Former Contract Archaeology Program
Between 1974 and 1984, SAR operated a contract archaeology program, undertaking about 240
projects around New Mexico under various project directors, including Curt Schaafsma,
Cherie Scheick, John Beal, Richard Lang, Jane Whitmore, and others. Some of the major
projects were: the Lee Ranch Mine Project, the Gamerco Project, the South Hospah Mine, a
series of projects at Abiquiu Reservoir, a survey of the Malpais Recreation Area, a survey
of the "volcanoes" area west of Albuquerque, the La Plata Mine, and many others.
Collections and Facilities
At present, all collections from the contract program, including remains and accompanying
documentation, have been transferred from SAR to other institutions, or the landowner in
some cases involving private land. Most of the these projects have been transferred to the
Laboratory of Anthropology in Santa Fe, and a list of these projects, including
transferred SAR contracts and the associated LA site numbers may be obtained from the Lab
staff. SAR also maintains records of all
transferred projects. A complete set of reports from the contract program is held in the
archives in the Catherine McElvain Library on the SAR
campus, and is available for research purposes.
There is an inventory of the contract archaeology reports, including the SAR contract
number, title of project, project director, and year on file in the Library.
Please contact the Indian Arts Research Center (iarc@sarsf.org)
for more information.
