The Basketmaker Communities Project
Creators: name: Fernandez, Rachel
Publisher: name: Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Mesa Verde Region
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/76638/mesa-verde-region
subject: Cortez, Colorado
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/85476/cortez-colorado
subject: Indian Camp Ranch
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/85477/indian-camp-ranch
subject: Basketmaker III Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/6180/basketmaker-iii-period
subject: 5MT10711
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118032/5mt10711
subject: Ridgeline Site
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118031/ridgeline-site
subject: 5MT10684
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118034/5mt10684
subject: Dry Ridge site
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118033/dry-ridge-site
subject: 5MT10631
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118036/5mt10631
subject: Mueller Little House
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118035/mueller-little-house
subject: 5MT10686
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118038/5mt10686
subject: 5MT10687
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118040/5mt10687
subject: Sagebrush House Site
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118039/sagebrush-house-site
subject: 5MT2037
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118042/5mt2037
subject: Pasquin Site
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118041/pasquin-site
subject: Dillard Site
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118012/dillard-site
subject: TJ Smith Site
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118014/tj-smith-site
subject: 5MT10647
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118013/5mt10647
subject: Shepherd Site
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118016/shepherd-site
subject: 5MT10736
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118015/5mt10736
subject: 5MT10719
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118018/5mt10719
subject: 5MT3875
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118017/5mt3875
subject: 5MT2032
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118020/5mt2032
subject: Switchback site
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118019/switchback-site
subject: 5MT10709
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118022/5mt10709
subject: Portulaca Point
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118021/portulaca-point
subject: Badger site
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/745/badger-site
subject: 5MT10718
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118027/5mt10718
subject: Project Report
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/80768/project-report
subject: Basketmaker Communities Project
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/166436/basketmaker-communities-project
subject: Archaeological Overview
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/1/archaeological-overview
subject: Data Recovery / Excavation
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/5/data-recovery-excavation
subject: Remote Sensing
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/22/remote-sensing
subject: Heritage Management
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/24/heritage-management
subject: Research Design / Data Recovery Plan
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/9/research-design-data-recovery-plan
subject: Site Evaluation / Testing
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/10/site-evaluation-testing

description: This report details work by the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center (Crow Canyon) during the Basketmaker Communities Project, a multi-faceted research and public education archaeological initiative undertaken by Crow Canyon from 2011 through 2017. The primary purpose of the Basketmaker Communities Project was to study the history and social organization of a large Basketmaker III period (A.D. 500–750) settlement in the central Mesa Verde region and to track the long-term impacts of that settlement on later populations. The Basketmaker Communities Project was guided by two consecutive research designs: “A Proposal to Conduct Archaeological Testing at Indian Camp Ranch, Montezuma County, Colorado” Ortman et al. 2011, which guided fieldwork from 2011 to 2014, and “A Proposal to Expand Basketmaker Communities Project Research: An Addendum to A Proposal To Conduct Archaeological Testing at Indian Camp Ranch, Montezuma County, Colorado” (Ryan and Diederichs 2014), which guided work from 2015 to 2017. The project was conducted in partnership with the University of Colorado Boulder and funded with grants from the National Science Foundation, Earthwatch, and the History Colorado State Historical Fund. The fieldwork portion of the project was conducted on 31 lots in the Indian Camp Ranch subdivision outside of Cortez, Colorado, and on private property belonging to Gayle Larson just north of the Indian Camp Ranch subdivision. Additional collections analysis was undertaken on artifacts from the Payne site (5MT12205) curated at the Canyons of the Ancients Visitors Center and Museum. Over the course of the Basketmaker Communities Project, 75 archaeological sites were recorded or rerecorded, and forms were submitted to the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. Crow Canyon excavated 13 of the recorded sites and conducted intensive surface artifact analysis and/or geophysical imaging at an additional 18 sites. All sites investigated during the Basketmaker Communities Project are in Montezuma County in southwest Colorado. The Basketmaker Communities Project supported Crow Canyon’s mission, which is to conduct archaeological research and education in partnership with American Indians and institutions with common interests. Programs at Crow Canyon seek to broaden public understanding of American cultural heritage, build a constituency for the conservation of archaeological resources, facilitate understanding between the archaeological community and American Indian peoples, and conduct research that produces important contributions to the social sciences and humanities.