The Creeping Dune Irrigation Site in Glen Canyon, Utah

Abstract

This early Pueblo III site in the Little Rincon of the Colorado River, about 17 river miles downstream from Hite, Utah, is the first site with an irrigation system of any kind to be noted in the upper Glen Canyon. It is most closely linked to the Kayenta branch of the Anasazi culture. It is unusual because of its distance from any center of cultural development and because of the complexity of the irrigation system. This system consists of a large masonry reservoir filled by an internal spring and drained by a metering gate and a slab-lined tunnel into a canal or ditch which was traced for 30 feet. Two possible gates were noted on the downslope side of the canal. Many notched slabs, which were possibly used as canal gates, were located in the reservoir area, but were not definitely associated with other features. Only two dwellings were located. Post-occupational erosion has changed surface contours and erased the possible connection between the reservoir and canal and the fields. The water supply is probably more limited now than at the time of occupation.

The Beaver Creek Agricultural Community on the San Juan River, Utah

“…Other agricultural communities in the Lower San Juan canyons exist at Castle Creek and Paiute Creek (Adams and Adams 1959: 16) and Desha Canyon (Turner and Miller 1961: 61). Similar ruins are also found in Glen Canyon at the Creeping Dune site (Sharrock, Dibble, and Anderson 1961).…”

“…A roundish structure, formed of heavy cobbles, was built in a well-shaded location at NA 7175 at the foot of the residual terrace. Although not excavated, it had the appearance of a cistern or a walled-in spring (Sharrock, Dibble, and Anderson 1961). Piles of stones, large boulders and upright stones occur frequently in the grid border systems.…”

Human Behavior, Demography, and Paleoenvironment on the Colorado Plateaus

“…Many of the intensification practices employed by the Anasazi, however, do leave tangible traces. Among these are reservoirs, irrigation works, linear borders, terraces, "waffle gardens," and (Dean et al 1978;Glassow 1980;Lindsay 1961;Rohn 1963;Sharrock et al 1961;Vivian 1974;Woodbury 1961;Woosley 1980). Local developments of these and other less visible agricultural techniques have been attributed to a variety of factors including habitat diversity (Woosley 1980), land configuration (Plog and Garrett 1972), environmental change (Dean et al 1978), population growth (Glassow 1980), and social organization (Vivian 1970).…”

Chronological Analysis of Tsegi Phase Sites in Northeastern Arizona

“…Site (Sharrock, Dibble, and Anderson 1961) and at the Beaver Creek agricultural community (Lindsay 1961) indicate the range of water conservation and utilization techniques known to the Kayenta Anasazi.…”

“…ing the geographic boundaries of Kayenta influence, trade routes, settlement patterns, and ceramics (Lindsay and Ambler 1963: 88;Jennings 1966). Unlike much earlier work, the Glen Canyon Salvage projects have produced a number of excellent publications (Adams 1960;Adams and Adams 1959;Adams, Lindsay, and Turner 1961;Lindsay 1961;Ambler, Lindsay, and Stein 1964;Fowler, Gunnerson, Jennings, Lister, Suhm, and Weller 1959;Lipe 1960;Lister 1959;Lister, Ambler, and Lister 1960;Lister and Lister 1961;Sharrock, Dibble, and Anderson 1961 into a disciplined attack on the many problems that remain unsolved. Taylor's (1958: 3, 14-15) pessimism notwithstanding, much significant material yet remains in this storied area that has already received more than 100 years of archaeological attention.…”