SOUTHWEST— The Conservancy and Crow Canyon Archaeological Center recently won the People’s Choice Award, one of History Colorado’s Stephen H. Hart Awards, for our collaborative efforts to preserve Haynie Pueblo in Montezuma County. This prestigious award recognizes excellence in archaeology and historic preservation projects in Colorado.
The Haynie Archaeological Preserve was acquired in 2019 with the assistance of a History Colorado State Historical Fund (SHF) grant. The Conservancy has established twenty-one archaeological preserves in Colorado, eight of which were done with the assistance of SHF grants. Haynie Pueblo is an important Chaco outlier that was occupied between A.D. 500-1280. It contains two great houses as well as other masonry architecture, kivas, pithouses, and dense trash middens. The Haynie great houses have the characteristic features of Chacoan great house architecture as documented within Chaco Culture National Historic Park, including massive stone buildings standing two-to-three stories high with thick, uniform, sandstone walls constructed in the signature core-veneer building style. Tree-ring dating has indicated the Haynie great houses were built around 1100, during the height of the region’s Great Pueblo Period.
The five-acre Haynie site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Haynie is considered to have national significance due to its rarity, its well-preserved masonry architecture, and its research potential. Despite past vandalism to one of the great houses and natural erosion over time, the site still has very high integrity and is con-sidered one of the best examples of Chaco-style architecture of the great house period in the Mesa Verde region.
Crow Canyon will resume their educational and archaeological data recovery projects at the site, giving various groups the opportunity to participate in hands-on research. Permanently preserving Haynie Pueblo ensures that
scholars and the public can study and enjoy this national treasure.
