June 2 - July 23, 2008

The University of Utah's 2008 summer program in archaeological field techniques will be held at Range Creek Canyon in east central Utah. Jointly sponsored by the Department of Anthropology and the Utah Museum of Natural History, this course offers students the opportunity to learn modern archaeological field and lab techniques in an ongoing field research program. Under the direction of Dr. Duncan Metcalfe, participants in the program will also recieve training in archaeological method and theory.

Preference will be given to applications received prior to March 30, 2008.
Application will be accepted until late May.

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Course Description

The University of Utah's summer program in archaeological field methods will be held at Range Creek Canyon. Sponsored by the Department of Anthropology and the Utah Museum of Natural History, this eight-week field course is designed to teach basic archaeological field methods. Under the direction of Duncan Metcalfe (Associate Professor of Anthropology), participants will receive training in a variety of field techniques including survey, mapping, soil identification, and aspects of paleo-ecological research. No previous experience is necessary, but some exposure to basic archaeological and anthropological concepts is recommended.

Admission to the field school is limited to 12 students. Admission is by application only. Priority for admission will be given to current University of Utah students and those pursuing a professional career in archaeology or a related discipline. Students will earn 8 semester credits upon successful completion of the field school (Anthr. 5712).

Participants must provide their own health insurance, a small tool kit, basic personal camping equipment, and transportation to the University of Utah.

Preference will be given to applications received prior to March 30, 2008. Applications will be accepted until late May.

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Location and Setting


Range Creek Canyon (Map)

The University of Utah's 2007 summer program in archaeological field methods will be held in Range Creek Canyon for the sixth year. Range Creek is a tributary of the Green River on the West Tavaputs Plateau in east-central Utah. Extremely remote due to the rugged character of the plateau, Range Creek is bordered by Nine Mile Canyon to the north, the Book Cliffs to the east and south, and Desolation Canyon to the east. The canyon heads at about 10,200 feet in elevation and descends rapidly until it merges with the Green River at an elevation of about 4,200 ft. The canyon itself is extremely rugged, consisting basically of a narrow, sinuous canyon floor at the base of canyon walls that tower in places nearly 3,000 feet overhead. The dozen or so named side-canyons that open into Range Creek, as well as the many unnamed ones, provide even the casual visitor with breathtaking vistas.

A long section of the lower canyon floor was a privately-owned ranch until it was transferred to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in 2002. Although the ranch in the lower canyon includes only about 1,500 acres, it provides access to nearly an additional 50,000 acres in the canyon. In 2004, ownership of the ranch was transferred to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) which, with the assistance of the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation (DPR), currently manages the property. Because of the long and vigilant efforts of the family that owned the ranch, and the dedicated efforts of the staff of the BLM, DWR and DPR, the archaeological sites in the area are in excellent condition. The vast majority of the sites recorded to date are associated with the Fremont archaeological complex, which dates between about A.D. 500 and A.D. 1350. During the first four years of work in the canyon, we located and recorded over 300 archaeological sites.

Simply stated, Range Creek Canyon shares many similarities with world-famous Nine Mile Canyon, but without the 100 years of overt vandalism, visitor wear and tear, and the impacts of intensive ranching. We are unaware of another region in the state of Utah that has the sheer number and density of essentially untouched archaeological sites.

Expect comfortable but relatively primitive living conditions. We will be camping at the Wilcox ranch, which was a working ranch until a few years ago. Students are expected to provide their own camping equipment (personal tents, sleeping bags and pads, etc.). Meals during the ten-day work sessions will be prepared by a professional cook. Water, toilets, and archaeological field equipment (aside from the personal tool kit) will be provided by the field program. All students will be expected to assist in the daily camp chores required to keep a field camp running smoothly. Additionally, one day of each field session will be devoted to maintaining the ranch, and will include such activities as landscape upkeep, cutting firewood, painting, mowing, etc. It is a small price to pay for having access to the main ranch house for cooking facilities, the bunkhouse and a log cabin for research facilities. Students will also assist with cooking on a one-day rotational basis.

