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An Archaeological Survey of Nankoweap Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Douglas W. Schwartz*
Affiliation:
University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky

Abstract

A survey of previously unknown Nankoweap Canyon, in the extreme northeast section of Grand Canyon National Park, revealed 48 archaeological sites. These included sherd areas, cliff granaries, petroglyphs, rock alignments for water control purposes, and house outlines, the latter constituting the majority of the sites. The 34 house areas ranged from one to more than seven rooms, and from a single, simple, rectangular outline to complex multi-roomed units with adjacent kiva depressions. As has been found elsewhere on the north side of the Colorado River within Grand Canyon, the temporal range of the sites was quite short, with the occupation concentration occurring between A.D. 1050 and 1150. An attempt to arrive at some idea of the population change during the period of occupation resulted in a curve with a sharp increase prior to A.D. 1100, and a sharp decrease thereafter. A reconstruction of the culture history of this section of the canyon is added to serve as a hypothetical guide for further research in this and adjacent areas.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1963

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References

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