This is the piece of surveying equipment (Total System?) used to measure the location and elevation of points around the site in order to produce the contour map.

Setting up the Total System before starting to take measurements on points.

The Northern rim of the ballcourt, the feature of Ridge Ruin that is to be mapped.

Saul has the other piece that goes with the Total system. The prism on the end of the pole reflects back to the transom mounted Total and the measurements are written down. The site had been flagged with several hundred points to be measured.  The more points, the better map you'll end up with.

I found these two sherd pieces lying near each other, and they fit together perfectly. There didn't seem to be any curve to the surface of the pieces and the rim was thin and smooth. Beautiful!

 Some flagged points
on the eastern rim
of the ballcourt.

Large, very curved sherd found on the wall fall of the pueblo on the top of the hill.

Left-the terraces of the pueblo site on the top of the hill.

Right - wall rubble on top of pueblo mound.

Looking northeast from the pueblo to the ballcourt. Dr. Downum is standing in the center of the ballcourt.

The surrounding landscape was littered with thousands of sherds of many types.

Left - you can make out the oval shaped ballcourt in the center of the photo.

Right - the crew at work.

Waiting out a lightning storm in the car. Kind of wrecked the latter half of the day as far as getting points measured.  Will have to return to finish measurements. Dr. Downum has many stories of archaeologists struck by lightening, one of the higher causes of death in the profession.

These four shots were an attempt to get the landscape of the ballcourt. hard to see in the photos at this size, but the originals make it much more clear.

Saul, Maggie, Teresa, Catherine, and
Dr. Downum.

Left - Catherine pieces these three sherds together, a Medicine Black on Red.

Right - the crew heads home for day, this photo is in the doorway to the plaza area at the pueblo site.

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Chapter 8, "The Sinagua", The Archaeology of Ancient Arizona.

Pilles, Peter J.
1987 The Sinagua: Ancient People of the Flagstaff Region. In Exploration: Wupatki and
    Walnut Canyon, pp. 2-11. Annual Bulletin of the School of American Research, Santa Fe.

The Sinagua are divided into a northern branch, located in the Flagstaff area, and a southern branch in the middle Verde River Valley. Environmental diversity is one of the hallmarks of the area, with wooded areas at high elevations, cinder cones, the San Francisco Peaks, and barren areas of cinder and lava. The northern branch is the better known of the two because of the work of Harold Colton and other archaeologists working out of the Museum of Northern Arizona. In a geographic position between the Kayenta Anasazi to the north, the little-known Cohonino Culture to the west, and the Hohokam to the south, the essentially Mogollon background of the Sinagua always showed the effects of interacting with people of different cultures, much like the Classic Mimbres and Salado cultures. This multicultural characteristic took on even greater proportions after the eruption of Sunset Crater Volcano.

Population density was low during the early occupation of the area. Small pithouse villages existed around A.D. 675, and some sites have community rooms. Around A.D. 900 population started to increase and villages were established along the eastern flanks of the peaks. The first ballcourts in the area appeared at about this time, and farming was more intensified, with terraces and fieldhouses.

In the fall of A.D. 1064, and continuing for nearly 200 years, Sunset Crater Volcano erupted, spreading ash and cinders over an 800 square mile area. After the initial eruption, the Flagstaff Sinagua dramatically increased their interaction with their neighbors. The Sinagua reached their height during the Elden Phase (A.D. 1150-1250), with increased aggregation and the construction of Wupatki, Walnut Canyon, New Caves, Ridge Ruin, Elden Pueblo, and other sites. Three models have been proposed to explain the cultural interaction that took place after the eruption:

Agricultural Potential Model: Harold Colton thought the cinders and ash laid down by the volcano increased the fertility of the soil thus attracting farmers from surrounding areas.

Trade Model: Peter Pilles has proposed that instead of people moving into the area, the Flagstaff Sinagua began to function as traders in a heightened exchange of commodities manufactured in surrounding areas.

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In 1939, human remains representing a minimum of sixteen
individuals were removed from Ridge Ruin (NA 1785) during legally
authorized excavations by Dr. John McGregor of the Museum of Northern
Arizona. No known individuals were identified. The 1,595 associated
funerary objects include pottery bowls, jars and pitchers; wood
carvings; stone and bone tools; projectile points; turquoise beads,
jewelry and figurines; shell beads and jewelry; burial mats; woven
baskets; and macaw remains.

Federal Register: October 3, 1997 (Volume 62, Number 192)]
[Notices]
[Page 51898-51903]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

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