Meade F. Kemrer, PhD Archaeological Consulting

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The Pump Mesa Survey 

  Meade F. Kemrer Archaeological Consulting performed an intensive archaeological survey along 13.47 miles (21.68 km) of gas pipelines on Pump Mesa located 4.5 miles (11.65 km) west of  Archuleta, New Mexico and directly west of Pine River and north of the Navajo Dam in San Juan County, in northwestern New Mexico.

The survey identified 14 sites associated with the pipeline corridor.  Four sites were residential Anasazi Pueblo I (AD 700-900) loci.  Three sites could not be culturally or temporally characterized by survey, but all were definitely specialized activity areas.  The remaining seven sites were occupied by Early Navajo within the AD 1650? - 1750 interval.

Research designed for this project characterized relationships between site locations and environmental variables.  Selection of site setting by cultural period and for site usage (type) clearly affects site content visibility and site burial.  Anasazi Pueblo I residential sites exhibit the highest potential for sites being buried.  All of the four sites are emplaced on deep soils and on topographic settings where erosion effects are not severe and where soil aggradation could be greater than erosional deflation.  In contrast, Anasazi activity sites settings are in steeper slopes and thin soils and thus exhibit lower probabilities for buried features and deposits.

 These is evidence that Anasazi residential sites maintained high integrity despite chaining activities because they were buried.  Two of the Anasazi sites contain only derivative indicators - burned jacal fragments.  Architecture is actually visible on one site.  Additionally, features not visible but always present include extramural hearths/roasting features and other activity areas.  Storage pits invariably also occur in residential sites, but none are visible.  The data thus indicate that Anasazi sites are likely to at least partially buried.

 Residential site setting selection differentiate the Early Navajo from the Anasazi.  Both Early Navajo residential sites and activity areas are in slopes, with rocky or thin soils and all are eroded.  All sites exhibit low probabilities for buried features.  Residential features are exposed or could be exposed with shallow stripping excavation.

All nonresidential activity sites in this sample, are in settings where their content is nearly entirely exposed.  All of these sites are adjacent to escarpments on mesa benches that invariably are eroded and thus have shallow soils.  As a consequence, all types of features are exposed, visible, and low potential for feature and deposit burial.