CROW CANYON ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTER

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION: CROW CANYON'S RESEARCH FOCUSES ON THE RICH HISTORY OF AMERICAN INDIANS WHO INHABITED THE CANYONS AND MESAS OF THE MESA VERDE REGION IN SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. ASSISTED BY STUDENTS AND ADULTS ENROLLED IN CROW CANYON PROGRAMS, WE HAVE CONDUCTED RESEARCH SINCE 1983, MAKING DISCOVERIES THAT HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT NEW UNDERSTANDINGS IN SOUTHWESTERN ARCHAEOLOGY. OUR RESEARCH TRADITION IS BASED ON INNOVATIVE INVESTIGATIVE METHODS, THE INCLUSION OF AMERICAN INDIANS IN THE RESEARCH AND INTERPRETIVE PROCESS, AND A COMMITMENT TO SHARING THE RESULTS OF OUR RESEARCH THROUGH A SERIES OF INNOVATIVE PRINT AND ONLINE PUBLICATIONS. OUR CURRENT RESEARCH IS THE NORTHERN CHACO OUTLIERS PROJECT AND FOCUSES ON THE HAYNIE SITE, A MULTI-COMPONENT ANCESTRAL VILLAGE WITH TWO PUEBLO II PERIOD (A.D. 950-1150) GREAT HOUSES LOCATED NORTHEAST OF CORTEZ, COLORADO. THE COMMUNITY WHERE THE SITE IS LOCATED COMPRISES SOME OF THE DENSEST CONCENTRATION OF GREAT HOUSES FOUND NORTH OF THE SAN JUAN RIVER. RESEARCH AT THE HAYNIE SITE IS PROVIDING INFORMATION AS TO WHEN THE SITE WAS INITIALLY OCCUPIED, WHEN IT WAS SUBSEQUENTLY DEPOPULATED, AND HOW THIS RELATES TO OTHER COMMUNITIES IN THE REGION. DATA COLLECTED IS CONTRIBUTING TO A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF RESOURCE SUSTAINABILITY, THE NATURAL AND CULTURAL IMPACTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DOWNTURNS, ANCIENT COMMUNITIES AND REGIONAL SYSTEMS, MIGRATION, AND HUMAN/ENVIRONMENT RELATIONSHIPS.

CAMPUS SERVICES: INCLUDE FOOD, LODGING, TRANSPORTATION, AND OTHER SERVICES PROVIDED FOR PARTICIPANTS IN VARIOUS PROGRAMS THAT ARE HELD ON THE CROW CANYON CAMPUS. OUR 210-ACRE RURAL CAMPUS NESTLED IN THE CANYON AND MESAS OF SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO PROVIDES A SAFE AND SECURE HOME-AWAY-FROM-HOME FOR PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WHO COME TO CROW CANYON EACH YEAR.