a single slightly
concave used facet that is also heavily stippled.It measures 14.0 x 8.5 x
2.5 cm.
9.LITHIC DEBITAGE -ESTIMATED QUANTITY:66 (D)
MATERIAL TYPE:Four material types were observed for the site's debitage
assemblage:Brushy Basin chert;a translucent,mottled gray and white
chert;a translucent white chert;and a white and gray silicified
sandstone.At nearly 80 percent of the assemblage,Brushy Basin chert is
clearly the dominant material on the site.
FLAKING STAGES:(0)NOT PRESENT (1)RARE
(2)COMMON (3)DOMINANT
[0]DECORTICATION [2]SECONDARY [2]TERTIARY
[2]SHATTER [0]CORE
10.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (ALL LITHICS):25/sq.meter (in AC-1)
11.CERAMIC ARTIFACTS:
#TYPE
D Corrugated body sherds (E1)
B Plain gray (EY)
B Mancos Gray (EG)
B Chapin Gray (EE)
B Mancos Corrugated (ET)
D Mesa Verde White Ware
B Mancos B/w (EP)
B Deadmans B/r (EL)
B San Juan Red Ware (EB)
DESCRIBE:A total of 115 pottery sherds were documented on the surface of
the site.At nearly one-half of the assemblage,corrugated body sherds are
the most common type of sherd on the site.Early cooking jar types include
several possible sherds of Mancos Gray,several plain gray sherds,and one
Chapin Gray rim sherd.A number of white ware sherds are present,
including one sherd that appears to be early (either Chapin B/w or Piedra
B/w).Several of the white ware sherds appear to be Mancos B/w-these
include sherds with Black Mesa and Dogoszhi design styles.Also present
are San Juan Red Ware sherds,including several that were typed to
Deadmans B/r.A variety of forms are represented on the site,including
cooking jars,bowls,white ware jars,a seed jar,and a pitcher.
12.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (CERAMICS):9/sq.meter (in AC-1)
13.NON-ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
DESCRIBE:
14.ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
#MATERIAL TYPE
1 earthen/subterranean (I)pithouse (AF)
DESCRIBE:Nielson (1979:21-24)describes the feature,as it was exposed in
Trench C,as an oval or "quadrilateralU pit structure that measures at
least 1.8 meters wide.The structure's floor is approximately 1.4 meters
below modern ground surface.Nielson states that the floor "appears to be
level,with no special clay or sand covering.u
15.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
0.5 miles
'1---'-"--"-I '--T-'-r
0.5 1.0 km
0.0
I-····-T-·L,---·T'..,
0.0
Location for 42Sa6393,Black Mesa Butte,Utah,7.5'
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
...-----------,-----,----------------
o 10 m-------====1
J-
(f)
UJ
cr
()
UJ
<.9
'\~cr
\\I
\~
I
I sije
--
T1
-
T2
\(///T3 "\
I
\
'AC-2 /',/
....._-_.-"
/'
/-,
1~9
/
I
KEY "-
428a6393
&.datum
T#too~
AC-#artifact cluster
berm
II1II backhoe trench M.Bond,10/22/08
1-.._-----_....:......-_----------_._----
Top:42Sa6393,overview,facing north,cap over datum
Bottom:42Sa6393,overview,facing north,close-up ofcap over datum
Top:42Sa6393,facing WSW,old berm and trench on right
Bottom:42Sa6393,facing WSW,smaller old trench and berm on right
IMACS SITE FORM
PART A -ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
1.STATE NO.:42Sa6397
2 .AGENCY NO:
3.TEMP NO.:Site 7
4.STATE:Utah COUNTY:San Juan
5.PROJECT:Cultural Resource Inventory of the Proposed Denison Mines (USA)
Corporation White Mesa Mill Cell 4B,San Juan County,Utah
6.REPORT NO.:U-09-AS-0334p
7.SITE NAME/PROPERTY NAME:N/A
8.CLASS:[X]PREHISTORIC []HISTORIC []PALEONTOLOGIC
[]ETHNOGRAPHIC
9.SITE TYPE:Artifact,rock,and jacal scatter
10.ELEVATION:5597 ft.
11.UTM GRID:Zone 12,631083 m East,4154473 m North
12.[SW]OF [SE]OF [NE]OF SECTION [32],T.[37S],R.[22E]
13.MERIDIAN:SLC (1)
14.MAP REFERENCE:Black Mesa Butte,Utah,Provisional Edition 1985
15.AERIAL PHOTO:N/A
16.LOCATION AND ACCESS:The site is situated in the approximate mid-section
of White Mesa,a north-to-south oriented mesa that parallels drainage
systems to the east and west.By traveling approximately five miles south
of Blanding,Utah on US Highway 191,one arrives at the long driveway
entrance to the White Mesa Uranium Mill (currently under the ownership of
Denison Mines),which is located on the west side of the highway.The site
may then be reached by traveling approximately one mile to the west,
essentially approaching the rim of Cottonwood Wash Canyon.The site may
only be accessed by permission of the land owner.
17.LAND OWNER:Private (PR)--White Mesa Mill,Denison Mines (USA)
18.FEDERAL ADMIN.UNITS:
19.LOCATION OF CURATED MATERIALS:Dykman (1978:84)reports that only two
artifacts,both Chapin Gray artifacts,were collected from their
excavations.The location of these objects was not stated in the testing
report (Lindsay 1978),but are assumed to have been curated at the Utah
Museum of Natural History (UMH).
20.SITE DESCRIPTION:This site was originally recorded by Thompson (1977:22)
as a "thin flake and sherd scatterU in an area that measures 100 meters in
diameter.Thompson notes that the site is situated on a gentle three-
deyree slope with an eastern aspect.While Thompson did not make any
collections from the site,he did observe "plain corrugatedU and painted
sherds in the assemblage,prompting him to suggest that the site dates to
around A.D.900.
Unfortunately,the site was erroneously tested under the site number
42Sa6393 (Dykman 1978).Dykman's description of that site better fits
Thompson's description of 42Sa6397.Dykman (1978:78)notes that "the site
is on the end of a small ridge that trends north to south.An artifact
concentration is located on top of the ridge and down the slope to the
east."The testing report's plot of the site varies considerably from
Thompson's original placement of 42Sa6393,moving it considerably farther
south (Lindsay 1978:Figure 2),essentially siting Dykman's 42Sa6393 in
the location of Thompson's 42Sa6397.Confusing the issue further,however,
Nielson (1979:51-52)reports that he revisited 42Sa6397 in July of 1978
and determined that testing or further mapping of the site was not
required.We can only speculate that Nielson encountered 42Sa28132,which
is indeed a sparse scatter of artifacts.Nielson's observations are
discussed further with Site 42Sa28132.
A total of seven backhoe trenches were excavated on the site.The
details of these test excavations are discussed in greater detail in Part
B,#6.
As it appears now,the site consists of a scatter of lithic and
pottery artifacts,as well as fragments of sandstone rock and jacal.The
lithic artifact assemblage includes debitage as well as chipped stone and
ground stone tools.The pottery assemblage is dominated by plain gray jar
sherds.The site occupies a space that measures about 60 meters in
diameter.Two concentrations of cultural materials are apparent on the
site,referred to here as Artifact Clusters 1 and 2 (AC-1 and AC-2).The
site is centered on the crest of a finger-ridge with a north-to-south
orientation.Previous investigations on the site are apparent by the
presence of a steel,3/4 pipe datum.The faint traces of the seven backhoe
trenches,which were apparently backfilled,are barely visible.Site
42Sa6397 consists of a scatter of lithic and pottery artifacts,as well as
fragments of sandstone rock and jacal.Two concentrations of cultural are
apparent on the site,referred to here as Artifact Clusters 1 and 2 (AC-1
and AC-2).
The site is centered on the crest of a finger-ridge with a north-to-
south orientation.The artifact scatter occupies a space that measures 60
m in diameter.AC-1 is located on the southern end of the site.AC-2 is
nestled in the site's approximate center.As a whole,the site's lithic
artifact assemblage includes debitage as well as chipped stone and ground
stone tools.The site's pottery assemblage is dominated by plain gray jar
sherds.
AC-1,located on the south end of the site,includes a concentration
of burned sandstone and jacal (Feature 1).Most of the pottery observed in
AC-1 indicates a Basketmaker III component.However,several Mancos
Corrugated rim sherds suggest Pueblo II period component,too.
AC-2,found in the site's center,includes small burned sandstone
slabs,pottery,and lithic artifacts.A collectors pile in this location
includes plain gray pottery and a neckbanded sherd.
Based on the pottery sherds mentioned above,the site appears to
harbor a Basketmaker III component as well as a minor Pueblo II component.
As noted above,a neckbanded sherd was observed in AC-2.A few other
neckbanded sherds,as well as a few red ware sherds,were located in the
site's general scatter.If the neckbanded sherds are associated with the
corrugated pottery,these may more specifically indicate an early Pueblo
II period component.
Previous investigations on the site are apparent by the presence of
a steel,3/4 pipe datum and at least one backhoe trench.
