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Two one-week Landmarks workshops for eighty school teachers to study Pueblo history and culture through the archaeology of Mesa Verde.

Two one-week Landmarks workshops for eighty school teachers to study Pueblo history and culture through the archaeology of Mesa Verde. These workshops immerse teachers in the study of America's Pueblo people. Teachers explore the beliefs and practices of the Pueblo and learn, through archaeology, how the Pueblo shaped the physical and cultural landscape of the Mesa Verde region. The workshops take place in two locations, Mesa Verde National Historic Park and its neighboring Indian Camp Ranch Archaeological District. These sites, dating from 500 to 1300 CE, are home to "the greatest number of archaeological sites found anywhere in the U.S." Senior archaeologists Shirley Powell and Mark Varien, and Native Pueblo scholars Donna Pino and Ernest M. Vallo, lead the scholarly team. Books by Powell, Varien, and a new work by Scott Ortman, the award-winning Winds from the North: Tewa Origins and Historical Anthropology, anchor the readings. A set of primary documents compiled by Crow Canyon supplement these texts. On Monday and Tuesday, lectures cover the main themes of ancient Pueblo history; sessions on the laboratory and field methods used by archaeologists introduce teachers to relevant techniques and interpretive methods. Teachers then spend two days in Mesa Verde studying cliff dwellings, rock images, and related artifacts that illuminate Pueblo life. Crow Canyon archaeologists Scott Ortman, Kari Schleher, and Shanna Diederichs give participants the opportunity to study the sites in small groups and to participate in an active excavation. On Friday at Crow Canyon, participants discuss the week's activities with a view toward integrating the academic and field experiences. Participants also have the opportunity to share plans for translating workshop material into the classroom.