The 2003 UCCS field school took place on the United States
Forest Service’s Comanche National Grassland, along the Purgatoire River, south of La Junta, CO. The goal of the
excavations was to investigate the homestead of the Lopez family, who
settled in the area originally during the 1870’s. The accompanying
documentary record of and by the site’s occupants is unusually rich, but
is only one of several data sources with potential to tell us about their
lives. Research questions revolve around market participation and
the construction and manipulation of ethnic and gender identities.
The site consists of the foundations and remnants of adobe walls of
several buildings, including what may be the family home and an enclosed
plaza. Excavations in 2003 focused on the area around the plaza and an
attached block of rooms. A significant number of artifacts were recovered
including two coins, a number of brass shell casings, a decorative
bakelite woman’s hair comb, and farm equipment.
The
canyons in this area are full of both prehistoric
and historical archaeological sites, including spectacular rock art, to which we take field trips in the evenings.
The Lopez site will be the location of the 2005 field school, as
we continue research there.
Click Image to enlarge
2005 Lopez Field School |