Currently at Range Creek we are surveying randomly chosen quadrants. In the past, all survey blocks have been located near the main road, which runs through the canyon. Crews could return to camp at the end of each work day. Now we're ready to survey more distant blocks that take a day's hike to reach. Crews will be required to camp overnight on location. All equipment, water and food wlll be packed in on horseback. We recommend that each crew member have a small, lightweight backpacking-type tent in addition to the tent he/she pitches at the ranch. This will be lighter for the horses and crew members won't have to break down their tents at the main ranch site.

The ranch is in an extremely isolated part of Utah. Access is by a dugway (a dirt road cut into the side of a canyon wall by a bulldozer) that crosses an 8,700 foot pass. When wet, the dugway is all but impassable. In good weather, it takes about 2 hours to travel from the ranch to the nearest major town, Price. For safety reasons, students are discouraged from bringing personal vehicles to the field. Cellular phones do not work in the canyon, although a satellite phone is available for emergencies.

The course will consist of four 10-day field sessions separated by 4-day breaks. One or two vehicles will return to Salt Lake City at the beginning of each break and students have the option of staying in camp or going to Salt Lake City. Students choosing to remain in camp will be responsible for their own food and general camp management during the breaks.

The weather tends to be unpredictable and can change dramatically without notice. In general, expect hot days and warm nights, and dry weather punctuated by afternoon thunderstorms. This field season is sufficiently late that insects should not be a major problem, but students should be alert for rattlesnakes and black bears. The major problems are likely to be injuries due to falling, sunburn, dehydration and sore muscles. Bear in mind that this is a field school working out of a field camp: storms can blow down tents, flood sites, and trench roads; vehicles break down and get stuck; medical facilities are quite some distance away. Much of the success or failure of the field season will be a function of everyone cheerfully pitching in to overcome the adversities that are guaranteed to arise.

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Research Agenda

At Range Creek Canyon, the field school will continue identifying and recording sites in the canyon. In addition to survey, students will make detailed surface maps of several of the larger occupational sites. We hope to test-excavate one or two of the larger alcoves for depth, stratigraphic integrity, and artifact preservation. Students will be introduced to total stations used for detailed site mapping; ArcView and Surfer computer software for ensuring data quality; basic excavation techniques; the feature system for organizing excavation notes; and the field specimen cataloging system.

Field schools provide a unique educational opportunity to train students in modern field techniques by investigating actual sites. Since archaeological sites are finite resources, are protected by federal and state laws, and represent the sole source of knowledge about the past before written records, field schools are a blend of education and basic research. Research designs (the basic questions to be addressed through survey and excavation) are written, permits obtained and contractual obligations formed before entering the field. This is as true for a field school as it is for a professional archaeological investigation. Experience indicates that during the first part of a field school, training students is the foremost goal; during the last part, achieving research goals is the higher priority. This means that at first every attempt will be made to give each student experience with each field activity, but as the season progresses students will be assigned to tasks they perform best.

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Tuition

Required Equipment

Most field equipment will be provided. However, field school participants are required to assemble a small personal tool kit. This includes the tools and other equipment that are frequently used during survey and excavation. Many of the items are fairly common and students may find that they already own some of them.

Required Field School Tool Kit:

Optional Additional Field School Tool Kit

Personal Equipment. Expect hot days, cool nights, and lots of time in the sun.

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Enrollment and Application

Admission

Admission to the field school is limited to 12 students and applicants must complete the application form as soon as possible. Priority for admission will be given to students currently enrolled at the University of Utah and those who are pursuing a professional career in archaeology, geoarchaeology, anthropology or related disciplines.

Experience

No previous field experience is required for admission to the field school, but some exposure to the basic concepts of archaeology, anthropology or earth sciences is recommeded. Applicants must also be able to meet the strenuous demands of archaeological survey and excavation in the rugged but scenic conditions of the Colorado Plateau.

Registration

Those accepted to the program should register for ANTHR 5712 for 8 credit hours. The class (index) number will be provided to accepted participants in time for them to enroll for Summer 2007.

