The Gila River Farm archaeological site dates to about 1300-1450 CE and represents occupation during the Salado/Cliff Phase of puebloan culture. The supervising archaeologists and field school participants estimate that the pueblo comprised about 50 rooms and supported around 200 individuals. Like almost all other archaeological sites in New Mexico, Gila River Farm was repeatedly looted beginning in the late 19th Century, and the ruins were further compromised by decades of farming and ranching activity. Nevertheless the archaeological record still contains useful scientific information.

The graduate students who led us on a tour of their test excavations explained that this year's work broadly focused on two issues: (1) identifying the perimeter walls of the entire pueblo complex; and (2) analyzing the migratory patterns of the various Native cultures known from artifacts to have lived and worked together here.

The field school discovered that the perimeter walls of the Gila River Farm ruins extend further in multiple directions than had been previously estimated. Moreover, the architecture of this pueblo is unusual in that its room blocks were uniformly single-story, with significantly larger rooms than at other contemporaneous sites and with greater attention paid to construction. Unlike many sites in the Mimbres Valley, for example, the Gila River Farm site does not appear to have hastily-built or improvised room structures. Instead, the walls at Gila River Farm were built with footers of two parallel courses of river stones (see photo just up there on the right), that were later covered with an adobe mixture applied and compacted by hand. One room - and one room only - disclosed evidence of having been destroyed by fire. (That photo on the left shows the charred remnants of a roof timber that had fallen to the floor. Click on the image - you'll see better.) No other evidence of accident or violence has been identified.

The students described to us visitors that the ceramics and other artifacts they have recovered from the site clearly indicate that this pueblo was a multicultural melting pot. Kayenta-style perforated ceramics suggest that certain groups migrated here from northeastern Arizona/northwestern New Mexico; while grinding bowls and mealing-bin arrangements left embedded in the floors of certain rooms (see photo, right) reflected a Mimbres-Mogollon cultural origin. After final analyses have been performed, this field school's research papers may reveal insights into how a succession of dissimilar cultures and ethnicities successfully immigrated into the Gila River Farm pueblo and lived peaceably with one another for over 150 years, incorporating one another's methods - and, presumably, beliefs - into their own daily routines.

The GCAS thanks the directing archaeologists and all the field school participants for presenting a well-rounded and informative explanation of the results of their hard work under hot sun. We hope to see you again next year!

/s/ webmaster