An Analysis of Variability and Condition of Cavate Structures in Bandelier National Monument (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from An Analysis of Variability and Condition of Cavate Structures in Bandelier National Monument

In 1916 Bandelier National Monument was established by proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson to protect and preserve for public enjoyment and education the large Pueblo settlements and spectacular cave dwellings of the southern Pajarito Plateau. At the time, the monument and its archaeological resources enjoyed considerable national prominence both in the public eye and within the discipline of archaeology, largely as a result of the pioneering explorations of Adolph Bandelier and the later excavations and preservation efforts of Edgar L. Hewett. Since then the monument has ceded much of its prominence in southwestern prehistory, as the focus of archaeological research has shifted to other regions. Although sporadic investigations have occurred over the last 75 years, the extent to which Bandelier has been forgotten is exemplified by the modest number of documented sites. In 1985 fewer than 500 were known in the 51 square miles of the monument. Knowledge of even these was poor at best. The present volume by H. Wolcott Toll represents the third of several National Park Service and Washington State University contributions that report the findings of the Bandelier Archeological Survey. Through these publications we hope to reestablish publicly and professionally the monument's important place in late Pueblo prehistory. The ten-year Bandelier Survey was begun in 1985 with the goal of recovering both research and cultural resource management data, so that the Park Service may better understand and interpret the monument's archaeology, and also better preserve it.