From Deseret News archives:
Comb Ridge yields big discoveries
Comb Ridge is a huge sandstone feature extending from west of Blanding to the vicinity of Bluff, San Juan County. Among the areas covered by the study is Butler Wash, one of the places where Anasazi Indians lived in cliff dwellings.
"Our project area's about 25 miles long," said Hurst. "We have 48,000 acres approximately in our survey area."
The study was launched in 2005 under a contract between the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, administrator of most of the land, and the University of Colorado, Boulder. Hurst is a subcontractor. The principal investigator is Catherine M. Cameron, associate professor at the University of Colorado.
Ancient remains "have been impacted by off-road vehicle recreation, surface artifact collecting, and accidental damage by visi-
Hurst said the archaeologists have divided the study area into grids of 500 by 500 meters. However, he is not certain how many of the blocks can be surveyed in the time left.
The five-year project is in its second year, he said. After two additional years of field work, a year will be spent to "crunch numbers and get everything together and get reports done."
So far, the team has found a great many archaeological sites, and unexpectedly interesting ones.
"We've got Anasazi roads," Hurst said. These are strange lanes from eight to 10 yards wide "that they were carving across the desert for miles and miles and miles, connecting places of significance.
"They don't behave like a road that's designed to facilitate transport and traffic," Hurst added, "They seem to be lines carved into the world."
Such lines have been found in Chaco Canyon, a large Anasazi settlement in New Mexico.
"They're very subtle," Hurst said of the Utah features. "Sometimes you can see them when the light is at a low angle," and then they're hard to see when the sun is at its zenith. Some are easier to see during certain seasons.
Comments
- Stocks extend gains 12:06 p.m.
- Top 3 stay same in AP Top 25 12:05 p.m.
- Two arrested in pharmacy robbery 12:03 p.m.
- GM to invest $336M in Volt plant 11:54 a.m.
- Church History Museum D&C tours 11:52 a.m.
- QB Clausen says he's turning pro 11:46 a.m.
- Dr.: Mitchell controlled FBI interview 11:33 a.m.
- Cautiously optimistic Bernanke 11:29 a.m.
- Tens of thousands protest in Iran 11:24 a.m.
- 2 bombs kill 16 in Lahore 11:20 a.m.
- BYU professor remembered
- BYU and Utah's bowl games
- Cougars going back to Vegas
- TCU to play Boise in Fiesta Bowl
- Utah/BYU rivalry can be more civil
- Utes excited to go to San Diego
- Bring the true spirit of Christmas
- Y. profs: Beck not all-knowing
- Y., U. to learn bowl destinations
- The forgotten ship: USS Utah
- Letters: Liberal because LDS
267 - Y. profs: Beck not all-knowing
243 - Hate not limited to 1 in-state rivalry
190 - TCU to play Boise in Fiesta Bowl
182 - Aggies shoot past Cougars
179 - N.Y. Senate rejects gay marriage
134 - Cougars going back to Vegas
127 - George lost in rivalry hatefest
115 - Ed Smart 'appalled' at testimony
98 - Harpring's NBA career is over
96
Amazon.com, Target.com, Sears.com, Walmart.com, Kmart.com and...
That does it — I'm having an affair! Thanks to Tiger Woods, David...
First, a big thank you to all who posted questions here for me to ask...
Just want to thank all the good folks on the highway who drove carefully...
Apparently it's too risky to allow either Boise or TCU to play against the...
I guess at least Utah beats the cupcakes they get in bowl games! 8 straight...
Why is that a problem that he plays both sides of the ball? It is actually...
Why do some of you insist on such rigid exclusive dichotomies? God is not...
For the second time in 3 years, the yewts gets another bowl cupcake!...
Manson states that some “fear…opposition from those with...
Regulating bad breath, I could understand. But ALL breath? It's a power...
Mormon scientists conduct research in global warming issues, and evolution is...
Read D&C 134. Then lets talk about what your religion teaches about this...




You can be the first to comment on this story.