Title: Changing Settlement Patterns in the Central Mesa Verde Region: The Site Database

Scott G. Ortman, Mark D. Varien, and Michael G. Spitzer

Abstract:

The project study area lies in the center of the Mesa Verde archaeological region. Archaeological research has been conducted in the study area for over a century, and approximately 8,000 archaeological sites have been recorded. Project archaeologists developed a database to synthesize information on site type, site size, and site dating. Issues of data quality and comparability were addressed. The resulting database was used to locate habitation sites, estimate the number of households at each site, and assign each household to a period of occupation. These data are used to analyze changing settlement patterns in the study area.