BRIDGING DIGITAL AND ANALOG DOCUMENTATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF ANCIENT PUEBLOAN SITES

Abstract

The Four Corners region, where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona meet, is the location of one of the most significant archaeological sites in the United States, the Lowry Pueblo in the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument. This case study examines two aspects of the documentation process for the Lowry Pueblo. First, a collaborative model of multiple stakeholders dedicated to an integrated digital and analog documentation approach. Second, the method for determining how digital and analog techniques were used from site preparation to the final submittal of Historic Architectural Building Survey (HABS) drawings to the Library of Congress. This integrated documentation approach used for the Lowry Pueblo is part of a strategy informed by predicted future human impacts on these rare ancient resources and fulfilling a unique tribal request for minimally impactful management. The approach allows natural erosional processes to continue unabated at less visited remote “backcountry” cultural sites, and for proactive stabilization to occur at heavily visited publicly accessible "front country" areas. The combined documentation methods used allowed for creation of highly detailed models, digital applications, and nuanced, aesthetic HABS drawings of the stunning 1,000-year-old cultural resources. The outcomes contribute to informed decision making for future analysis, stabilization assessment, resource interpretation, archiving, and the dissemination of information for public benefit, while deepening an understanding of the history and people that inhabited the land.