21.SITE CONDITION:[]EXCELLENT (A)[]GOOD (B)
[X]FAIR (C)[ ]POOR (D)
22.IMPACT AGENT(S)By far the greatest impact to the site is the
archaeological test excavations that occurred on the site at an earlier
date (RE).Rodent disturbance (RQ)has also exacted a toll on the site.
23.NAT.REGISTER STATUS:[X]SIGNIFICANT (C)
[]NONSIGNIFICANT (D)
[]UNEVALUATED (Z)
JUSTIFY:The site is deemed significant by virtue of the presence of
subsurface cultural deposits.Site 42Sa6397 was misidentified during
testing phase excavations by the Antiquities Section of the Division of
State History (Dykman 1978b).Tested as 42Sa6393,at least two pit
features were located in backhoe trenches excavated on the site.The
pottery assemblage suggests at least two components on the site:a
Basketmaker III period component and an early Pueblo II period component
are suggested.The site's functions remain ambiguous.At the least,it
seems likely that subsurface investigations on the site would yield data
pertinent to such research domains as chronology,settlement,subsistence,
and social structure.Thus,the site is eligible for nomination to the
NRHP under criterion (d).
24.PHOTOS:See attached
25.RECORDED BY:Mark Bond
26.SURVEY ORGANIZATION:Abajo Archaeology (AS)
27.ASSISTING CREW MEMBERS:Jonathan Till
28.SURVEY DATE:10/24/08
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
[X]PART B [X]TOPO MAP
[X]ARTIFACT/FEATURE SKETCH []PART C
[X]SITE SKETCH [ ]CONTINUATION SHEETS
[]PART E [X]PHOTOS
[]OTHER:
PART A -ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
29.SLOPE:[98]DEGREES ASPECT:[]DEGREES
30.DISTANCE TO PERMANENT WATER:[26]X 100 METERS
TYPE OF WATER SOURCE:[]SPRING/SEEP (A)
[X]STREAM/RIVER (B)[]LAKE (C)[]OTHER (D)
NAME OF WATER SOURCE:Cottonwood Wash
31.GEOGRAPHIC UNIT:Blanding Basin (CAJ)
32.TOPOGRAPHIC LOCATION
PRIMARY LANDFORM:Mesa (C)
SECONDARY LANDFORM:Ridge (P),Slope (Q)
DESCRIBE:The site is generally situated along the midsection of the
north-to-south oriented White Mesa.White Mesa itself is a long landform
that parallels the drainage systems of Cottonwood Wash on the west,and
Recapture Wash to the east.These drainages channel water from the Abajo
Mountains (north)to the San Juan River (south).More immediately,the
site rests squarely on the crest and slopes of a north-to-south oriented
finger-ridge.
33.ON-SITE DEPOSITIONAL CONTEXT:Aeolian (S)
DESCRIPTION OF SOIL:On-site sediments are composed of the red aeolian
loess that so characterizes this portion of White Mesa.
34.VEGETATION
A.LIFE ZONE:Upper Sonoran (E)
B.COMMUNITY:
PRIMARY ON-SITE:grassland (M)
SECONDARY ON-SITE:big sagebrush (P)
SURROUNDING SITE:juniper-sage (2)
DESCRIBE:On-site vegetation includes sagebrush,cheatgrass,heron's bill,
mustard,snakeweed,and globe mallow.The original landscape and its
vegetation have probably been radically altered by historic clearing
activities.It is likely that this location harbored vegetation
characteristic of the sage to juniper ecotone.
35.MISCELLANEOUS TEXT:
36.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
PART B -PREHISTORIC SITES
1.SITE TYPE:Artifact,rock,and jacal scatter
2.CULTURE -CULTURAL AFFILIATION:Ancestral Pueblo,Basketmaker III (B5)and
Pueblo II (P3)
DATING METHOD:Ceramic cross-dating (M)
DESCRIBE:The site's pottery assemblage suggests at least two components:
a substantial Basketmaker III component and a relatively minor Pueblo II
component.Considering that several Mancos Corrugated rim sherds are
located on the site,as well as a few neckbanded sherds,it is possible
that the Pueblo II occupation is more specifically characterized as an
early Pueblo II period component.Given that early Pueblo II components
are well represented on this portion of White Mesa,it seems reasonable to
suggest that this site is similarly occupied.
3.SITE DIMENSIONS:[60]m by [60]m
AREA:[2800]sq m
4.SURFACE COLLECTION/METHOD:None (A)
5.ESTIMATED DEPTH OF CULTURAL FILL:20-100 em (C)
HOW ESTIMATED (IF TESTED,SHOW LOCATION ON SITE MAP):The cultural
features encountered in Trenches Band E were reported as 45 and 30 em
deep,respectively.It seems likely that,if pit structures are present,
the depth of cultural materials will exceed 100 em.
6.EXCAVATION STATUS:[ ]EXCAVATED (A)[X]TESTED (B)
[]UNEXCAVATED (C)
TESTING METHOD:A total of seven backhoe trenches were excavated on the
site.Two of the trenches (Trenches B and E)located subsurface cultural
features,both of which were classified as "storage pits."The feature in
Trench B,a north-to-south oriented trench on the east side of the site,
is a "small square shaped storage pit...located near the northern end of the
trench."Trench E is a relatively short north-to-south oriented trench
located just west of the site datum.Dykman (1978:82)notes that "a small
use surface or storage pit was located in the southern end of the trench."
7.SUMMARY OF ARTIFACTS AND DEBRIS:Ceramic scatter (CS),lithic scatter
(LS),and ground and pecked stone artifacts (GS).There is also a
concentration of jacal (JA).
DESCRIBE:Cultural materials on the site consist of pottery,chipped stone
debitage,and a number of lithic tools.Several loci of artifacts were
documented on the site,including two artifact clusters (AC-1 and AC-2).
Additionally,a collector pile at the site datum includes pottery and
lithic artifacts.A concentration of sandstone rubble and jacal is
associated with AC-1,and is described as Feature 1.
All of the pottery sherds documented on the site's surface derives
from cooking jars (including Chapin Gray sherds,plain gray sherds,
neckbanded gray sherds,and corrugated sherds).The debitage assemblage is
dominated by Brushy Basin chert,though several other material types are
also present.The lithic tool assemblage consists of seven items (T1-T7).
These artifacts include four metate fragments,one mano fragment,and two
bifaces.
8.LITHIC TOOLS:
#TYPE
3 trough metate (MC)
1 indeterminate ground stone (MN)
1 two-hand mano (NB)
2 biface (IG)
DESCRIBE:The lithic tools (T1-T7)include four metate fragments,one mano
fragment,and two bifaces.
T1 is a fragment from the margin of a trough metate.The artifact is made
from a dense,white silicified sandstone.A deep basin is apparent in the
cross-section of the artifact.This ground basin is also stipple-pecked.
The object measures 16.0 x 10.5 x 4.0,though the ground facet penetrates
2.5 em deep.
T2 is similarly a fragment of a trough metate.It is also made of the
dense,white silicified sandstone.The object has a single,slightly
concave facet that is also stipple-pecked.It measures 16 x 9 x 8 em.
T3 is similar to T2.Again,it probably derived from a trough metate and
was made of the white silicified sandstone.It has a single,concave,
stipple-pecked facet.The object measures 13.0 x 9.5 x 5.0 em.
T4 is a small fragment of ground stone.It is made from white,silicified
sandstone.One facet is lightly ground.The item measures 10.2 x 5.3 x 2.2
em.
T5 appears to be a fragment of a two-hand mano.Made from white,
silicified sandstone,one facet is beveled,yielding a triangular cross-
section.This feature securely identifies the artifact as a two-hand mano.
The item measures 16.5 x 12.0 x 2.5 em.
T6 is a Stage 4 biface fragment with a missing base.It is made from a
translucent,light pink chert.The margins are denticulated.The artifact
was probably a projectile point.It measures 1.3 em wide x 0.3 em thick.
Its length is unknown.See the attached figure for more detail.
T7 is a Stage 2 or 3 biface fragment.It is made from a translucent light
pink and lavender chert.The apparent distal end is missing.The item
measures 3.2 em wide and 0.5 em thick.Its length is unknown.See the
attached figure for more detail.
9.LITHIC DEBITAGE -ESTIMATED QUANTITY:78 (0)
MATERIAL TYPE:Several material types were documented for the lithic
debitage assemblage.These include:Brushy Basin chert;dark green
silicified mudstone;green oolitic mudstone;translucent mottled gray and
white chert;translucent white and gray chert;translucent white and light
green chert;opaque white chert;translucent white chert;light cream and
tan silicified sandstone;and an opaque dark gray chert.
