Mesa Verde’s ‘Mummy Lake’ Was Built to Hold Rituals, Not Water, Study Says

Mesa Verde’s Sun Temple Reveals Geometrical ‘Genius,’ Physicist Says

January 26, 2017 —by Blake de Pastino 27308 3

An 800-year-old structure in Mesa Verde National Park was built using the same basic geometry found in ancient monuments around the world, a new study reports.

Strange Scrapes Discovered in Colorado Are First Evidence of Dinosaur ‘Foreplay,’ Study Says

January 11, 2016 —by Blake de Pastino 4145 0

Paleontologists believe the marks are evidence of what they call “prehistoric foreplay” among the dinosaurs of Cretaceous Colorado.

anthropology

Cocoa, Caffeinated ‘Black Drink’ Were Widespread in Pre-Contact Southwest, Study Finds

September 8, 2015 —by Blake de Pastino 15979 2

Stimulating drinks made from exotic plants, like the cocoa tree and a type of southern holly, were consumed much more widely across the prehistoric Southwest than was thought, according to…

19th Century

Hundreds of 19th-Century Wickiups Recorded in Colorado Mountains

January 11, 2015 —by Blake de Pastino 10310 2

In the mountain forests of western Colorado, archaeologists and tribal members have recorded scores of sites that contain the remains of hundreds of wickiups, cone-shaped wooden structures built by the Ute, or Nuche, people more than…

anthropology

Violence in the Ancient Southwest Offers Insights Into Peace, Study Says

August 19, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 7023 0

Despite some recent sensational claims that the prehistoric Southwest was the site of the worst violence in American history, the archaeologist often cited for that assertion says that, in fact,…

anthropology

1,300-Year-Old Pottery Found in Colorado Contains Ancient ‘Natural Aspirin’

August 12, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 14257 4

Fragmented pottery unearthed in a rockshelter in east central Colorado has revealed traces of salicylic acid, a substance derived from willow bark that’s the natural precursor to modern-day aspirin. Dated…

anthropology

1,500-Year-Old Village, A Sign of ‘Revolution’ in the Southwest, Excavated in Colorado

July 17, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 9244 0

CORTEZ, COLORADO — In a high-end housing development north of Cortez, Colorado — just 25 kilometers from the monumental cliffhouses of Mesa Verde National Park — archaeologists have uncovered a…

anthropology

Evidence of Hobbling, Torture Discovered at Ancient Massacre Site in Colorado

June 27, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 40489 31

The site of a gruesome massacre some 1,200 years ago in southwestern Colorado is yielding new evidence of the severity, and the grisly intensity, of the violence that took place there….

anthropology