{"id":116163,"date":"2014-12-02T19:47:09","date_gmt":"2014-12-03T02:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/study-tackles-mysteries-of-mummy-lake\/"},"modified":"2014-12-02T19:47:09","modified_gmt":"2014-12-03T02:47:09","slug":"study-tackles-mysteries-of-mummy-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/study-tackles-mysteries-of-mummy-lake\/","title":{"rendered":"Study tackles mysteries of Mummy Lake"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Scott
Scott Travis, chief research and resource manager for Mesa Verde National Park, explains the conflicting theories of the Mummy Lake ruin.<\/span>Jim Mimiaga\/Cortez Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Was it a reservoir, a ceremonial plaza, or a ball court?<\/p>\n

At Mesa Verde National Park, the Far View Reservoir ruin \u2013 also known as Mummy Lake \u2013 has long been a controversial mystery for archaeologists. A new study tries to settle the issue.<\/p>\n

Since 1917, the prevailing view was that the large circular depression lined by sandstone walls was an ancient reservoir built as early as 900 A.D.<\/p>\n

Sediment buildup behind a supposed intake canal fit the reservoir profile. A set of stairs into the structure suggested it was used by Ancestral Puebloans to collect stored water. Faint impressions of irrigation canals leaving the lake pointed to agricultural use.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt fits nicely into our present day experience of dealing with drought by storing water,\u201d said Scott Travis, Mesa Verde\u2019s chief of research and resource management. \u201cDuring heavy rains it does collect some water.\u201d<\/p>\n

But archaeologist Larry Benson refutes the reservoir theory in a paper titled \u201cMummy Lake: An Unroofed Ceremonial Structure Within a Large-scale Ritual Landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n

Published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, Benson hypothesizes that the function of Mummy Lake was for community ceremonies and was abandoned due to drought in the early 1200s.<\/p>\n

Benson points to previous studies that ancient Southwest cultures periodically relocated their ceremonial structures, then linked them to newly constructed facilities by means of broad avenues.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe avenue has previously been interpreted as an irrigation ditch fed by water impounded at Mummy Lake,\u201d writes Benson. \u201cHowever, it conforms in every respect to alignments described as Chacoan roads.\u201d<\/p>\n

A sturdy staircase, elaborate for its time, descends into Mummy Lake and is convincing evidence that is was a ceremonial plaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way the stairs were perfectly built suggests it was not just utilitarian,\u201d Travis said.<\/p>\n

For several weeks this summer, Benson\u2019s crew was at the site studying landscape hydrology to disprove the reservoir theory.<\/p>\n

Benson doubts the topography would have allowed for the reservoir to fill because it is on an elevated ridge.<\/p>\n

A feeder ditch required to fill Mummy Lake from a larger basin has never been found, and two other so-called irrigation ditches would not have been capable of collecting and distributing water.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin a matter of seconds during a storm, sediment would have filled the hypothetical ditch, then forced the water over the cliff edge,\u201d Benson writes.<\/p>\n

Benson redefines the irrigation canals as wide avenues that linked the Mummy Lake ritual plaza with neighboring Far View and Pipe Shrine Houses, and also to the farther away Cliff Palace and Sun Temple complexes.<\/p>\n

\u201cSouth of Mummy Lake, we found faint, straight swales that suggest roads,\u201d Travis said. \u201cBut the area is also a main terraced farming location that could have benefited from an irrigation canal.\u201d<\/p>\n

A very intriguing explanation of Mummy Lake is that it could have been used as an ancient ball court. Ball courts have never been documented at Mesa Verde, and the closest one to the region is in the ancient Hohokam villages near Phoenix.<\/p>\n

Travis said further excavation at Mummy Lake is not planned in the near future. He said if a floor structure could be found it would be a good clue for a ceremonial plaza or perhaps a ball court.<\/p>\n

\u201cArchaeologists love to argue about Mummy Lake,\u201d Travis said \u2018\u201dWhat do I think?\u2019 It could have been used for both ceremonies and water collection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the Benson study, the park is considering adding interpretation panels at the site describing alternate theories. And lately, more documentary crews have been scheduling time at Mummy Lake to feature its mysteries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have not heard the end of the Mummy Lake story,\u201d Travis said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Archaeologist tries to settle the issue of Mesa Verde’s ancient reservoir<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":116164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6371],"tags":[855,13,173],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-116163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mt-news","tag-archaeology","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-mesa-verde-national-park"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116163"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=116163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}