FLAKING STAGES:(0)NOT PRESENT (1)RARE
(2)COMMON (3)DOMINANT
[1]DECORTICATION [2]SECONDARY [2]TERTIARY
[1]SHATTER [0]CORE
10.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (ALL LITHICS):25/sq.m
11.CERAMIC ARTIFACTS:
#TYPE
B Corrugated body sherds (E1)
C Plain gray (EY)
B Neckbanded,NFS (EA)
B San Juan Red Ware (EB)
B Chapin Gray (EE)
B Mancos Corrugated (ET)
DESCRIBE:The site's pottery assemblage includes 37 sherds.Most of the
pottery sherds documented were cooking jar sherds.Two red ware sherds
were also noted on the site,but their form was not documented.Most of
the pottery sherds occur in one of three areas on the site:AC-1,AC-2,
and the collector pile near the site datum.The small assemblage suggests
two components on the site:a Basketmaker III component (suggested by the
Chapin Gray pottery)and a Pueblo II component (suggested by the Mancos
Corrugated pottery).However,the site's occupation may be more complex.
Neckbanded pottery,and the red ware,may signal an intermediate
occupation during the Pueblo I.
12.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (CERAMICS):3/square meter
13.NON-ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
#TYPE
2 Other-pit (aT)
DESCRIBE:Dykman (1978:80-82)notes that two small pit features were found
during the course of test excavations.Little construction detail is
available for these features.For "Pit I"in Trench B,Dykman notes that
"a small square shaped storage pit was located near the northern end of
the trench.The storage pit measured .45 m deep and 0.5 m wide.The fill
consisted of light gray charcoal and pieces of burned daub.No artifacts
were located in the cist,and the top .15 m of the storage pit had been
obliterated by chaining."While Dykman describes the feature as a "cist,"
there is no way to know how the feature was constructed (i.e.masonry?
earthen walled?);furthermore,its shape is unusual for most storage
cists.Pit 2 is a "small use surface or storage pit...located in the
southern end of the trench.The cultural feature measures 1.3 m in
diameter and 0.3 m deep.The fill consisted of light gray charcoal.Two
Chapin Gray sherds were recovered from the fill,but no final definition
was made of the feature because of the disturbance of discing and plowing"
(Dykman 1978:82).
14.ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
#MATERIAL TYPE
1 Jacal/Adobe (H)Unknown (22)
DESCRIBE:This feature (Feature 1),defined during the current survey,
consists of a concentration of small fragments of burned j acal.This
material is confined to a 2 by 3-meter area contained within Artifact
Cluster 1 (AC-l).The pieces of jacal are very small,friable,and appear
to be burned.The fragments are 1 to 5 cm in diameter.About 20 small
fragments of burned sandstone co-occur with the jacal.
15.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
0.0 0.5 miles~T-_,L-,------',--,-'--'.-,--+-,1-.,----T
0.0 0.5 1.0 km 07/06/09
...-----------------------------
\
\
\
)
/
R
R
site
boundary
/~~
T3
l-
(/)
l.J.I
0::
()
l.J.I
<!J
a-0::
x steel t-post
----.R
c===================~~==========~tI_=--11'1 '/-,I \\concentratij'
AC-2 "I -~of jaGal /~I ~\,Ii~-//
R --"
/
/
R
-~---....-R--..........
-R R ........R ,
I \
/collector pile-
I _~>at datum \
I,(__I (with T5 and IT?)
L "\/
,I,/
AC-1 _............T4 "
/'
/
/
428a6397
/IR
\
\
\
KEY
&.datum ...............
R rubble --
T#tool
AC-#artifact cluster
[=::J backhoe trench
--
L..-_
.------------------------------
428a6397
(Recorded as 428a6393 by Dykman (1978)
Pit 1
artifact ncentration
/
I
I
I
{
I
I /
\U"1///
..../........,-
'~i;2
At.datum
o t 10m
....I
Redrawn from Dykman (1978:Figure 24)
1...-._
Top:42Sa6397,overview,facing north,cap over datum
Bottom:42Sa6397,overview,facing north,close-up of cap over datum
Tool ifr 6
Site 42Sa6397
Tool iF 7
Scale:Actual Size
IMACS SITE FORM
PART A -ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
1.STATE NO.:42Sa6431
2 .AGENCY NO:
3.TEMP NO.:Site 6
4.STATE:Utah COUNTY:San Juan
5.PROJECT:Cultural Resource Inventory of the Proposed Denison Mines (USA)
Corporation White Mesa Mill Cell 4B,San Juan County,Utah
6.REPORT NO.:U-09-AS-0334p
7.SITE NAME/PROPERTY NAME:N/A
8.CLASS:[X]PREHISTORIC []HISTORIC []PALEONTOLOGIC
[]ETHNOGRAPHIC
9.SITE TYPE:Habitation
10.ELEVATION:5582 ft.
11.UTM GRID:Zone 12,630866 m East,4154373 m North
12.[SE]OF [SW]OF [NE]OF SECTION [32],T.[37S],R.[22E]
13.MERIDIAN:SLC (1)
14.MAP REFERENCE:Black Mesa Butte,Utah,Provisional Edition 1985
15.AERIAL PHOTO:N/A
16.LOCATION AND ACCESS:The site is situated in the approximate mid-section
of White Mesa,a north-to-south oriented mesa that parallels drainage
systems to the east and west.By traveling approximately five miles south
of Blanding,Utah on US Highway 191,one arrives at the long driveway
entrance to the White Mesa Uranium Mill (currently under the ownership of
Denison Mines),which is located on the west side of the highway.The site
may then be reached by traveling approximately one mile to the west,
essentially approaching the rim of Cottonwood Wash Canyon.The site may
only be accessed by permission of the land owner.
17.LAND OWNER:Private (PR)--White Mesa Mill,Denison Mines (USA)
18.FEDERAL ADMIN.UNITS:
19.LOCATION OF CURATED MATERIALS:Thompson (1977)collected items from the
site when it was first recorded.These were curated at Southern Utah State
College (SUSC).It was not reported where the Division of State History
curated its materials during Asa Nielson's testing activities in 1978
(Nielson 1979).Cultural materials collected by Nielson include 39 pottery
sherds (Chapin Gray and Plain Gray),two possible mauls,several flakes,
and a "tanged"or "split-stemmed"point that was probably curated and
reworked.These materials are assumed to have been curated at the Utah
Museum of Natural History (UMH).
20.SITE DESCRIPTION:Thompson (1977:28)first documented this site,
describing its location as a place of "aeolian soil that slopes to the SW
at 3 degrees."Noting that the site was contained within an area that
measures 30 meters in diameter,Thompson describes a diverse assemblage of
cuItural materials."Cultural debris consists of primary and secondary
flakes,a hammerstone,1 mano and numerous ground stone fragments as well
as sherds.Sherds collected have been analyzed to reveal 2 Chapin Gray,1
Mancos Corrugated rim (16 corrugated body sherds),16 Mancos B/W,and 3
Deadmans B/R."While brief,Thompson's description of the site's size,
setting,and artifact assemblage figured importantly in the site's re-
identification for this project.However,testing activities that
apparently took place on the site should be discussed first.
In July of 1978,Antiquities Section archaeologists had conducted
test excavations on a site that they determined to be 42Sa6392 (Nielson
1979:30-46).The locational data supplied by Thompson,scant though they
are,indicate the conflation of 42Sa6392 with 42Sa6431.Supervised by Asa
Nielson,testing activities first involved the placement of nine test
trenches.Test excavations located three features:a hearth,a burial,and
a lens of charcoal and daub.More details for these features are provided
in Part B,#13.
Cultural materials that Nielson collected include 39 pottery sherds
(Chapin Gray and Plain Gray),two possible mauls,several flakes,and a
"tanged"or "split-stemmed"point that was probably curated and reworked
(Nielson 1979:Figure 20).The pottery is indicative of the Basketmaker
III period,a fact that was not lost on Nielson,who seems a little
perplexed that he failed to locate a Pueblo II period assemblage when he
writes,"Subsurface collections recovered during test excavation differ
from surface collection(s)made by Thompson (1977).The collections of
subsurface material show a complete lack of corrugated or painted wares.
Thompson's collections suggest a possible Pueblo II (ca 1075-800 B.P.)
occupation."As noted earlier,Thompson did not make collections from
42Sa6392.We assume that Nielson was aware of Thompson's collections from
42Sa6431,however,which did demonstrate a strong Pueblo II period
signature (see the preceding paragraph).
As it looks now,Site 42Sa6431 is a scatter of lithic and pottery
artifacts as well as a concentration of jacal.A probable midden area is
located in the southern portion of the site.It seems likely that the site
includes at least one habitation feature.
The site is further distinguished by a number of backhoe trenches,
and their associated berms,that had been excavated in the late
1970s/early 1980s during exploratory testing.A 3/4 in.piece of metal
pipe had been installed as a datum just north of the site's approximate
center.
The site covers an area that measures approximately 120 m
north/south by 60 m east/west.The site occupies the crest of a finger-
ridge and the ridge's terminal southern end.Lithic artifacts recorded on
the site include debitage and ground stone items.The pottery assemblage,
as a whole,includes white ware bowl sherds,and corrugated,neckbanded,
and plain gray jar sherds.
A possible midden area is located in the southern end of the site,
on a gentle slope with a southern exposure.The midden area,described as
Feature 1,measures approximately 30 m in diameter.A small concentration
of jacal (Feature 2)just northeast of the midden area may represent
architectural remains associated with the midden area.Feature 1 contains
a pottery assemblage that indicates a Pueblo II period component.
