Alkali Ridge, also known as Alkali Point, is a set of widely scattered

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

remains of the earliest forms of

Puebloan The Pueblo peoples are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Among the currently inhabited Pueblos, Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zuni, and Hopi are some of the ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

, representing a period of transition from scattered, pit-style dwellings to a settled

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

lifestyle.

Description

These multi-story

building A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, a ...

s and

kiva A kiva (also ''estufa'') is a space used by Puebloans for rites and political meetings, many of them associated with the kachina belief system. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, "kiva" means a large room that is circula ...

s have yielded high-quality

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

, and form the type location for the Pueblo II period (c. 900 CE – c. 1100 CE). The landmarked areas are noted for the density of archaeological materials, with an average density of 200 sites per square mile across the area. These resources provide an important view of the transitions of early inhabitants from pit houses to

pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

s, because there are examples of all of the major forms between them. Its most important sites were first excavated in the 1930s. It was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1964. Cacao residue was detected in Site 13 ceramics after testing by University of Pennsylvania and Bristol-Meyers Squibb researchers. "At Alkali Ridge there are faint marks of an ancient road, likely a trade route that connected this settlement to trading and cultural partners beyond."

Bears Ears

The Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition (BEITC), which was formed in 2015 with representatives from the Hopi, Navajo, Ute Mountain Ute, Pueblo of Zuni, and Ute Indian Tribes submitted a report that led to the creation of

Bears Ears National Monument Bears Ears National Monument is a United States national monument located in San Juan County in southeastern Utah, established by President Barack Obama by presidential proclamation on December 28, 2016. The monument protects of public land s ...

which included Alkali Ridge as one of six "cultural special management areas" along with the Hole-in-the-Rock Historical Trail and the Grand Gulch, Big Westwater Ruin, Dance Hall Rock, Sand Island Petroglyph Panel, the Newspaper Rock Petroglyph Panel, and the Butler Wash Archaeological District National Register site.

References

External links

BLM page
on the Alkali Ridge area {{National Register of Historic Places National Historic Landmarks in Utah Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Utah Landforms of San Juan County, Utah Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Utah National Register of Historic Places in San Juan County, Utah

Description

Bears Ears

See also

References

Further reading

External links