The Chevelon Archaeological Research Project (also known as CARP) has its beginnings in the early 1970s, when archaeologists from the University of California Los Angeles and Arizona State University combined to conduct systematic archaeological survey and to excavate a wide range of sites in the Chevelon drainage. Their work resulted in the identification of nearly 2000 archaeological sites and in the excavation of approximately 24 pueblos, pithouses, rock shelters, and artifact concentrations.
CARP was reinstated in 1997 by Dr. Steve Plog of the University of Virginia, assisted by Julie Solometo, then a graduate student at the University of Michigan. From 1997 to 2001, Plog and Solometo conducted archaeological work designed to understand changing organization and social relations in the Chevelon and neighboring Clear Creek drainages during the 11th through 13th centuries. Recent research indicates that warfare was widespread in this period. Sites located in highly inaccessible locations or protected by masonry walls suggest similar social patterns in the Chevelon/Clear Creek region. Careful study of these fortifications, including cliff dwellings, lookouts, and fortified refuges, have allowed CARP researchers to study the specific nature of armed conflict in the area, including its intensity, social scale, and tactics.
In 2006, CARP will return to the Chevelon and Clear Creek drainages to continue our exploration of the area's prehistory. We will continue our program of survey to locate fortifications, as well as conduct survey work in the vicinity of known fortifications in order to understand local patterns of settlement. Several rock shelters and rock art sites found in Chevelon Canyon will also be recorded. Finally, we hope to conduct limited excavations at one or more small sites in the area.