In contrast,a possible concentration of Basketmaker III pottery is
found in the up-slope,or northern,portion of the site.The pottery in
this location is dominated by plain gray pottery.
21.SITE CONDITION:[]EXCELLENT (A)[]GOOD (B)
[X]FAIR (C)[ ]POOR (D)
22.IMPACT AGENT(S):By far the greatest impact to the site is the
archaeological test excavations that occurred on the site at an earlier
date (RE).Rodent burrowing has also taken place on the site (RO).
23.NAT.REGISTER STATUS:[X]SIGNIFICANT (C)
[]NONSIGNIFICANT (D)
[]UNEVALUATED (Z)
JUSTIFY:The site is deemed significant by virtue of the presence of
subsurface cultural deposits.Site 42Sa6431 was tested in 1978 as 42Sa6392
(Nielson 1979).Nielson's test excavations resulted in the documentation
of three cultural features,including a probable hearth,a burial,and a
subsurface lens of charcoal and daub.At least two components are apparent
on the site.A Basketmaker III component is associated with the features
documented by Nielson (1979).Such features would yield data pertinent to
research domains such as chronology,subsistence,and social structure.A
midden on the site is associated with the Pueblo II period,suggesting the
presence of a habitation feature.Should such a feature be located,
research issues under such domains as chronology,settlement,subsistence,
and social structure may be addressed.Thus the site is eligible for
nomination to the NRHP under criterion (d).
24.PHOTOS:See attached
25.RECORDED BY:Mark Bond
26.SURVEY ORGANIZATION:Abajo Archaeology (AS)
27.ASSISTING CREW MEMBERS:Jonathan Till
28.SURVEY DATE:10/23/08
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
[Xl PART B [Xl TOPO MAP
[l ARTIFACT/FEATURE SKETCH [l PART C
[Xl SITE SKETCH [l CONTINUATION SHEETS
[l PART E [Xl PHOTOS
[l OTHER:
PART A -ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
29.SLOPE:[210]DEGREES ASPECT:[5]DEGREES
30.DISTANCE TO PERMANENT WATER:[24]X 100 METERS
TYPE OF WATER SOURCE:[]SPRING/SEEP (A)
[X]STREAM/RIVER (B)[]LAKE (C)[]OTHER (D)
NAME OF WATER SOURCE:Cottonwood Wash
31.GEOGRAPHIC UNIT:Blanding Basin (CAJ)
32.TOPOGRAPHIC LOCATION
PRIMARY LANDFORM:Mesa (C)
SECONDARY LANDFORM:Ridge (P),Slope (Q)
DESCRIBE:The site is generally situated along the midsection of the
north-to-south oriented White Mesa.White Mesa itself is a long landform
that parallels the drainage systems of Cottonwood Wash on the west,and
Recapture Wash to the east.These drainages channel water from the Abajo
Mountains (north)to the San Juan River (south).More immediately,the
site is located on the spine and crest of a finger-ridge.The possible
midden area is situated on the south end of the site,which occupies a
gentle slope marking the terminal end of the finger-ridge.Cultural
materials may be found on the west-and east-facing slopes on either side
of the ridge crest as well.
33.ON-SITE DEPOSITIONAL CONTEXT:Aeolian (S)
DESCRIPTION OF SOIL:Sediments on the site are dominated by the red
aeolian loess that characterizes this portion of White Mesa.
34.VEGETATION
A.LIFE ZONE:Upper Sonoran (E)
B.COMMUNITY:
PRIMARY ON-SITE:grassland (M)
SECONDARY ON-SITE:juniper-sage (2)
SURROUNDING SITE:juniper-sage (2)
DESCRIBE:On-site vegetation includes sagebrush,cheatgrass,snakeweed,
mustard,juniper,Mormon tea,prickly pear,and globe mallow.The site's
original vegetation probably included a lot more juniper than is currently
present.Only one small,young juniper is present,the survivor of
historic chaining activities.The original vegetation was probably much
like that to the west,along the Cottonwood Canyon rim,which seems to
represent the sage to juniper ecotone.
35.MISCELLANEOUS TEXT:
36.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
PART B -PREHISTORIC SITES
1.SITE TYPE:Habitation
2.CULTURE -CULTURAL AFFILIATION:Ancestral Pueblo,Basketmaker III (B5)and
Pueblo II (P3)
DATING METHOD:Ceramic cross-dating (M)
DESCRIBE:The site's pottery assemblage suggests two components:a
Basketmaker III component and an early to middle Pueblo II component.The
Basketmaker III component is characterized by the presence of a relatively
large number of plain gray jar body sherds.These are localized to one
portion of the site,a 30 x 40 m area that is east of the site's datum.
The midden area,described here as Feature I,contains the highest
frequency of Pueblo I I period pottery.Feature 1 is located at the
southern end of the site.The formal pottery types most characteristic of
the Pueblo II period on the site are Mancos B/w and Deadman's B/r,while
the incidence of corrugated pottery more generally reflects a Pueblo
II/III occupation.The Mancos B/w sherds exhibit both Black Mesa and
Dogoszhi design styles.
3.SITE DIMENSIONS:[60]m by [120]m
AREA:[7200]sq m
4.SURFACE COLLECTION/METHOD:Grab sample (B),by Thompson (1977)
5.ESTIMATED DEPTH OF CULTURAL FILL:20-100 cm (C)
HOW ESTIMATED (IF TESTED,SHOW LOCATION ON SITE MAP):At least two
sessions of testing were performed on the site.Nielson (1979)first
tested the site in 1978.The site was tested again at a later,unknown
date.Nielson documented three features,all of which appear to be around
50 cm below modern ground surface.It seems likely that the site contains
pitstructures.If this is the case,cultural deposits may exceed 100 cm.
6.EXCAVATION STATUS:[ ]EXCAVATED (A)[X]TESTED (B)
[]UNEXCAVATED (C)
TESTING METHOD:The backhoe trenches that Nielson excavated in July of
1978 are now difficult to discern.Nielson's trenches were apparently
backfilled-a few alignments were barely detectable by the differential
desiccation of cheatgrass.Relocation of the trenches was made even more
difficult by the fact that at least one other session of test excavations
occurred on the site,evidently after Nielson's initial testing efforts.
This second testing event,which apparently involved the excavation
of seven backhoe trenches,is readily apparent on the site.As is the case
with 42Sa6393,these trenches were not backfilled and are accompanied by
parallel berms of backdirt.To date,a report for these excavations has
not been found.
7.SUMMARY OF ARTIFACTS AND DEBRIS:Ceramic scatter (CS),lithic scatter
(LS),and ground and pecked stone artifacts (GS).There is also a
concentration of jacal (JA).
DESCRIBE:The artifact assemblage on the site consists of pottery,
debitage,and eight lithic tools,which include both groundstone items as
well as a battered stone tool.The pottery assemblage (n=53)includes
cooking jars (plain gray,neckbanded,and corrugated jar sherds)as well
as white ware and red ware bowls and,probably,jars.The lithic debitage
assemblage (n=32)is characterized by a high frequency of Brushy Basin
chert.The lithic tools documented on the site (T1-T8)include five
undifferentiated metate fragments,two manos,and one hammerstone.In
addition to these artifacts,a concentration of jacal,described here as
Feature 2,occupies a 2 square meter area in the southern portion of the
site just northeast of Feature 1.Feature 2 may represent the location of
a subsurface architectural feature.
8.LITHIC TOOLS:
#TYPE
5 metate fragments (MZ)
2 handstones (NZ)
1 hammerstone (IF)
DESCRIBE:The site's lithic tool assemblage
including five slab metate fragments,
hammerstone.
comprises eight items (T1-T8),
two likely manos,and one
T1 may actually represent two tool types.One facet of this fragmented
tool is convex,ground,and stipple-pecked,indicating this item's use as
a mano.It is not possible to distinguish whether this tool is a one-hand
mano or two-hand mano.The tool's opposing face is slightly concave,but
also exhibits peck marks and has been ground,suggesting the use of this
side of the tool as a pallette or lap stone.The object is made from a
dense,fine-grained sandstone and measures 13.5 x 11.5 x 2.8 em.
T2 is a complete hammerstone made from an alluvial cobble of gray
quartzite.The artifact is battered along its margins and measures 9.0 x
5.5 x 3.8 em.
T3 consists of several fragments of a metate made from a piece of white,
tabular sandstone.Only one facet is ground.The item measures 12.5 x 10.0
x 2.6 em.
T4 is a small fragment of a metate made from white silicified sandstone.Enough
of the object is present to indicate that the artifact had a single use surface,
which is concave.The remaining artifact measures 18 x 5 em,and was 8 em thick.
It is possible that this item was a trough metate,but not enough of the item was
present to distinguish it from a basin metate.
T5 is a fragment of a metate.This item is made from a relatively soft,tabular,
brown sandstone.One facet is ground.None of the metate's original margins are
intact.The item measures 8.0 x 6.0 x 3.4.
T6 is a metate fragment.The artifact is made from a white silicified sandstone.
