Figure 1. View west of the collapsed fence.

Figure 2. View east of the fenceline coming down the sandstone edge of the Rincon.

Description

The Fence, LA 152234, is an interesting and unique feature on the mesa. It is a collapsed wooden fence that bisects the narrowest portion of the mesa; it runs from the steep escarpment on the east to the edge of a sandstone rincon on the west (Figures 28 and 29). It is approximately 400m long and incorporated living trees, dead stumps, and large and small branches; only one element—a small stump—exhibited any ax cuts, all other elements were broken as a procurement technique.

We collected 17 samples from the site during two field visits. The first collect yielded four samples (BBM 115-118) and one noncutting date of 1746vv. This date opened the possibility that The Fence was an Early Navajo construct, so an additional visit was planned. The second collection focused exclusively on pinyon and resulted in the collection of 13 additional samples, eight of which yielded dates.

Unfortunately, no cutting dates and only two near cutting dates of 1930+v (BBM-181) and 1959+v (BBM-187) were generated. The date distribution ranges from 1569++vv to 1959+v and there are no solid date clusters. It is possible that The Fence was built as late as 1959 using dead wood, but the 1930+v date suggests earlier construction. Our best estimate is that The Fence was constructed in 1930 using mostly dead wood and was in use as late as 1959. It may have been repaired in the 1940s (BBM-188). It may even have been built in the 1890s (BBM-185, 186) and repaired several times. We simply cannot identify construction dates, but we do know The Fence is almost 50 years old at the youngest.