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Moapa Valley Nevada
The Moapa Valley is located about 65 miles northeast of Las
Vegas Nevada. Along its 40 mile length it is home to the towns of Logandale, Overton and Glendale. The Moapa Valley was
carved out of the desert by the Muddy River. Because the Muddy
river originates as a series of warm, artesian springs, it produces a reliable water source
that is not dependent on scanty and unreliable rainfall. This
circumstance has made the Muddy River a dominate feature in the cultural landscape of its
prehistoric inhabitants because of its economic benefits to
either agricultural activities by being  reliable or to
hunter-gatherer activities by providing game and edible seeds
and plants.
The Moapa Valley is significant to the prehistoric record of Southern
Nevada because of the numerous archaeological
remains and features that were once scattered throughout the valley. The majority of
the cultural material is attributable to the Virgin Anasazi and their cultural
antecedents, the Basketmakers and Archaic groups. There is also
a significant prehistoric Paiute presence in the Moapa Valley but the
number of sites and their provenances are unknown.
The considerable archaeological remains in the Moapa Valley had
been known to some state officials by the late 19th century. By
the 1920's Mark Harrington began several excavations and surveys
of the lower Moapa Valley. In 1929, Harrington mapped over 60
Virgin Anasazi and Basketmaker sites throughout the Moapa
Valley. (Shutler 1961, Plate 26) In 1927, Harrington excavated
the Pueblo Grande Nevada. Much of the material from Harrington's
excavations are curated and displayed at the Lost City Museum in
the Moapa Valley south of Logandale.
The UNLV Anthropology Department has sponsored several surveys,
field schools and excavations in the Moapa Valley since 1970.
The most extensive collection was recovered from three
successive field schools at the Steve Perkins Site located just
south of the Overton Airport. The complete collection from all
the Steve Perkins Field Schools is curated at the COLLECTIONS
FACILITY.
The material recovered from the excavations conducted at the
Yamashita and Adam sites are also housed at the COLLECTIONS
FACILITY. Materials from Burial Hill, a salvage excavation, The
Moapa Valley Survey and several other investigations are also
part of the collections.
Due to the explosive growth in the Moapa Valley since the
1970's, most of the archaeological remains in Moapa Valley have
been destroyed by construction. While there are a few sites that
are still relatively intact, many of the other sites that have
not been destroyed by construction have been looted. The Adam
sites, excavated by M. Lyneis are an example of sites exposed to
some looting and partially destroyed.
Most of the Virgin Anasazi sites in Moapa Valley noted by
Harrington in 1929 have either been flooded by Lake Mead or come
under the construction blade. Because the majority of these sites have been or
will be destroyed, the COLLECTIONS
FACILITY provides one of the
largest repositories of Virgin Anasazi materials as a database
for future research..
| Moapa
Valley Chronology |
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Basketmaker II |
300 BC - AD 500 |
Did not make pottery; did not use bow and arrow; used atlatl;
made pit houses; hunter-gatherer, perhaps some horticulture;
stored foods in cysts. |
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Basketmaker III |
AD 500 - AD 800 |
Made pottery; bow and arrow; house pits; increasing
horticulture. |
|
Pueblo I |
AD 800 - AD 1000 |
Not well characterized; salt and turquoise mining. |
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Pueblo II |
AD 1000 - AD 1150 |
This is the best known of the Anasazi occupations in Moapa.
Numerous sites are scattered throughout the valley.
Characterized by adobe structures, agriculture, ceramics, bow
and arrow extensive trade relations with groups the east in the
Kayenta region.
The Pueblo II in the Moapa Valley can be divided into three
periods, each 50 years long. These periods are recognizable the
distinctive designs on the painted pottery. Early Pueblo II
designs are similar to the Black Mesa style of the Kayenta.
Middle Pueblo II is characterized by the introduction of
corrugated pottery and traded wares from as far away as the four
Corners area. Late Pueblo II, called the Mesa House Phase in the
Moapa Valley, pottery saw new and different design elements in
the pottery and increased use of corrugated wares. |
| Chronology
adapted from (M. Lyneis, Investigations at Adam 2, 1984) |
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