Archaeological Work in Mancos Canyon, Colorado

In April, May, and June of 1942, salvage excavations were performed under permit from the Secretary of the Interior at five ruins damaged by road construction in lower Mancos Canyon, on the Ute Indian Reservation in southwesternmost Colorado, just south of the Mesa Verde, in Montezuma County. Twenty-four other open sites in the same section of the canyon were surveyed. Cliff dwellings and other sites in side canyons or on mesas were not included, The excavations were carried out for the Indian Service under an interbureau agreement between the National Park Service and the Office of Indian Affairs for cooperation on protection and salvage of archaeological remains along Indian Service road locations. Park Service and Indian Service officials concerned were most cooperative; the four Utes who worked throughout the job, as well as most of the additional Utes and Navahos who were on the job less steadily, proved excellent workmen.