Credit hours and fees

All students must participate in the full eight-week field school and will receive from 8 semester credits (for tuition costs, click here.). In addition, there is no special fee this year for transportation and food. Documentation of payment of tuition must be completed by June 2, 2008 (the first day of the first session). Note that tuition amounts are subject to change without notice. The exact tuition amount for Summer 2008 (which is part of the 2008-2009 academic year) will not be available until some time during April 2008, but there is usually a 10% increase between one academic year and the next.

Insurance

Participants must provide their own health insurance. Student health insurance plans are available through the University of Utah. Please contact:

Documentation of payment of insurance must be submitted by June 2, 2008.

Equipment

Students must provide their own basic equipment in the form of a small tool kit. Arrangements can be made through the University of Utah Archaeological Center to borrow required high-cost field equipment.

Financial Assistance

Financial assistance must be obtained through the office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

Transportation

Students must provide their own transportation to Salt Lake City, Utah. Transportation assistance in the Salt Lake area (i.e., from the airport, bus station, etc.) to the University of Utah is available. Students should make arrangements at a local hotel or hostel in Salt Lake City on the breaks and for early arrival before sessions begin.

APPLICATION

Staff

Duncan Metcalfe Associate Professor of Anthropology and Curator of Archaeology, Utah Museum of Natural History.

Shannon Arnold Boomgarden Assistant Director/Field Supervisor.

Joel Boomgarden Teaching Assistant/Field Supervisor.

Rachelle Green Teaching Assistant.

Jamie Clark Teaching Assistant.

Corinne Springer Site Manager.

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Recommended Reading

The following reading is recommended. Click the link for a PDF of each article. Those without a link will be posted soon. This reading and more will be available in our field library for students to check out.

Prehistory of Utah

Kelly, R.L. (1997). Late Holocene Great Basin Prehistory. Journal of World Prehistory 11: 1-50. kelly_1997

Madsen, D.B. and Simms, S.R. (1998). The Fremont Complex: A Behavioral Perspective. Journal of World Prehistory, Vol. 12, No. 3: 255-336. madsen_and_simms_1998

Archaeology

Binford, L. (1980). Willow Smoke and Dogs' Tails: Hunter-Gatherer Settlement Systems and Archaeological Site Formation. American Antiquity 45: 4-20. Binford 1980

Metcalfe, D. and Barlow, K.R. (1992). A Model for Exploring the Optimal Tradeoff between Field Processing and Transport. American Anthropologist 94: 340-356. metcalfe_and_barlow_1992

O'Connell, J.F. (1993). What can Great Basin Archaeologists Learn from Prehistoric Site Structure? An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective. Utah Archaeology 1993: 7-26. oconnell1993

O'Connell, J.F. (1987). Alyawarra site structure and its archaeological implications. American Antiquity 57: 74-108. oconnell_1987

Spangler, J.D. (2000). One-Pot Pithouses and Fremont Paradoxes: Formative Stage Adaptations in the Tavaputs Plateau Region of Northeastern Utah. In Intermountain Archaeology, Eds. Madsen and Metcalf, University of Utah Anthropological Papers, No. 122. spangler2008

Theory

Bird, D. and O'Connell, J. (2006) Behavioral Ecology and Archaeology. Journal of Archaeological Research. Bird and O'Connell 2006

Climate

Benson et al. (2006) Possible impacts of early-11th, middle-12th-, and late-13th-century droughts on western Native Americans and the Mississippian Cahokians. Quaternary Sciences Reviews. benson_et_al_qsr

Posters

Metcalfe, D. and Arnold, S. (2008) Exploring the cost of hoarding in Range Creek Canyon. Poster presented at the Society for American Archaeology Conference in Vancouver B.C. metcalfe_and_arnold 2008

Arnold, S. (2008) Viewshed analysis of stored resources in Range Creek Cnayon, Central Utah. Poster presented at the Society for American Archaeology Conference in Vancouver B.C. arnold_saa_2008

Green, R. (2008) New date from 42Em19 confirms intense Fremont occupation of Range Creek Canyon, Utah.  Poster presented at the Society for American Archaeology Conference in Vancouver B.C. Green_2008

Clark, J. (2008)

Hill, B. (2008)

Spurling, A. (2008)

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