PROJECT AREA AND SITES

The Shumway Archaeological Project (SHAP) examines pre-Hispanic settlements in the Upper Little Colorado River Valley of Arizona. The project area encompasses the Silver Creek drainage, a tributary of the Little Colorado River north of the Mogollon Rim in eastern Arizona. Today, private land holdings account for much of the northern Silver Creek drainage while most of the southern half of the drainage lies within the Sitgreaves National Forest. The area is bordered on the south by the White Mountain Apache Tribe (WMAT).

Archaeological sites in the Silver Creek area span a broad time range, beginning with very early Paleo-Indian and Archaic period occupations to recent Apache settlements.

We are currently researching Ancestral Pueblo villages that date to the Pueblo III period (AD 1150 to 1300) and the early Pueblo IV period (AD 1300 to 1400). Major project sites include three fourteenth century villages -- Fourmile Ruin, Shumway Ruin, and Pinedale Ruin -- all located on private landholdings.

Fourmile Ruin is the largest Ancestral Pueblo village in the area.