Collections
Tabeguache Pueblo, a solitary residential ruin that was inhabited around AD 1100 before being forsaken, serves as a prime illustration of the dispersed Pueblo settlement. This Pueblo settlement showcases an early instance of Ancient Pueblo's scattered habitation, which was populated around the year 1100 before eventually being deserted. This collection holds all the objects excavated by C.T. Hurst in the 1940s.
From around 600 BC to AD 1400, the cave was inhabited and a corn cob found within it, dating back to about AD 1500, suggests that prior to European interaction with the region, certain groups were still cultivating corn in western Colorado following the Southwestern "Anasazi" bloom. Noteworthy artifacts excavated from the cave encompass a split-twig figurine from 600 BCE, a discovery considered to be much later and located significantly east than where such figurines are commonly unearthed.
More about the Graham Collection to come.
This expansive and deep-set stone shelter, inhabited from as early as 600 AD to potentially 1500 AD, has produced brownware ceramics, spurring inquiries about whether the Pueblos deserted their land or were absorbed into a new populace. It also raises questions on how these transitions corresponded with the Ute's appearance in the region. There are also two other rock shelters near Nucla, Colorado.
More collections coming soon.
At the site is Basketmaker artifacts in a well-preserved state, including cured deer skin, baskets, and two distinct styles of yucca-leaf footwear. Their most significant find was a bundle positioned thirty inches beneath the surface in a garbage heap. Constructed out of strips of juniper bark and divided yucca leaves, the oval-shaped bundle housed fourteen complete ears of corn and almost a gallon of dehusked corn. Given the immaculate state of the corn, Hurst theorized that it was likely seed corn.
First inhabited around 270BC, this expansive rockshelter was where the earliest corn discovered in Colorado was found. It was officially recorded on September 11, 1996, and was first excavated by Clarence T. Hurst in 1947. This cave revealed a hidden stash of corn that was subsequently dated using radiocarbon methods. At this site, the team led by Hurst could only conduct limited excavations due to the strain of daily treks between their base camp and the distant cave.
The Shelter is a multi-faceted site likely inhabited during the latter part of the Prehistoric era and possibly even during the Protohistoric period. This cavernous dwelling featured stone fortifications, ceramics, maize, turkey plumes, bones, groundstroke, bone trinkets, spiraled basketry, attachment materials, turquoise, a stone talisman, and rock carvings. The presence of a wide array of stone implements hint at strong ties with the Pueblo culture
A growing collection of pottery, including ceramic vessels, sherds, bowls, and more. Including but not limited to Biscuit Wares, Pre-Pueblo Wares, Blue gray type, Black-on red, and Crackled Black-on-white. On the most basic level, this form of ceramics came about from heating clay at a sufficiently high temperature to trigger a chemical alteration, turning the formerly plastic clay into a rigid, resilient ceramic substance. They were the daily life utensils used for storing food and seeds for future crops, preparing and serving meals, transporting items from one location to another.
Tabeguache Cave, spanning roughly 125 feet and featuring a forty-foot overhang, housed artifacts from three distinct periods of Basketmaker II occupancy. The cave's northerly orientation, devoid of direct sunlight, led Hurst to hypothesize its use as a summer dwelling. Logs from the cave were traced back to the 300s CE. Hurst's archaeological digs uncovered cultural residues as deep as forty inches, which included spear points, tools made from bones and wood, and remnants of corn, squash, and acorns. Additionally, fragments of baskets, a sandal made from yucca leaves, and a retaining wall with a platform portioning off some of the floor space were discovered. A five-foot petroglyph attributed to the Basketmaker era was found on one cave wall, featuring a humanoid depiction.
More about the Cone Collection to come.