Copyright May 1, 2020  San Juan County Museum Association at Salmon Ruins Museum. All rights reserved.

 

One good thing about a global pandemic is that people have more time for research projects that have been on hold or put off in the past.  Here are a few things that we and our associates have been up to in 2020!  The best thing about learning is that it never stops!

SPARC Database

Research and Discovery

Many years of work, and the efforts of numerous staff, volunteers, and professionals funded by grants have resulted in the massive database known as SPARC - the Salmon Pueblo Archaeological Research Collection.  Now online and accessible to everyone, this website contains photographs, maps, cross-referenced data, and excavation notes from the original San Juan Valley Archaeological Project, which took place between 1970 and 1978, resulting in the complete excavation and documentation of 30% of the village, and leaving us today with over 1,000,000 artifacts available for study, a stabilized prehistoric Pueblo village to walk through, and a variety of museum displays to help visitors understand the people who once lived here.  This resource is ideal for schools, colleges, archaeological professionals, and anyone interested in learning more.  It is related to and acts to supplement the Chaco Research Archive.

We can offer unpaid internships, joint projects to give students experience and training through San Juan College and other local colleges, and a mountain of materials that deserve to be studied and are available to researchers.  Our research library, which is focused on the American Southwest but also contains a wide variety of scientific and anthropological literature, can be searched through the San Juan College Library service and many of the holdings can be requested through Inter-Library Loan.  Artifacts can be studied directly by pre-arrangement to visit the museum and submission of a research request to our Board of Directors.  Contact us through the "Contact" tab if you're interested.


Previous studies have involved High School, Undergraduate, Master's Thesis and Doctoral Dissertation work.  Some more recent projects include a comparison of Chacoan versus locally-made woven sandals, identification of seeds and pollen leading to a greater understanding of health and diet in village communities

Article by Paul Reed, in El Palacio, Winter 2020

Article by Brian D. Vallo, in El Palacio, Winter 2020

You bring the adventurous spirit,
we'll supply the archaeology!

Student Research