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KANAB, Utah (AP) -- Archaeologists are excavating a former American Indian site in southern Utah before it's flooded for a water project.
The Kane County Water Conservancy District is building the dam for the Jackson Flat Reservoir. It will make water available to farmers and possibly Kanab and Kane County.
The archaeological work is required as part of the National Historic Preservation Act because federal funding is covering a portion of the dam's $12 million cost.
We developed a research design on where to dig that will focus on the important questions we have, like how the houses were organized, if they were built around a courtyard or built in a line.
–Heidi Roberts
Tim Rogers, chairman of the Kaibab Band of Paiutes, said at least 20 sets of remains have been located so far. He expects them to be reburied as soon as possible in a nearby protected area.
"What we don't want is for them to be taken away for study," he said. "We want them to remain here."
The Kaibab Band of Paiutes said in December 2006 that it would not endorse the project because it would rather "preserve what is left of our cultural heritage by protecting archaeological sites."
But Rogers said the tribe has had good communications with officials involved with the dam since then and archaeologists have been respectful of the remains they've uncovered.
Pit houses at the site are from two periods of Puebloan basket-weaving cultures who lived in the area from A.D. 200 to around 1050, according to Heidi Roberts, an archaeologist and president of HRA Inc., which was hired to survey and document the site.
Inhabitants were part of a culture known as the Virgin River branch of the Pueblo, Roberts said.
Researchers from her firm, another private company and Brigham Young University have unearthed about 20 houses and storage pits.
"We developed a research design on where to dig that will focus on the important questions we have, like how the houses were organized, if they were built around a courtyard or built in a line," she said.
Scientists dated the oldest pit house based partly on the fact that only spear points were found, Roberts said. There was no sign of bows or arrows, which were common in the area by around the year 400.
The oldest pit house also didn't contain any pottery fragments, she said.
The reservoir will eventually cover about 15 archaeological sites. They include ancient Indian sites and pioneer settlements.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune
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