Upper Basin Archaeological Research Project

Since its inception in 1989, the Upper Basin Archaeological Research Project (UBARP) has conducted a range of archaeological investigations in the heavily-forested upland conifer ecosystem that mantles the area just south of the Grand Canyon's south rim in northern Arizona. Over the years, UC undergraduate and graduate students have participated in an intensive survey of 20 square kilometers, recording in the process nearly 1,700 archaeological phenomena of various kinds (principally masonry structures, brush structures, fire-cracked-rock piles, and artifact scatters) in Kaibab National Forest and Grand Canyon National Park.

Detailed investigation of the surface archaeology of the Upper Basin, as well as analysis of paleo-environmental data returned from the excavation of structures, alignments, fire-cracked-rock piles and the geoarchaeological investigation of an alluviated valley, all indicate that, between AD 970-1200, the ancient occupants of the Upper Basin successfully buffered their wild-plant focused subsistence economy against dramatic regional swings in annual precipitation, which actually forced the abandonment of nearby areas in northern Arizona. One of the major terrain modification methods that sustained this livelihood was the systematic application of low-intensity fire to the herbaceous understory of the Upper Basin's pinyon-juniper woodland.

Recent research has focused on the application of satellite remote sensing (SRS), using images of different spatial and spectral resolutions, to create basin-wide predictive models of the locations of various types of archaeological phenomena. Once thoroughly ground-truthed by intensive survey, we will have a sense of the extent of anthropogenic impacts to this beautiful landscape that will, as well, assist the heritage management efforts of the USDA Forest Service and the National Park Service.

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