Behinds the Scenes Tour — Anasazi Heritage Center
We found that stopping at visitor centers to talk to volunteers and Rangers not only keeps us out of trouble, but also turns us on to some pretty cool stuff.
This was the case with the behind the scenes tour at the Anasazi Heritage Center in Delores, CO. The volunteer told us about the free, public tour of the research facility and stored artifacts given each Thursday at 2pm. Where do we sign up?
Our tour guide, Marty points out the coil and finger print process used to create this pot, dating to AD 930 - 1100.
The center is run by the Bureau of Land Management and was created when the state of Colorado decided to create a reservoir in the area, flooding over 1,000 archeological sites, including both ancient Pueblos and old mining towns. They excavated 120 some sites and the resulting 1 million+ artifacts found their home in the Anasazi Heritage Center. Thanks to the towns folk in Delores who advocated for access, the center is open to both researchers and the public alike.
We didn't know what to expect from the tour, but ended up seeing a lot of amazing artifacts, learning a bit about how archeologists do their job, and being quite impressed with the volunteers and government employees who make it all possible. Here is some of what we saw.
It's amazing how much this mug looks like something I'd create in pottery class! Red and Black & White pottery dated to about 1200 AD.
Pottery from 1200. Bowl with "field and rain" markings.
Rock type collection. The facility has type collections of pottery, rocks, animal bones, shells and blankets to help researchers who visit the facility.
Rare canteen in the shape of an animal (debate as to whether it's a fox, badger or dog). Most pottery had animals painted on it, rather than being shaped in animal form.
Rear view, you can see the opening in the canteen, and a hook for hanging or holding.
They have a whole type collection of shells, which are not native to the area, but were excavated here. This is a bracelet made of clam shells that were thought to have been brought and traded here from the Gulf Coast of Texas!
The pottery is stored on open metal shelves that date back to the 1980s - yikes! They are in the process of getting new ones.
The 1906 Antiquities Act made it illegal to take any artifacts off a public land. The center receives a lot drop-offs from people who think they have things that maybe they shouldn't. The center tests and catalogs it all...there's a lot of fakes and a lot of black paint that turns out to be...Sharpie Marker. Can you spot what's really ancient and what's fake? (A: Back right (red pot) and front left Black and White pots are fake. Back left black and white is real.)