Culture and Ecology of Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin

The Preceramic Period 89Figure 3.21.Overview of Sheep Camp Shelter, excavated by the University of Kansas as part of theChaco Shelters Project. (Chaco Culture NHP Museum Archive, Photo no. 30775. WilliamB. Gillespie, photographer.)1,975 m [6,475 ft]), and on the southeast side of ashallow open side canyon (Figure 3.21). Excavationsin a test pit and four areas of this 20 m long and 7 to8 m deep shelter covered approximately 26 m 2 of thesurface area. Two major strata were defined. Instratum A, the upper 15 to 65 cm were composed ofdense organic material (mostly plants collected bypack rats) in decomposing sandstone and are assigneddates from approximately 3,000 years ago to thepresent. The lower stratum (stratum B) reflects LatePleistocene or Early Holocene fauna; thick sandstonerubble has few archaeological or macrobotanicalremains but abundant faunal remains. Becausematerial often slumped off from higher levels, the twostrata were often difficult to separate. The evidencefor Archaic period use is in the uppermost levels ofthe lower stratum (B) and the upper stratum (A).These deposits also have remains that indicate use ofthe rockshelter until approximately A.D. 900.Hearths (but not firepits) indicate non-intensive use ofthe shelter.Several radiocarbon dates were obtained(Simmons 1984b:Table 50). Two from domesticsquash seeds-2820 ± 220 B.P. (A-3388) and 2130 ±280 (A-3159)-indicate early evidence (approximately870 B.C.) of use. Two maize kernels were also datedto 2250±80 B.P. (A-3395) and 2150±170 B.P. (A-3396) (Gillespie 1984a:69, Table 8), or approximately500 to 200 B. C. The major contribution of this excavationwas pack rat midden and other faunal remainsthat provided new data for reconstruction of thepaleoenvironment.Survey around Sheep Camp Shelter documented26 sites; of these, eight were classified as lithicscatters with presumed Archaic affiliation. Six arelocated on level areas along the ridge tops aboveSheep Camp Shelter, and two were on the sloping area(talus ?) between the upper and lower cliffs. Of these,four were in sand dunes; the others are in sand sheets.Located at several were concentrations of burned rock.No diagnostic lithics were found and no finer chronologicalplacement ofthese sites was made (Weston andSimmons 1984: 121-122). Ten possible Archaic sitesalong Sheep Camp Canyon were identified duringbrief reconnaissance. A test at Sheep Camp no. 4uncovered a fire-burned rock concentration that provideda radiocarbon date of ca. 160 B. C. (Weston andSimmons 1984:Table 26).