Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Dumb archaeological pun #3,745 Former Valley Resident “Digs” Archaeology
David Yoder is an archaeologist. He is currently working with the Office of Public Archaeology at BYU, doing an archaeological survey of the Sand Hollow area before the land is developed. That is what he is doing to pay the bills, he said. At the same time, he is gathering information for his doctoral dissertation on Native American Footwear.

Yoder said he is studying Anasazi sandals for his dissertation. His focus is on Yucca sandals he said, most likely from the Pueblo 1 period. The Pueblo 1 period is from approximately 700 to 900 AD, according to an article by Dr. Linda Cordell, archaeologist and former director of the Colorado University Museum. Yoder said not much is known about the sandals, how they were made or where they were found in the Anasazi region. This is the information he is trying discover. Additionally, he is studying them to see if there are different types of these sandals that might allow him to associate different groups of people.