Stratigraphy Cultural Deposits Research Statement Field and Lab Methods Conclusions References
In Durango Area a major transitional development known as the Basketmaker II period began about 300 BC and extended through AD 400 (Charles 2000). There was a significant increase in the use of domesticated crops (namely corn), and more substantial, perhaps permanent, year-round settlements. The Basketmaker II sites represented in the Durango area consist of two types: residential sites with shallow pit structures used for habitation, and procurement sites usually found near areas containing natural resources extracted in prehistoric times. The Durango area is one of a few locations of major Basketmaker II settlements in the Northern San Juan Basin (Morris and Burgh 1954; Reed and Kainer 1978), with the other being in the vicinity of the Navajo Reservoir (Eddy 1966). Scattered Basketmaker II habitation sites are found in the La Plata River Valley and throughout Southwest Colorado (Reed and Horn 1988; Brown 1991; Lipe 1999).
From about AD 450-AD 700 there was a population hiatus in the Durango area. The main cause for this drop in population has been interpreted as climatic (Fuller 1988; Vivian 1990). The area was repopulated about AD 700 with small villages consisting of generally one pit structure and associated storage rooms. This period in Durango is transitional between Basketmaker III and Pueblo I. About AD 750 the Area witnessed an increase in population that again could be attributed to changes in climate that forced populations northward into higher elevations. The Pueblo I period in Durango lasted from about AD 750 to AD 850 when the area was abandoned.
FLC students excavate a pit house at the Darkmold site
The history of excavations in the Durango area specifically is a fascinating one of interplay between amateur and professional archaeologists (Lister 1997). Two extremely important Basketmaker II sites, Talus Village and the Falls Creek Rock Shelters (Morris and Burgh 1954) were excavated during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The valuable information garnered from these excavations intensified the study of the Basketmaker II culture throughout the greater Southwest. The work conducted at the Falls Creek Shelters in particular was blemished by the lack of attention to the stratigraphy and to the context of the artifacts and burials by amateur archaeologists (Lister 1997). Moreover, the professional excavations conducted in the 1930s and 1940s predated many modern techniques and methods now routine to most archaeologists in the Southwest. Since that time, there have been few sites excavated in the general area that date to this period. An exception is the Tamarron Site, 5LP326 (Reed and Kainer 1978). The latter is a small, open site with one pit structure, two extramural features, and two human burials.
Click Here for a Map of the Durango Basketmaker Sites
The Darkmold site is one of four major Basketmaker II sites north of Durango, Colorado. It is just south of Talus Village, and it is suggested that like Talus Village, the Darkmold site is an open-air Basketmaker II habitation site with a later, less intensive Basketmaker III occupation. The Falls Creek Shelters (Morris and Burgh 1954) are just over 2 miles to the southwest. All of these sites contain storage features, slab-lined cists and roasting pits, house depressions, abundant artifacts and, in the case of the shelters, abundant perishable items and rock art. The Tamarron site, further to the north, is an open-air Basketmaker II habitation site with a pit structure, several cists, two burials and accompanying artifacts. Lacking chronometric dates, archaeologists Reed and Kainer (1978) relied on physical similarities in material culture and site furniture with Talus Village and the Falls Creek Shelters to suggest that the Tamarron site was occupied during the later part of the Basketmaker II period (Reed and Kainer 1978).