Both faces are lightly ground and pecked.An original margin is edge-flaked
(scabbled).The artifact measures 16.0 x 11.6 x 4.3 em.
T7 is a fragment of some kind of handstone,perhaps a mano,made from an alluvial
cobble.Both facets show wear.The artifact,originally disk-shaped,measures 8 x
5.5 x 3.8 em.
T8 is a small fragment of a metate made from sandstone.The item may be fire-
oxidized.Both sides are ground,though one more than the other.The artifact
measures 8.5 x 8.0 x 2.7 em.
9.LITHIC DEBITAGE -ESTIMATED QUANTITY:32 (D)
MATERIAL TYPE:Just three material types were documented for the lithic debitage
assemblage:Brushy Basin chert,a green mudstone with oolitic inclusions,and a
light "tan"and brown silicified sandstone.The first two materials derive from
the Morrison Formation;the third material probably comes from the Dakota
Formation.
FLAKING STAGES:(0)NOT PRESENT (1)RARE
(2)COMMON (3)DOMINANT
[1]DECORTICATION [2]SECONDARY [2]TERTIARY
[2]SHATTER [0]CORE
10.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (ALL LITHICS):3/square meter
11.CERAMIC ARTIFACTS:
#TYPE
C Corrugated body sherds (El)
C Plain gray (EY)
B Mancos Gray (EG)
B Mancos B/w (EP)
C Mesa Verde White Ware (EC)
B San Juan Red Ware (EB)
B Oeadmans B/r (EL)
DESCRIBE:The pottery assemblage at this site consists of 53 sherds.Many of
these are either corrugated jar body sherds (n=ll)or plain gray jar body sherds
(n=18).Interestingly,all of the latter are found in an area just east of the
site's datum,suggesting the presence in the location of a Basketmaker III
component.Also found in this location is a possible Mancos Gray jar sherd.In
contrast,Feature 1,the possible midden area,harbors many of the later pottery
types.These include Mancos B/w (n=9),4 San Juan Red Ware sherds (of which 2 are
Oeadmans B/r bowl rim sherds),6 Late White Unpainted and 4 Late White Painted
sherds.The Mancos B/w sherds exhibit Black Mesa (n=5)and Oogoszhi (n=4)design
styles.At least one of these sherds is a bowl rim sherd.While not documented,
it seems likely that the white ware sherds represent both bowl and jar forms.
12.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (CERAMICS):4/square meter
13.NON-ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
#TYPE
1 Midden (MO)
1 Burial (BU)
1 Hearth (HE)
lather-lens of ash and daub (aT)
DESCRIBE:The midden area,Feature 1 as it was defined during the current survey
project,is located on the southern end of the site.The midden is situated on a
slope below the possible location of one or more buried pit structures.The
midden includes pottery sherds and debitage as well as several tools (TI-T3).The
midden measures approximately 30 m in diameter.At least one old backhoe trench
bisects the feature.
Three other subsurface features were located during Nielson's test
excavations in 1978.Nielson describes the first of these as a "probable slab-
lined fire hearth,"which was found on the west end of his Trench B.He writes
that the feature was observed at 43 cm below modern ground surface,but that the
top of it was truncated by historic activities (probably plowing).The feature
bottoms out at 60 cm below MGS.It is 67 cm (east-west)by 43 cm (north-south).
The second feature is a disturbed burial.Most of the body,excepting the
left arm,is present.The body was extended.Two possible mauls and several Plain
Gray sherds were found in association with the body.
Nielson (Nielson 1979:40)describes his third feature as a "lens of ash
associated with fire-hardened clay and occasional burned daub."This lens of
material measures about 20 cm thick and measures 1.4 m long.Nielson suggests
that "the ash lens may be the remains of a jacal surface structure as suggested
by small amounts of burned daub and pieces of burned sandstone on the surface."
14.ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
#MATERIAL TYPE
1 Jacal/Adobe (H)Unknown (ZZ)
DESCRIBE:This feature (Feature 2)consists of a concentration of small fragments
of burned j acal.This material is confined to a 2 square meter area just
northeast of the midden (Feature 1).
15.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
0.0
I----T-J-,----r'--
0.0
0.5 miles---\----,...J..-,--+-r -r
0.5 1.0 km
.-----------------;--------;----------
-------1"7-
428a6431
Nielson
Trenches C
and D?i--7-----I
1_-__
----------11-
I
KEY
A datum
T#tool
berm
T5-/'/ T
I
plain gray pottery
scatter
site
boundary
II1II backhoe ench
F#feature M.Bond,1O/2~V08
L..--:::.....-_
.----------------------------------
428a6431
(Recorded as 42Sa6392 by Nielson (1979»
arti ct concentration
Tench G
\fire pit
o 10m••m I
Trench
rench D
Trench A Trench H
Redrawn from Nielson (1979:Figure '13)
Top:42Sa6431,overview of north end of site,facing SW,cap over datum
Bottom:42Sa6431,overview of north end ofsouth,facing SW,close-up ofcap over
datum
Top:42Sa6431,overview ofsouth end of site,facing SW
IMACS SITE FORM
PART A -ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
1.STATE NO.:42Sa6757
2 .AGENCY NO:
3.TEMP NO.:
4.STATE:Utah COUNTY:San Juan
5.PROJECT:Cultural Resource Inventory of the Proposed Denison Mines (USA)
Corporation White Mesa Mill Cell 4B,San Juan County,Utah
6.REPORT NO.:U-09-AS-0334p
7.SITE NAME/PROPERTY NAME:N/A
8.CLASS:[X]PREHISTORIC []HISTORIC []PALEONTOLOGIC
[]ETHNOGRAPHIC
9.SITE TYPE:Habitation
10.ELEVATION:5592 ft.
11.UTM GRID:Zone 12,631191 m East,4154564 m North
12.[NW]OF ESE]OF [NE]OF SECTION [32],T.[37S],R.[22E]
13.MERIDIAN:SLC (Utah)
14.MAP REFERENCE:Black Mesa Butte,Utah,7.5'Provisional Edition 1985
15.AERIAL PHOTO:N/A
16.LOCATION AND ACCESS:The site is situated in the approximate mid-section
of White Mesa,a north-to-south oriented mesa that parallels drainage
systems to the east and west.By traveling approximately five miles south
of Blanding,Utah on US Highway 191,one arrives at the long driveway
entrance to the White Mesa Uranium Mill (currently under the ownership of
Denison Mines),which is located on the west side of the highway.The site
may then be reached by traveling approximately one mile to the west,
essentially approaching the rim of Cottonwood Wash Canyon.The site may
only be accessed by permission of the land owner.
17.LAND OWNER:Private (PR)-White Mesa Mill,Denison Mines (USA)
18.FEDERAL ADMIN.UNITS:N/A
19.LOCATION OF CURATED MATERIALS:Edge of the Cedars State Park (ECP)
20.SITE DESCRIPTION:Site 42Sa6757 may be described as a habitation site with
at least one pit structure that may have been a year-round dwelling,and
other smaller structures that may have served as seasonal habitations or
food processing facilities.The site was apparently originally documented
through the efforts of the Antiquities Section of Utah's Division of State
History (Lindsay 1978:Table III;Worthington 1978).The site was later
tested for significance (Nielson 1979:85-95)and extent (Nielson 1981?).
At the time of its initial documentation,the site was simply recorded as
a "Mesa Verde Anasazi"site (Worthington 1978).
Excavation of the site documented a total of five features,
including two pit structures and two very small habitations or field
houses (Davis and others 1985:128-164).A fifth feature,Feature 5,is
noted on the site's map but is not otherwise described except in
association with artifacts (Davis and others 1985:Figure 7-27 and Table
10-2);it seems reasonable to surmise that Feature 5 was a small pit
feature of some type.Pottery data indicate that all features dated to the
Basketmaker III period.Brief descriptions of the four main features
follow in Part B,#14.
21.SITE CONDITION:[]EXCELLENT (A)[]GOOD (B)
[]FAIR (C)[X]POOR (D)
22.IMPACT AGENT(S):The excavation of the site by Abajo Archaeology (Davis
1985)constitutes the greatest impact to the site (CE).At the time of
excavation,impacts documented for the site had included historic chaining
and/or other land-leveling activities (CL),re-seeding (AG),and
collecting (VA)(apparent by way of a collector's artifact pile).Davis and
others (1985:128-129)note that three backhoe trenches had been excavated
to test for significance and that the State later excavated 13 other
trenches to determine extent.
23.NAT.REGISTER STATUS:[X]SIGNIFICANT (C)
[]NONSIGNIFICANT (D)
[]UNEVALUATED (Z)
JUSTIFY:While it is likely that most of the cultural features associated
with this site have been excavated,it is possible that small features
peripheral to the excavated portions of 42Sa6757 have not been located.In
other words,while known features were mitigated,intact subsurface
sediments may remain on the site.Further,the site's midden area has not
been examined in a systematic fashion.Data recovery from these areas of
the site may still provide data pertinent to research domains such as
chronology,subsistence,settlement,and social structure.Thus,the site
is still eligible under criterion (d).
