Nine Mile Canyon: the archaeological history of an American treasure

Abstract

With an estimated 10,000 ancient rock art sites, Mile Canyon has long captivated people the world over. The 45-mile-long canyon, dubbed the World s Longest Art Gallery, hosts what is believed to be the largest concentration of rock art in North America. But rock art is only part of the amazing archaeological fabric that scholars have been struggling to explain for more than a century. Jerry D. Spangler takes the reader on a journey into Mile Canyon through the eyes of the generations of archaeologistswho have gone there only to leave bewildered by what it all means. The early visitors in the 1890s were determined to recover collections for museums but never much cared to understand the people who left the artifacts. Then came a cadre of young scientists the first to be trained specifically in archaeology who found Mile Canyon to be an intriguing laboratory that yielded more questions than answers. Scholars such as Noel Morss, Donald Scott, Julian Steward, John Gillin, and John Otis Brew all left their boot prints there. Today, archaeological research is experiencing another renaissance a new generation of university-trained archaeologists is determined to unravel the mystery of Mile Canyon using scientific tools and techniques that were unavailable to past generations. Through the words and thoughts of the archaeologists, as well as the more than 150 photos, readers come to see Mile Canyon as an American treasure unlike any other. As the first book that is devoted exclusively to the archaeology of this uniqueplace, Nine Mile Canyon will evoke fascination among scholars and the general public alike.