Grand Canyon Colorado River

Discover ancient places within Grand Canyon where people lived long ago. What did the archeologists find during theses major excavations along the Colorado River ?

Duration:16 minutes, 24 seconds

The National Park Service (NPS) and the Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA) excavated nine archeological sites along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon during three years of fieldwork that started in 2006.

The NPS has a “preservation-in-place” mandate, and excavates archeological sites only when they cannot be stabilized and preserved in place. These sites were disappearing due to erosion; artifacts were literally washing into the river. Because these sites were being lost, the NPS initiated excavations to learn more about the people who lived here before the archeological evidence of their lives in the canyon was completely gone.

You may also take a
Virtual Tour of these Archeological Sites.

View interactive 360° photos that capture a specific moment during the excavation of each site. Each image was taken near the end of the field session, when excavation was nearly complete. The rooms with their walls and floors are evident, having been exposed by crew members who carefully dug and hauled the overlying soil away one bucket at a time.

In the 360°photos, you’ll also see archeologists at work, along with their tools, such as shovels, trowels, screens and buckets.

Related Information

The River Monitoring Program
generates data regarding the effects of Dam operations on historic properties, identifies ongoing impacts to historic properties within the APE [Area of Potential Effect], and develops and implements remedial measures for treating historic properties subject to damage.

Archeological Excavations at 9 Sites along the Colorado River Corridor
Between 2007 and 2009, the National Park Service, in cooperation with the Museum of Northern Arizona, undertook the first major archeological excavations along the river in Grand Canyon National Park in 40 years.Archeologists Make Exciting Discoveries Along the Colorado River
In October, 2007, archeologists excavated a habitation site along the Colorado River. The fascinating artifacts they found provide insight into the lives of people who once made the Grand Canyon their home.

Archeologists Excavate Kiva by the Colorado River
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Archeologists Excavate Two Sites Along the Colorado River.
In fall 2008, archeologists excavated two archeological sites during a three-year project along the Colorado River corridor in Grand Canyon. One of the excavated sites has evidence of as many as six different human occupations over a time span of 3, 500 years.

The Vanishing Treasures Program
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