Programs and Field Trips
Next Meeting
Tuesday, April 16, 2014, 7:00 PM
Homesteading the Taos Plateau: Connecting the Past to the Present
Presenter: Dr. Scott Ingram, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Colorado College
How do linear rock alignments, shallow reservoirs, and a log cabin inspire a group of undergraduate students to make a profound discovery? The context of the work is the Taos Plateau, the modern-day Rio Grande del Norte National Monument (northwest of Taos, New Mexico), managed by the BLM. Homesteaded by Hispanos and Euro-Americans soon after World War I, the Taos Plateau was a late manifestation of the amended Homesteading Act of 1862. The story of homesteading this arid and starkly beautiful landscape has been virtually unrecorded. We are investigating: Who lived in this place, when and how did settlement occur, why did people settle here without perennial water sources, and what happened to this community? Our methods include dendroarchaeological and artifact analysis, documentary records, and interviews. One can sometimes wonder when recording archaeological sites if the work is important, if anyone will really care. Our discovery answered those questions for us.
An archaeological anthropologist, Dr. Scott Ingram is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Colorado College. One of his foremost research objectives is to advance understanding of depopulation’s and migrations in the North American Southwest, especially during the dramatic population decline of the 1300 to 1500 CE period. He earned both his MA in Anthropology and his doctorate in Anthropology at Arizona State University.
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You may also join by phone:
323-705-3156
Meeting ID: 704800334#
Join us in person
Fire Station 19
2490 Research Parkway
Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80920
Future Field Trips
April 27, 2024
Paint Mines Interpretative Park
Dr. Robert Mutaw will lead a trip to the Paint Mines Interpretive Park. We will walk, mostly downhill, along gravel surfaced trails covering about 1.5 miles in distance, 9,000 years of history, and 35 million years of geological time. There is no water at the park so bring plenty. Picnic tables are available for lunch in the park.
For more information see: Archaeology and Geomorphology of Paint Mines Interpretive Park, El Paso County, Southwestern Lore, 88(4), Winter 2022.
May 25, 2024
Lamb Spring Archaeological Preserve
Visit the only paleolithic archaeological site open to the public in the entire state of Colorado! This important archaeological site dates back at least 15,500 years. Located on open ranch land, our guide will paint a picture of life at this spring over the course of thousands of years.
IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THIS FIELD TRIP:
- Free – no entrance fee!
- Tour is 1½ hours long. This is a private tour led by Jack Warner, previous CAS President, and longtime Lamb Spring volunteer. (No pets allowed.)
- Expect about ½ mile of walking on an unpaved road with a mild slope.
- We will be outdoors the entire time, in open ranch country, so plan to dress for the weather. (Bring hat, sunscreen, layers, water, optional folding chair.) Be aware that there is NO indoor facility with lots of pretty displays. Jack will describe life at this spring for early humans who hunted and camped here as well as some of the Ice Age mammals that gathered at the spring: camels, horses, sloths, llamas, wolves, and mammoths. He will pass around a small artifact display case, and we will see an impressive mammoth skull, found at this site.
- Lamb Spring is located near Littleton, Colorado. (The general location is between Chatfield State Park and Roxborough State Park.)
- Please note: You are responsible for your own carpooling arrangements.
- There is NO water and NO bathroom on site. You may want to allow time for a quick rest stop on the way. (Jack recommends the Safeway at the Roxborough Marketplace shopping center, 8355 North Rampart Range Road, Littleton.)
- CHAPTER POLICY: You must be a member to participate in field trips.
- When you sign up, you will receive an email containing (a) a Lamb Spring tour packet with directions, map, and waiver of liability form, (b) the PPC/CAS waiver form. You must bring both forms – signed – to the field trip.
OPTIONAL LUNCH AFTER THE FIELD TRIP (pay your own way):
- Waterton Tavern (in the Roxborough Marketplace shopping center), 8361 North Rampart Range Road, Littleton, CO 80125, (720) 362-2337
- Check out the menu at www.WatertonTavern.com.