24.PHOTOS:
25.RECORDED BY:Mark Bond
26.SURVEY ORGANIZATION:Abajo Archaeology (AS)
27.ASSISTING CREW MEMBERS:Jonathan Till
28.SURVEY DATE:10/25/08
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
[X]PART B [X]TOPO MAP
[]ARTIFACT/FEATURE SKETCH []PART C
[X]SITE SKETCH [ ]CONTINUATION SHEETS
[]PART E [X]PHOTOS
[]OTHER:
PART A -ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
29.SLOPE:[90]DEGREES ASPECT:[3]DEGREES
30.DISTANCE TO PERMANENT WATER:[27]X 100 METERS
TYPE OF WATER SOURCE:[]SPRING/SEEP (A)
[X]STREAM/RIVER (B)[]LAKE (C)[]OTHER (D)
NAME OF WATER SOURCE:Cottonwood Wash
31.GEOGRAPHIC UNIT:Blanding Basin (CAJ)
32.TOPOGRAPHIC LOCATION
PRIMARY LANDFORM:Mesa (C)
SECONDARY LANDFORM:Slope (Q)
DESCRIBE:The site is generally situated along the midsection of the
north-to-south oriented White Mesa.White Mesa itself is a long landform
that parallels the drainage systems of Cottonwood Wash on the west,and
Recapture Wash to the east.These drainages channel water from the Abajo
Mountains (north)to the San Juan River (south).Site 42Sa6757 is situated
on a gentle,east-facing slope of a low finger ridge that has a north-
south orientation.
33.ON-SITE DEPOSITIONAL CONTEXT:Aeolian (S)
DESCRIPTION OF SOIL:On-site sediments consist of the deep,red,fine-
grained aeolian loess characteristic of this portion of White Mesa.
Agenbroad (1985:Figure 8-5)illustrates that the overburden of the
aeolian loess is 50 to 70 cm deep across much of the site,at which point
caliche-rich sediments are encountered.
34.VEGETATION
A.LIFE ZONE:Upper Sonoran (E)
B.COMMUNITY:
PRIMARY ON-SITE:Grassland (M)
SECONDARY ON-SITE:Big Sagebrush (P)
SURROUNDING SITE:Juniper-Sage (2)
DESCRIBE:The site's current plant profile has been heavily affected by
past excavation efforts as well as historic chaining and railing.Current
vegetation includes bunch grasses,cheat grass,sage,snakeweed,prickly
pear,and mustard.
35.MISCELLANEOUS TEXT:
36.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
PART B -PREHISTORIC SITES
1.SITE TYPE:Habitation
2.CULTURE -CULTURAL AFFILIATION:Basketmaker III (B5)
DATING METHOD:Pottery cross-dating (M),tree-ring dating (C),
architectural style (L),lithic cross-dating (N),Carbon-14 (B)
DESCRIBE:The excavation data for 42Sa6757 yielded multiple lines of
evidence for a chronological assessment of the site.Most telling are the
pottery and architectural data,both of which indicate a Basketmaker III
period occupation for all features on the site.Tree-ring and projectile
point data corroborate this assessment.A C-14 date (2140 +-145 B.P.)was
too ambiguous to be of much use.See Davis (1985)for more information.
3.SITE DIMENSIONS:[56]m by [76]m
AREA:[4256]sq m
4.SURFACE COLLECTION/METHOD:Unknown (Z)
Worthington (1978)does not document surface collections in the original
site for for 42Sa6757.Likewise,Nielson (1979)does not indicate surface
collection for subsequent testing.It is not known if later testing at an
unknown date resulted in surface collections.Presumeably surface
collections occurred in the excavated portions of the site by Davis
(1985).Bond (1985:271 and Table C-44)does note that 102 sherds were
collected from the "surface collection"of the site.
5.ESTIMATED DEPTH OF CULTURAL FILL:20-100 em (C)
HOW ESTIMATED (IF TESTED,SHOW LOCATION ON SITE MAP):As noted in Part A,
#33,Agenbroad (1985)illustrates the general depth to caliche across the
site.Where pit structures were encountered,the depth of cultural fill
exceeded 1 meter in depth.
6.EXCAVATION STATUS:[X]EXCAVATED (A)[X]TESTED (B)
[]UNEXCAVATED (C)
TESTING METHOD:Backhoe trenches accomplished the test excavations
conducted by the Division of State History (Nielson 1979)and Abajo
Archaeology (Davis 1985).
7.SUMMARY OF ARTIFACTS AND DEBRIS:pottery (CS),chipped stone artifacts
(LS),ground/pecked stone artifacts (GS),faunal bone (WB),vegetal
remains samples (VR),and shell (SL)
DESCRIBE:Arbitrarily listed above are multiple artifact classes retrieved
from the excavated site.Naturally,this list is not exhaustive.The
reader is referred to Davis (1985)for a full accounting of the artifacts
collected and cataloged for 42Sa6757.See Nielson (1979)for information
regarding the artifacts collected during the testing phase excavations.
8.LITHIC TOOLS:
#TYPE
2 Stemmed points (HC)
4 bifaces (IG)
2 retouched flakes (IY)
1 utilized flake (IA)
6 pecking stones (10)
9 hammerstones (IF)(n=9)
3 polishing stones (IP)
6 one-hand manos (NA)
8 two-hand manos (NB)
2 indeterminate mano (NZ)
5 slab metate (ME)
9 trough metate (MC)(n=ll)
9 basin metate (MA)(n=ll)
DESCRIBE:Lithic tools
(n=2),bifaces (n=4),
pecking stones (n=6),
Davis (1985)describes
cataloged from the site include projectile points
retouched flakes (n=2),utilized flakes (n=l),
hammerstones (n=9),and polishing stones (n=4).
the chipped stone assemblage more extensively in
Chapter XI in the site's excavation report.
Likewise,Westfall (1985)reports extensively on the ground stone
assemblage in the site's write-up in Chapter XIII.She notes that 19 manos
and 25 metates were collected from the site during the site's excavation
by Abajo Archaeology.Six of the manos are one-hand manos,eight are two-
hand manos,and two are of indeterminate type.Of the metates,five are
slab metates,11 are trough metates,and nine are basin metates.
Other stone artifacts removed during the site's excavation by Abajo
include pendants (n=2)and shaped stone slabs (n=8).
9.LITHIC DEBITAGE -ESTIMATED QUANTITY:Davis (1985)notes that 885 pieces
of debitage were collected during the site's excavation.
MATERIAL TYPE:Davis (1985:Table 11-3)distinguishes 10 material types
associated with the site's debitage assemblage.These debitage material
types,and their counts and percentages,are as follows:chert (n=518,
58.5%),quartzite (n=223,25.2%),chalcedony (n=65,7.3%),jasper (n=ll,
1.2 %),agate (n=14,1.6%),siltstone (n=8,0.9%),quartz (n=21,2.4%),
basalt (n=15,1.7%),diorite (n=5,0.6%),diorite (n=5,0.6%),and
sandstone (n=5,0.6%).
FLAKING STAGES:(0)NOT PRESENT (1)RARE
(2)COMMON (3)DOMINANT
[2]DECORTICATION [2]SECONDARY [2]TERTIARY
[2]SHATTER [1]CORE
10.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (ALL LITHICS):Data not available.
11.CERAMIC ARTIFACTS:
#TYPE
F Undifferentiated Plain Gray (EY)(n=1403)
C Undifferentiated Corrugated (E1)(n=23)
E Chapin Gray (EE)(n=109)
B Mancos Gray (EG)(n=l)
B Lino Gray (JA)(n=30)
B Mancos Corrugated (ET)(n=5)
B Mudware (22)(n=6)
D Chapin B/w (EM)(n=48)
B Piedra B/w (EN)(n=5)
C Mancos B/w (EP)(n=12)
B Undifferentiated White Ware (EC)(n=9)
B Bluff B/r (EK)(n=l)
C Deadmans B/r (EL)(n=12)
C Undifferentiated Red Ware (EB)(n=l1)
DESCRIBE:A total of 1675 pottery sherds were collected from the site.
Bond (1985:271-273,Table 10-2)reports on the pottery assemblage from the
data recovery excavations at 42Sa6757.A few very minor discrepancies
occur between his total site tally and Tables C-44 through C-55.The
correct tally for the whole site is provided above.The whole site
assemblage indicates that the site's primary occupation was during the
Basketmaker III period,or prior to A.D.750 or 780 (as suggested by the
lack of Abajo Rio).An early Pueblo II period presence is indicated by the
Mancos Gray,corrugated pottery,Piedra B/w,Mancos B/w,and the red ware
sherds.The later assemblage is probably intrusive pottery that has washed
in from another site.Alternatively,there may be a small Pueblo II period
feature that has yet to be discovered on the site.
Seven complete or nearly complete vessels were recovered from the
site.These include two Chapin Gray short-necked ollas,a Chapin Gray
"slope-neckedu olla,two Chapin Gray pitchers,a Chapin B/w bowl,and a
Piedra B/w bowl.Also of note was a large portion of a duck effigy vessel.
Only one worked sherd was recorded for the assemblage.
