About Colorado Archaeology

The San Luis Valley Archaeological Network will attempt to provide online resources for those who are interested in Colorado archaeology, with plans to provide much more.

Currently available resources:

Anasazi Heritage Center The Anasazi Heritage Center is a museum of the Ancestral Puebloan (or Anasazi) culture and other Native cultures in the Four Corners region.

Archaeological Research In the Upper Gunnison Basin Western State College has conducted field schools on the Tenderfoot Site since 1991. The research described here is the result of countless hours of work by Western State College undergraduate anthropology students, Colorado Archaeological Society volunteers, and colleagues.

Colorado Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation The mission of the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP) is to help individuals, communities, and organizations to identify, protect, and preserve the State's cultural resources and to foster widespread appreciation of and respect for Colorado's cultural heritage.

Colorado Archaeological Network The Colorado Archaeological Network is dedicated to providing information about the Colorado Archaeological Society (CAS), member chapters, activities, projects, officers, and volunteer opportunities.

Colorado Council of Professional Archaeologists The Colorado Council of Professional Archaeologists (CCPA) is a community of people concerned with the preservation, recovery, and interpretation of Colorado’s prehistoric and historic archaeological resources.

Colorado Rock Art Association On May 3, 2003, the Colorado Rock Art Association (CRAA) was formed at the 5th annual Rock Art Conference in Pueblo, CO

Crow Canyon Archaeological Center The Center is dedicated to understanding, teaching, and preserving the rich history of the ancient Pueblo Indians who inhabited the canyons and mesas of the American Southwest.

Denver Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society Through Education and Fellowship, CAS-Denver Chapter shall endeavor to sponsor Scholarly Research on our state's cultural resources and thereby participate in the Stewardship of these finite and nonrenewable resources.

The Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society The Hisatsinom Chapter is centered at Cortez near Mesa Verde National Park, and among the many ruins of the prehistoric Anasazi Culture.

Indian Peaks Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society Based in Boulder, Colorado, IPCAS has been promoting and participating in Colorado Archaeology for fourteen years. We organize a series of lectures, host tours, provide volunteer opportunities, and publish a monthly newsletter, the Calumet newsletter.

Mesa Verde National Park Mesa Verde, Spanish for "green table", offers an unparalleled opportunity to see and experience a unique cultural and physical landscape. The culture represented at Mesa Verde reflects more than 700 years of history. From approximately A.D. 600 through A.D. 1300 people lived and flourished in communities throughout the area, eventually building elaborate stone villages in the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls. Today most people call these sheltered villages "cliff dwellings". The cliff dwellings represent the last 75 to 100 years of occupation at Mesa Verde. In the late 1200s within the span of one or two generations, they left their homes and moved away.

PAAC (Program for Avocational Archaeological Certification) The Program for Avocational Archaeological Certification (PAAC) is designed to be a mutually beneficial educational program for avocational and professional archaeologists. It was established in 1978 by the Colorado Archaeological Society (CAS) and the Office of the State Archaeologist of Colorado (OSAC). It provides a means for CAS members and other citizens of Colorado to obtain formally recognized levels of expertise outside of an academic degree program. It also facilitates contributions by avocationalists to public service and assistance in education, governmental management of cultural resources, research, and the protection of archaeological resources in Colorado.

Pikes Peak Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society

Ute Mountain Tribal Park Come experience a trip back into time and learn a special Native American interpretation of the culturally diverse homelands of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Spend time in our incomparable Ute Mountain Tribal Park with one of our knowledgeable Native American Ute tour guides. Guides interpret Ute* Indian History, Ute pictographs, geological land formations, and Ancestral Pueblo* petroglyphs, artifacts and dwellings.