Prehistoric Pueblos of the American Southwest

  United States

Monticello Box Ranch,  Rio Alamosa

Duration of Program: 1-2 weeks
Typical Duration of Program: 1-2 weeks
Dates: Inquire for specific dates.

Description: Research Mission
When cultures collide, history happens. You can help find out what happened on the boundary between two ancient Pueblo peoples.

Situation Report
Monticello Box Ranch, Rio Alamosa, southwestern New Mexico -- 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 shed light on the biological and cultural relationships between prehistoric populations here, with lessons for the future.

Meals and Accommodations
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.

Highlights: On the Expedition
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.

Qualifications: Earthwatch volunteers are enthusiastic to learn about the research topic and are willing to contribute their time and energy to support leading scientists in conducting field research. Volunteers will be trained upon arrival at the research site. Teams have a minimum age of 18, unless accompanied by parent or legal guardian, in which case the minimum age is 16.

Cost in US$: 2,146

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: Earthwatch expeditions appeal to a variety of people: educators gain new knowledge and develop exciting lesson plans; students explore career options and build research skills; writers, photographers and artists contribute their skills and share their experiences through a variety of media; businessmen and women, doctors and nurses, engineers, homemakers, retirees . . . people from all walks of life choose to volunteer on research expeditions each year. Volunteers are actively engaged on a daily basis with the research project, develop global perspectives, and explore new cultures and environments.

Age Range: 18+

This Program is open to Families, Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to United States Independently

Typically Participants Work in Groups of 2-8

Application Process Involves:

• Other
• Phone Interview
• Physical Exam/Health Records
• Written Application

Earthwatch Institute's Mission Statement: Earthwatch Institute engages people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment. Through a unique method of funding, the volunteers Share of Cost contributes directly to the support of the research projects. Earthwatch enables scientists to pursue research goals and members of the public to gain hands-on experience with science. Each year, over 4,000 people from 46 countries directly contribute to scientific research by working alongside scientists, local community members and other volunteers. Earthwatch volunteers can track sea turtles; join archaeological digs; observe animal behavior; collect rare plants, study dolphin behavior and more. The Earthwatch community also includes 20,000 global members, 4,000 eager volunteers each year, 50 collaborating conservation organizations, and 50 corporate partners, all of whom work together to make a difference. Below you will find out more about our leadership, employment opportunities, and contact information.

Year Founded: 1971