The only potential extralocal pottery is represented by the Lino
Gray sherds.
12.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (CERAMICS):Data not available.
13.NON-ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
#TYPE
1 midden (MD)
1 hearth (HE)
DESCRIBE:The midden defined and tested at 42Sa6757 was not immediately
apparent at the surface (Davis 1985:164).Instead,the feature was
partially buried under 3 to 5 cm of aeolian sediments.The midden is south
of the pit structures,is roughly elliptical,and covers approximately 650
square meters.It is characterized by a relatively dark color and
relatively high concentrations of artifacts.The midden is fairly shallow
and does not appear to be more than 15 cm thick.This area was tested by
backhoe trenches,but otherwise not systematically sampled.
Feature 5 is noted in Backhoe Trench 8,which cuts through the
northern portion of the midden,on the site's excavation map and receives
brief description as a "basin-shaped firehearth"(Davis 1985:129 and Figure
7-27).It is not described further,however.
14.ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
#MATERIAL TYPE
4 subterranean (I)pithouse (AF)
DESCRIBE:Feature 1 is a roughly D-shaped or sub-circular pithouse
with a relatively straight eastern wall.The room measured 4.5 m north-
south by 4.7 m east-west,and was approximately 1.2 m deep.Feature 1 did
not have the appended antechamber that many Basketmaker III pithouses
have.Instead,the southern wall is sloped,not vertical.A set of
bilaterally symmetrical floor features,including wing walls,post holes,
and pits were documented,as was an uncoped hearth.The structure was not
burned;instead,it appears as though wooden architectural elements were
recycled.In spite of this,enough of a roof and/or floor artifact
assemblage was recovered to suggest a few food-processing activity areas
in the room,particularly in the area enclosed by the wing walls in the
south part of a the room,and in the area immediately surrounding the
hearth.
Feature 2 is a sub-circular pit structure that measured 4.2 m in
diameter and was 45 cm deep.Like Feature 1,this room did not have the
appended antechamber common to Basketmaker III pithouses.Rather,a vent
tunnel along the southeast side of the room supplied the feature with air.
Other features in the room were organized bilaterally and in a pattern to
suggest a southeast alignment for the room.These features included wing
walls,a hearth,and apparent deflector postholes.A milling bin as well
as several relatively deep pit features were also documented in the room.
The room had burned.One of the room beams yielded a noncutting date of
A.D.627.A relatively high number of groundstone artifacts were recovered
from the floor;these items,and the room's features,indicate a primary
function of food-processing for the structure.
Feature 3 is a sub-rectangular,semi-subterranean room that measured
2.3 m north-south by 2.1 m east-west and was about 20 cm deep.The room
was divided by an interior,upright slab wall that segregated the eastern
1/3 of the room from the western 2/3.No hearth was observed in the
structure;however,I suggest that a test trench may have obliterated an
ephemeral hearth.No other internal features were present.Two exterior
postholes on the west side of the feature indicate an expedient exterior
roofing technique,such as a lean-to,might have been used to roof the
structure.The structure was not burned.Davis and others (1985)suggest
that the room was used as an informal habitation with some storage
function.
Feature 4 is a rectangular pit structure that measured 3.5 m east-
west by 2.2 m north-south.It is difficult to assess how deep the original
structure was;its floor was located at about 30 em below modern ground
surface.Only a few features were found in the room.These included a
hearth,a pit,and a single posthole.The room was burned upon
abandonment.Most artifacts had been removed from the feature before
burning.Davis (1985:162-164)suggests that the room may have functioned
as an expedient habitation.
15.COMMENTS/CONTINUATION
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
0.0 0.5 miles
I-······,---'--~-T[··r-T-·T·L'-+··T-i
0.0 0.5 1.0 km
II••
,..••••••••••.-••••••••.-•Il••.-.
428a6757
----------=:-------
.-....-.•j •-/•.4 -•••IsheetI•..I•I•A-I•/\~
•t.Ii•KEY /\...~..~.datum ........--------A
.......
Redrawn from
Davis and othf~rs _,
(1985:Figure 1-2/)
bladed area
F#feature
'Plano trench••
• •#State trench
-------~~------
Top:42Sa6757,facing north;note old trenches
Bottom:42Sa6757,facing northeast;mill facility in background
----------
IMACS SITE FORM
PART A -ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
1 .STATE NO.:42 Sa8014
2 .AGENCY NO:
3.TEMP NO.:
4.STATE:Utah COUNTY:San Juan
5.PROJECT:Cultural Resource Inventory of the Proposed Denison Mines (USA)
Corporation White Mesa Mill Cell 4B,San Juan County,Utah
6.REPORT NO.:U-09-AS-0334p
7.SITE NAME/PROPERTY NAME:N/A
8.CLASS:[X]PREHISTORIC []HISTORIC []PALEONTOLOGIC
[]ETHNOGRAPHIC
9.SITE TYPE:Seasonal habitation
10.ELEVATION:5610 ft.
11.UTM GRID:Zone 12,631227 m East,4154674 m North
12.[NW]OF [SE]OF [NE]OF SECTION [32],T.[37S],R.[22E]
13.MERIDIAN:SLC (Utah)
14.MAP REFERENCE:Black Mesa Butte,Utah,7.5'Provisional Edition 1985
15.AERIAL PHOTO:N/A
16.LOCATION AND ACCESS:The site is situated in the approximate mid-section
of White Mesa,a north-to-south oriented mesa that parallels drainage
systems to the east and west.By traveling approximately five miles south
of Blanding,Utah on US Highway 191,one arrives at the long driveway
entrance to the White Mesa Uranium Mill (currently under the ownership of
Denison Mines),which is located on the west side of the highway.The site
may then be reached by traveling approximately one mile to the west,
essentially approaching the rim of Cottonwood Wash Canyon.The site may
only be accessed by permission of the land owner.
17.LAND OWNER:Private (PR)-White Mesa Mill,Denison Mines (USA)
18.FEDERAL ADMIN.UNITS:N/A
19.LOCATION OF CURATED MATERIALS:Edge of the Cedars State Park (ECP)
20.SITE DESCRIPTION:Site 42Sa8014 was probably a seasonally occupied
habitation.As with 42Sa6757,this site was initially documented by the
Utah Division of State History Antiquities Section (Davis and others
1985:165).It was subsequently tested for significance,although no
citation for that work could be found.Casjens (1980:344-345)writes that
the site was further tested for extent;Davis and others (1985:Figure 7-
38)indicate the location of the Antiquities Section's trenches on the
excavation plan view of the site.
Two features were located and excavated on the site.One of the
features is a pit structure while the other is a slab-lined cist.Pottery
assemblages associated with both features suggest that the two were
probably contemporaneous.It is likely that the site was in use sometime
during the late ninth and/or early tenth century (see Part B,#2 for more
detail on the site's chronological determinations).Brief descriptions of
the site's two features follow in Part B,#14.
21.SITE CONDITION:[]EXCELLENT (A)[]GOOD (B)
[]FAIR (C)[X]POOR (D)
22.IMPACT AGENT(S):The excavation of the site by Abajo Archaeology (Davis
1985)constitutes the greatest impact to the site (CE).At the time of
excavation,impacts documented for the site had included historic chaining
and/or other land-leveling activities (CL),re-seeding (AG),and
collecting (VA)(apparent by way of a collector's artifact pile).Davis and
others (1985:128-129)note that nine backhoe trenches had been excavated
prior to the site's mitigation by Abajo Archaeology,presumably to test
for significance and/or extent.A mill access road passes immediately
north of the site.The construction of Cell 3 to the north of this road
has no doubt significantly affected the immediate landscape of 42Sa8014.
23.NAT.REGISTER STATUS:[X]SIGNIFICANT (C)
[]NONSIGNIFICANT (D)
[]UNEVALUATED (Z)
JUSTIFY:While it is likely that most of the cultural features associated
with this site have been excavated,it is possible that small features
peripheral to the excavated portions of 42Sa8014 have not been located.
Data recovery from these areas of the site may still provide data
pertinent to research domains such as chronology,subsistence,settlement,
and social structure.Thus,the site is still eligible for nomination to
the National Register under criterion (d).
24.PHOTOS:See attached.
25.RECORDED BY:Mark Bond
26.SURVEY ORGANIZATION:Abajo Archaeology
27.ASSISTING CREW MEMBERS:Jonathan Till
28.SURVEY DATE:10/25/08
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
[X]PART B [X]TOPO MAP
[]ARTIFACT/FEATURE SKETCH []PART C
[X]SITE SKETCH [ ]CONTINUATION SHEETS
[]PART E [X]PHOTOS
[]OTHER:
PART A -ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
29.SLOPE:[2]DEGREES ASPECT:[180]DEGREES
30.DISTANCE TO PERMANENT WATER:[28]X 100 METERS
TYPE OF WATER SOURCE:[]SPRING/SEEP (A)
[X]STREAM/RIVER (B)[]LAKE (C)[]OTHER (D)
NAME OF WATER SOURCE:Cottonwood Wash
31.GEOGRAPHIC UNIT:Blanding Basin (CAJ)
32.TOPOGRAPHIC LOCATION
PRIMARY LANDFORM:Mesa (C)
SECONDARY LANDFORM:Slope (Q)
DESCRIBE:The site is generally situated along the midsection of the
north-to-south oriented White Mesa.White Mesa itself is a long landform
that parallels the drainage systems of Cottonwood Wash on the west,and
Recapture Wash to the east.These drainages channel water from the Abajo
Mountains (north)to the San Juan River (south).Site 42Sa8014 is located
near the base of the same ridge slope as 42Sa6757.Davis and others
(1985:165)note that,prior to the mill's construction,a small east-
flowing drainage passed just to the north of the site.
