Legacy Projects

Crow Canyon’s legacy was built on the idea that the public could play an integral role in advancing knowledge of the human experience.

The Village Testing Project

Legacy Project

1994–1997

A testing project designed to complement the Center’s earlier research in the nearby Sand Canyon locality.

Castle Rock Pueblo

Legacy Project

1992–1994

A four-year project focused on the conditions of regional depopulation in the late 1200s.

Shields Pueblo

Legacy Project

1997–2000

Shields Pueblo contributed to our understanding of the nature and timing of population aggregation in the central Mesa Verde region.

The Village Mapping Project

Legacy Project

1993–1995

A project dedicated to the collection of detailed surfacial information about Pueblo II–III villages outside the Sand Canyon locality.

Albert Porter Pueblo

Legacy Project

2001–2004

A four-year testing project focused on the the historic development of the village and the associated community.

Digital Curation of the Basketmaker Communities Project Data

Legacy Project

January–December, 2021

A publicly accessible and secure digital archive of the Basketmaker Communities Project, an essential component of historic preservation and project planning.

A regional research project that examined the development and depopulation of Ancestral Pueblo communities in the Mesa Verde archaeological region from A.D. 900 to 1300, incorporating data gathered at the residential, community, and regional levels.

Goodman Point Community Project

Legacy Project

2005–2010

Builds on preceding community studies of the A.D. 1200s and involves excavations at the large village of Goodman Point Pueblo and surrounding smaller sites.

The Village Ecodynamics Project

Legacy Project

2001–2014

An award-winning multidisciplinary collaboration among researchers at several different institutions to study the interaction between Ancestral Pueblo people and their environment over more than a thousand years, beginning in A.D. 600.

The Basketmaker Communities Project

Legacy Project

2011–2020

A multi-faceted research and public education archaeological initiative focused on the history and social organization of a large Basketmaker III period (A.D. 500–750) settlement in the central Mesa Verde region.

The Duckfoot Site

Legacy Project

1983–1997

The Duckfoot site investigation was the first major research project to be undertaken by the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center.

Woods Canyon Pueblo

Legacy Project

1994–1996

A two-year test excavation project to further our understanding of community development during the Pueblo II and Pueblo III periods.

Shared Historical Landscapes Project

Legacy Project

2014–2015

A K–12 curriculum integrating project-based, interdisciplinary, STEAM, and experiential learning in the classroom, in the field, and online. Students gain an appreciation for the natural and cultural diversity that has played such an important role in regional, state, and national history.

Yellow Jacket Pueblo

Legacy Project

1995–1997

Crow Canyon’s research at Yellow Jacket Pueblo (Site 5MT5) was conducted as part of the Village Testing Project to better understand regional settlement patterns.

Sand Canyon Archaeological Project

Legacy Project

1983–1993

A ten-year project exploring settlement studies in the Sand Canyon locality, focusing on the A.D. 1000–1290 period.