A team of archaeologists from all over the nation were in south central Kansas this week. They’re hoping what they found could make it one of the country’s major historic sites.
Volunteers and researchers were searching along a five mile stretch in Arkansas City that used to be home to a Native American tribe of around 20,000 people. They’re looking for artifacts above and below ground to confirm what people in the community have known for a long time.
Volunteers found small pieces of tools and pottery in a dusty field. Norm Conley, a volunteer from Wichita, had the job of picking up the pieces. They are artifacts from a Native American settlement discovered by the Spanish explorer, Juan De Onate in 1601. The work being done here means a lot to the community.
“This is groundbreaking,” said Conley. “Everybody knew for years, in the textbooks it tells about this habitation, but it’s always been treated as separate sights.”
Just down the road, another group looked at what’s underneath the ground, but they won’t be digging anytime soon. The crews have to use a sensor that detects magnetic fields to get an idea of what lies below.
“They walk them back and forth and the machines map them as they go,” said Dr. Don Blakeslee, a Wichita State University Anthropology Professor.
The group has found what they believe to be homes, storage areas, and even a dancing ground, which supports the idea that all three of these areas were one town.
“People here are hoping to acquire some of the site, preserve it and draw tourists here,” Blakeslee said.
A few more roads over, and down a wooded canyon is a third site that some may find even more fascinating – the site of a battle between Spanish explorers and a native American tribe. One volunteer found a small iron ball, which is part of a shotgun-like cannon round the explorers would have used against the Native Americans.
All of the findings are then sent to a mobile research lab which is about the size of an ambulance. The lab is run by Paleo Research Institute, Inc. Each piece is run through a combination of tests which tell researchers more about the people who created them.
“We want that peek into peoples lives,” said Dr. Linda Scott Cummings, Director of the Paleo Research Institute. “I love making the human side of the story come out.”
Hap Mcleod, who owns part of the land being researched, believes this work makes what he already suspected official.
“All this does is confirm what everybody’s known for a long time and put a story to it,” Mcleod said. “Here we can prove that academically.”
The next spot that will be searched is a golf course, but researchers are only allowed to look when the course isn’t open. That means the search has to continue in the dark. Volunteers will be using lights from the fire department to illuminate the course. Researchers believe that underneath the greens and fairways are several storage pits and houses from the tribe.
Those who would like to like to know more about the search can attend a meeting where researchers will provide an update on their findings 7 P.M. Friday at Cowley Community College.