Architecture and Tree-Ring Dating at the Duckfoot Site in Southwestern Colorado

Abstract

The Duckfoot site is a small Anasazi hamlet that has been almost entirely excavated by the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center. This paper develops and applies some principles for interpreting construction sequences in predominantly mud-wall buildings. The dates of construction are inferred from 375 tree-ring dates following procedures defined by Ahlstrom (1985). Architectural details depict a sequence of construction beginning with a pit structure (Pit Structure 2) and a suite of rooms (Rooms 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, and 13). A comparable suite of structures was added to each end of the original suite, resulting in a total of three suites. Tree-ring dates indicate construction of the entire roomblock and three pit structures in the late A.D. 850s with no significant time breaks. A fourth pit structure (Pit Structure 4) was added between Pit Structures 2 and 3 in A.D. 873, or shortly thereafter. Dates and floor features from Pit Structures 1 and 3 suggest that remodeling and repairs of pit structure roofs were frequent, occurring on an interval of 10 years or less. The site was abandoned around A.D. 876, or soon after.