Well, I thought I would post a few pictures from my recent Spring Break trip. I went to help a doctoral student at the University of Arizona map and survey prehistoric trails that surround a hilltop site called El Pueblito, in Chihuahua, Mexico. It lies about 2-3 miles southeast of Casas Grandes on a plateau. It is also associated with an atalaya (ceremonial circular structure) that is just up the hill and measures about 17 meters in diameter. It's huge and at the peak of that hill (or mountain if you're from the plains of Oklahoma). Not far from the atalaya is a cave, but is presumed to be an historic attempt to find buried treasure. We decided to explore.
We didn't get far with my make-shift smoke stack...I mean torch. Our attempt to find the end of the cave ended at a drop-off 14 meters in.
I plan to head back down this summer to excavate at El Pueblito in an attempt to get some Southwest experience in the dirt. No money, but the place is beautiful and has incredible archaeology. There is plenty of room on the crew if anyone is interested. Todd Pietzel would love to have you and is even going to pay for food and board.
This last one is of me climbing up to a second cave just up from one of the trails. There was nothing in there but the scraps of a hawk's delicious meal (a chicken perhaps).Lay-tar.
3 comments:
boo-tay shot.
seriously though, what did you make that "torch" out of?
I didn't think anybody would notice my booty shot when I was climbing. I made the torch out of an agave stalk and some grass. Then I tied it off with some yucca fibers that I processed with some crude stone tools. Authentic, baby.
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