THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF PUEBLO GRANDE DE NEVADA

Abstract

Pueblo Grande de Nevada, more popularly known as “Lost City,” refers to a loosely defined series of archaeological sites in the Moapa Valley of southern Nevada. Excavated between the years of 1924 and 1941, these sites were to have a major impact on early-twentieth-century Southwestern archaeology. Despite the excitement that surrounded these finds at the time of their discovery, their legacy has largely been forgotten today. We argue one reason for this oversight is that the data obtained by the original researchers are inadequate for addressing the questions being asked of the region today. In particular, because plant and animal remains were not systematically recovered by the original researchers, the early fieldwork has provided only a broad sketch of the subsistence activities practiced in the region. To remedy these shortcomings, in 2006 archaeologists from the University of Nevada Las Vegas conducted additional excavations at House 20, a roomblock located within one of the so-called Lost City sites. In this paper, the history of the Lost City fieldwork is reviewed and results from our 2006 excavations are presented. The newly obtained data suggest that the inhabitants of House 20 were heavily invested in agriculture and utilized wild resources that could be obtained in the immediate vicinity.