Thursday, August 21, 2008

Anasazi Dwelling Studied in Utah

An Anasazi site in southern Utah about 100 miles from the location of the recent discovery.

Ruins unearthed in southern Utah are confirmed to be a house Anasazi Indians built about 1,200 years ago. Over the centuries, the dwelling had been buried just beneath the surface of the area’s red sandy soil.

“What is so amazing about the site is the pristine condition it is in,” Pam Higgins, an archeaologist with the Utah Department of Transportation, told the Salt Lake Tribune.

Surveyors first found the site in 2006 while working on a road project. This summer the site was studied and evaluated by an archeological team. The Anasazi were a prehistoric culture inhabiting a number of areas in the American Southwest. Their settlements included cliff-dwellings as well as single-family homes.

The pit house is 13 feet in diameter and was apparently home to a single family. No remains have been found. The discovery also revealed pottery, stone drill bits for making jewelry and clothing, numerous stone tips, plus a number of rabbit and deer bones indicative of hunting activity.

“What was interesting was finding shells and what appears to be turquoise,” archaeologist Jody Patterson said. 

The recovered items will now be studied to determine origin and other information. After the site was examined, it was re-buried last week, with a final report on the findings expected in about two years.

Click here for the Salt Lake Tribune article.



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