A Historical Analysis and Synthesis of Grand Canyon Archaeology

Abstract

AbstractThis historically oriented description of the development of archaeological research and conceptualization in the area of Grand Canyon National Park begins with the contributions of the earliest Spanish explorers of the area and proceeds to research completed in 1964. Three periods of research are identified: discovery and exploration, 1540 to 1900; general investigation, 1900 to 1950; and concentrated analysis, 1951 to 1964. By the end of the first period the historic tribes and the presence of Pueblo ruins in the Grand Canyon area had been recognized. During the next 50 years many details were added to the understanding of the Pueblo material, including a sound temporal framework, the postulation of a second prehistoric group in the area, the Cohonina, and additional information on the ethnographic groups of the area accumulated. In the years between 1951 and 1964 there developed an increasingly complete description of the Cohonina branch, an analysis of Havasupai culture history, an examination of the Anasazi occupation within the depths of the Canyon, and the discovery of a Canyon occupancy some 2000 years earlier than had been known previously. Finally, a summary of the current conception of the area's culture history is presented, along with an indication of possible directions for future research.