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Prehistoric Pueblos of the American Southwest

The Rio Alamosa forms the strategic borderland between the Anasazi to the north and the Mogollon to the south, two ancient Pueblo cultures typically considered to be distinct. Ruins reflecting more than 2,000 years of settlement, cultural interaction, and migration dot this extensive watershed, giving an exceptional cross-section of the region's past. Fortunately, this well-preserved treasure trove of cultural evolution is relatively untouched and awaits your investigation. You will work with Karl Laumbach and Dr. Dennis O'Toole, who plan to make the prehistory of the whole Rio Alamosa drainage available to educators, government agencies, and Native Americans. You will help… more

Prehistoric Pueblos of the American Southwest

The Rio Alamosa forms the strategic borderland between the Anasazi to the north and the Mogollon to the south, two ancient Pueblo cultures typically considered to be distinct. Ruins reflecting more than 2,000 years of settlement, cultural interaction, and migration dot this extensive watershed, giving an exceptional cross-section of the region's past. Fortunately, this well-preserved treasure trove of cultural evolution… more

Trip at-a-glance

Price: From $1,849* per person
Lodging: camping
When: June, October
Number of days: 10
Group size: 12

This trip is offered by:

Earthwatch Institute

Call them at 800-776-0188 about this trip and mention you saw it at TravelDragon, or contact them.

Trip details

In a dramatic canyon lined with willows, cottonwoods, juniper, and piñon pine, you will help excavate the Victorio site, one of the largest precontact pueblos in southwestern New Mexico. The site spans 700 years of occupation from a.d. 600 to a.d. 1300. Mornings, you and your team will excavate selected portions of the site, digging and clearing with trowels and shovels, while making notes and drawings of your excavations. In the afternoons you will return to the field laboratory, screened fan-colled porch, to wash, sort, and catalogue artifacts and review data. Orientation and training will include an excursion to the historic Ojo Caliente warm spring, lectures by visiting professionals, and demonstrations of flint-knapping and atlatl-propelled spear-throwing.

At an established field camp, a 20-minute walk from the excavation sites, you will sleep in your own sleeping bag in a large tent equipped with two or three cots. A nearby cabin with electricity features two full bathrooms, with hot showers and flush toilets, a two-hole privy, and an outdoor shower. The cabin also has a kitchen, where volunteers will cook their own breakfasts and lunches. Dinners of hearty camp fare will be prepared by a cook and served in a 100-year-old adobe building a short walk from the campsite.

As an Eons member, you'll get a free, 1 year membership to Earthwatch — a $35 value — when you sign up on any expedition. And members pay $100 less on their expedition contribution — so you save $135! Just put code EONS2007 in the comment field on the signup form, or, if you call, tell the Expedition Coordinator that you found us on Eons.

Earthwatch expedition-related costs may be tax-deductible in the US as volunteer expenses. Please check with your tax adviser.

*TRAVEL INFORMATION DISCLAIMER: Travel product and pricing information are the travel provider’s base estimates, published here as a convenience to TravelDragon users without verification by TravelDragon. Your actual price will vary depending upon length of trip, travel dates, number of traveling guests, transportation (e.g. airfare, rail passes, etc.), and optional service features such as room categories or individualized food requirements. This base price estimate may or may not include all necessary fees, taxes, government-imposed surcharges. Be sure to confirm availability, total price and trip details with the travel provider using the contact information provided here.

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