33.ON-SITE DEPOSITIONAL CONTEXT:Aeolian (S)
DESCRIPTION OF SOIL:On-site sediments consist of the deep,red,fine-
grained aeolian loess characteristic of this portion of White Mesa.
Agenbroad (1985:Figure 8-6)illustrates that the overburden of the
aeolian loess is 40 to 50 cm deep across much of the site,at which point
caliche-rich sediments are encountered.
34.VEGETATION
A.LIFE ZONE:Upper Sonoran (E)
B.COMMUNITY:
PRIMARY ON-SITE:Grassland (M)
SECONDARY ON-SITE:Developed/Industrial (U)
SURROUNDING SITE:Juniper-Sage (2)
DESCRIBE:The site's current plant profile has been heavily affected by
past excavation efforts as well as historic chaining and railing.Current
vegetation includes bunch grasses,sagebrush,Russian thistle,prickly
pear cactus,snakeweed,introduced grasses.A few small juniper trees.
35.MISCELLANEOUS TEXT:
36.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
PART B -PREHISTORIC SITES
1.SITE TYPE:Seasonal habitation
2.CULTURE -CULTURAL AFFILIATION:Pueblo I (PI)
DATING METHOD:Pottery cross-dating (M),architectural style (L),lithic
cross-dating (N),Carbon-14 (B)
DESCRIBE:One absolute date,a C-14 sample from the floor of Feature 1,
yielded a date of 1455±130 B.P.Considering the pottery assemblage,this
seems far too early to accurately represent the feature's occupation.Bond
(1985:274)recommends that the site dates to the late Pueblo I period.The
pottery assemblage indicates an occupation during the late A.D.800s/early
A.D.900s.The single stemmed projectile point and the groundstone
assemblage corroborate the pottery assemblage date.The architecture is
not inconsistent with this interpretation.
3.SITE DIMENSIONS:[30]m by [30]m
AREA:[900]sq m
4.SURFACE COLLECTION/METHOD:It is not known if the initial surface
documentation resulted in collections.Likewise,Casjens (1979)does not
indicate surface collection during the site's subsequent testing.It is
not known if later testing at an unknown date resulted in surface
collections.Collections from surface contexts did occur during the site's
mitigation in 1981 (Davis 1985).Bond (1985:273 and Table C-56)does note
that 18 sherds were collected from the surface of the site.
5.ESTIMATED DEPTH OF CULTURAL FILL:20-100 cm (C)
HOW ESTIMATED (IF TESTED,SHOW LOCATION ON SITE MAP):As noted in Part A,
#33,Agenbroad (1985)illustrates the general depth to caliche across the
site (40 to 50 cm deep).Where the pit structure,Feature 1,was
encountered,the depth to floor was 45 cm below modern ground surface.
6.EXCAVATION STATUS:[X]EXCAVATED (A)[]TESTED (B)
[]UNEXCAVATED (C)
TESTING METHOD:Backhoe trenches accomplished the test excavations
conducted by the Division of State History (Nielson 1979)and Abajo
Archaeology (Davis 1985).
7.SUMMARY OF ARTIFACTS AND DEBRIS:pottery (CS),chipped stone artifacts
(LS),ground/pecked stone artifacts (GS),faunal bone (WB),and vegetal
remains samples (VR)
DESCRIBE:Arbitrarily listed above are multiple artifact classes retrieved
from the excavated site.Naturally,this list is not exhaustive.The
reader is referred to Davis (1985)for a full accounting of the artifacts
collected and cataloged for 42Sa8014.
8.LITHIC TOOLS:
#TYPE
1 stemmed point (HB)
1 scraper (IH)
1 drill (IB)
1 core (10)
1 utilized core (IS)
9 peckingstones (10)(n=12)
7 hammerstones (IF)
1 polishing stone (IP)
5 one-hand mana (NA)
9 two-hand mana (NB)(n=9)
1 indet.mana (NZ)
4 trough metate (MC)
DESCRIBE:Lithic artifacts recovered from 42Sa8014 include a projectile
point (a stemmed point with flared tangs,a style common to the BMIII and
PI periods),a scraper,a drill,a core and a core tool,peckingstones
(n=12),hammerstones (n=7),and a polishing stone.This last item was
interpreted as a "floor polisher."Ground stone tools include 15 manos (5
one-hand manos,9 two-hand manos,and 1 indeterminate)and 4 trough metate
specimens.
9.LITHIC DEBITAGE -ESTIMATED QUANTITY:Davis (1985)notes that 142 pieces
of debitage were collected from the site.
MATERIAL TYPE:Davis (1985:Table 11-4)distinguishes six material types
associated with the site's debitage assemblage.These debitage material
types,and their counts and percentages,are as follows:chert (n=81,
57.0%),quartzite (n=13,9.2%),chalcedony (n=35,24.6%),jasper (n=l,
0.1%),agate (n=6,4.2%),and quartz (n=6,4.2%).
FLAKING STAGES:(0)NOT PRESENT (1)RARE
(2)COMMON (3)DOMINANT
[1]DECORTICATION [1]SECONDARY [3]TERTIARY
[2]SHATTER [1]CORE
10.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (ALL LITHICS):Data not available.
11.CERAMIC ARTIFACTS:
#TYPE
E Undifferentiated Plain Gray (EY)(n=413)
B Undifferentiated Corrugated (E1)(n=l)
B Chapin Gray (EE)(n=8)
B Moccasin Gray (EF)(n=4)
E Mancos Gray (EG)(n=208)
B Piedra B/w (EN)(n=7)
B Mancos B/w (EP)(n=l)
C Bluff B/r (EK)(n=24)
B Deadmans B/r (EL)(n=4)
B Undifferentiated Red Ware (EB)(n=9)
DESCRIBE:A total of 681 pottery sherds were collected from the site an
analyzed.Bond (1985:273-274,Table 10-4)reports on the pottery
assemblage from the data recovery excavations at 42Sa8014.Several minor
discrepancies occur between Table 10-4,which reports pottery type totals
by feature,and Tables C-56 through C-62,which sum type by feature
context.We have recalculated the tally for the whole site for this site
form-these totals are provided above.The whole site assemblage indicates
that the site probably represents a single occupation that dates to the
late Pueblo I period,probably in the late A.D.800s or early A.D.900s.
12.MAXIMUM DENSITY-#/SQ M (CERAMICS):Data not available.
13.NON-ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
DESCRIBE:
14.ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES (LOCATE ON SITE MAP):
#MATERIAL TYPE
1 subterranean (I)pit structure (AF)
1 masonry (B)cist (AE)
DESCRIBE:Feature 1 is a sub-circular pit structure.The feature measures
3.3 m north-south by 3.5 m east-west,and is about 45 cm below modern
ground surface.Six pit features and one mealing bin were located within
the room,but no postholes.The utter lack of postholes suggests that the
roof was an ephemeral,exterior structure that may have been removed upon
the feature's abandonment.The room was not burned.Though not recognized,
one or two of the structure's pit features probably served as an informal
hearth.The mealing bin and artifact assemblage suggest a variety of
activities were associated with the room,including food processing,tool
production and maintenance,and perhaps hunting-related activities.
However,the feature's small size and its relatively informal construction
indicate a seasonal occupation (Davis and others 1985:172).
Feature 2 is the remains of a rectangular,slab-lined cist that measured
1.9 m east-west by 0.7 m north-south and was about 40 cm deep.The feature
was partially destroyed during testing activities.Enough of the feature
remained however to indicate that Feature 2's interior had been burned,
perhaps as a part of food-processing activities.Located only 1.2 m east
of Feature 1,the cist was most probably associated with the activities
centered on the pit structure.
15.COMMENTS/CONTINUATIONS:
0.5 miles
,,_Jr"-,--,,,.J .-,-I-,I~,~I
05 1~km
0.0
~-I !I II
0.0
Location for 42Sa8014,Black Mesa Butte,Utah,7.5'
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
.------------------------------------
428a8014
--......••••••••••••.._.........
=
F1 ••~---,..
( \@;CJ
I ••••~0q,'8\~---.....~
•F2•
..;••
..'••••••••••••••••
.._.......
..-
••__w .
o 10 mIi..I
KEY
&.datum
F#feature~Plano trench
••••Utah State Antiquities trench
Redrawn from Davis and others
(1985:Figure 7-38)
L...-, _
Top:42Sa8014,Feature 1 depression in foreground,facing south
Bottom:42Sa8014,overview,facing south
--------