In order to preserve the past, archaeologists in Utah have decided to rebury a 1500-year-old Pueblo pit house in hopes that future technological advancements can shed more light on the ancient way of life of the Anasazi peoples.
Archaeologists Rebury an Ancient Pueblo Pit House
Early in 2015, a group of engineers in the middle of conducting surveys for a development project stumbled upon a Pueblo pit house in southern Utah. The plans came to a quick halt to allow archaeologists access to research the site for the time being.
Volunteer archaeologists and researchers worked on the excavation and studied the site closely. They documented the site through photography, meticulous notes, and digital mapping techniques in order to precisely record the finding.
After four months of studies, the team decided to rebury the ancient Pueblo pit house to allow future archaeologists with better, more advanced technology the chance to find out more information from the remnants of the Anasazi culture in the Dammeron Valley.
Pueblo Pit House Reveals Life 1,500 Years Ago
The researchers found that the house was 1,500 years old and had belonged to the Puebloans, an ancient civilization also referred to as the Anasazi peoples. Upon further investigation, the archaeologists discovered bone fragments and tools that indicated the group had links to corn farming.
The volunteer archaeologists who worked on the excavation appeared to gain quite a bit of knowledge from observing the pit house and the remains of ancient life within it. Though no advanced technologies were used, the Anasazi way of life had been easily glimpsed just by observing the archaeological site.
Greg Woodall, one of the volunteers, explained to local media outlets that the inhabitants of the pit house had most likely built the home by digging a rather large pit about 10 feet deep, placing a roof over it, and accessing it via ladder.
Before entombing the Washington County house again, the research team carefully layered protective fabric over the floors and walls. This step would act as a preventative measure to protect the excavated house from erosion and also to signal to future researchers where their studies had ended.
Preserving the Pueblo Artifact for Future Technology
Though many abandoned Anasazi sites may have been built long ago in Utah, many of them haven’t been discovered and won’t be, as land developers have demolished the ancient houses without knowing of their historical significance.
Luckily, for this particular home, the developer is adamant that he should protect the recent archaeological find. Brooks Pace, the future owner of the land, has agreed to preserve the site by selling the rights to the lot that contains the Puebloan pit house to the Archaeological Conservancy.
Local news reports say that the conservation group may also have plans to create a museum to explain to visitors the site’s significance in ancient Anasazi life.
Maybe burying the past isn’t a bad thing, especially considering that in the future, archaeologists may have the technological advances needed to reexamine the house, unlocking the mystery and the secrets to the Pueblo people and why they abandoned the house sometime around 1500 years ago.
Technology that can take us on a little trip to the past:
