Pueblo Archaeology Center educational tours to significant archaeological, historical & cultural sites These are a few examples. For more information: 520-798-1201 or www.oldpueblo.org
Ventana Cave & Tohono O’odham Nation		Mimbres Ruins & Rock Art

Picture Rocks Petroglyphs	Baby Jesus Ridge Petroglyphs

Archaeology, History, and Culture Site Tours

            Since our public archaeological field school and education program was initiated in 1995, Old Pueblo’s guided tours of the ongoing excavations and ancient cultural features revealed in them have been among our most popular education programs. Thousands of kids and adults have gone on organized tours of our excavation sites, and it is not uncommon for visitors to go on the tours more than once to see how the excavations are progressing and to witness new archaeological discoveries continually being made.
            Old Pueblo’s guided tours of our archaeological excavation sites typically last 1 to 2 hours depending on how many questions participants ask. Most of the guided tours of our excavation sites begin with a brief orientation in which the guide shows examples of artifacts recovered from the site, talks about the kinds of archaeological features present, and explains the research orientation that archaeologists are using to guide the excavations. The tours to some of Old Pueblo’s excavation sites are by reservation only so that site owners’ interests can be protected and Old Pueblo can provide consistently high-quality educational experiences during each tour while limiting unauthorized visits that might result in theft or vandalism.
            Tour participants are advised in advance to bring drinking water, to dress appropriately for desert conditions, and to not wear open-toed shoes.

Ancient Discovery Tours

            Some of Old Pueblo’s “Ancient Discovery” tours visit well-known archaeological and culture sites such as the Hopi and Zuñi Pueblo areas, Canyon de Chelly, the Casa Grande Ruins, Chaco Canyon, and the Gila Cliff Dwellings. Other tours include opportunities to see and learn about places not so well known such as Ventana Cave and nearby historic villages of the Tohono O’odham Nation, sites of the ancient Mimbres Pueblos culture in New Mexico, and many petroglyph and pictograph sites of the Southwest.
            All Ancient Discovery tours are with Old Pueblo’s experienced guides.

Tours in Cooperation with Tucson’s Pima Community College

            As part of Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s outreach efforts, Executive Director Allen Dart also leads Arizona archaeology tours for the Community Education Division of Tucson’s Pima Community College. His Pima Community College “study tours” include:

            Tumamoc Hill Archaeology and History” (ST143) study tour visits 2,000-year-old Native American trincheras, 1,000-year-old Hohokam petroglyphs and agricultural features, the historic Tucson Desert Laboratory (established by the Carnegie Institution in 1903) on the peak and sides of Tucson’s Tumamoc Hill, plus significant historic sites including the Spanish-Mexican period convento site in Mission Gardens, Warner’s Mill, and lime-burning kilns along the Santa Cruz River.

            “Ventana Cave and Tohono O’odham Nation: Archaeology and Culture” (ST146) study tour, which focuses on the Ventana Cave National Historic Landmark archaeological site and rock art, includes visits to nearby villages and the Tohono O'odham Nation government complex in Sells, and provides opportunity to purchase arts and crafts at the Wiwpul Du `ag Arts Trading Post. Bring your own picnic lunch and water, wear comfortable hiking shoes.

            “Casa Grande Ruins and Middle Gila Valley: Archaeology and History” (ST147) study tour includes an extended visit to archaeological features in the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Coolidge plus visits to the Grewe site (early Hohokam village), Adamsville Ruin (late Hohokam village with platform mound and ballcourt), historic Adamsville Cemetery and settlements along the Gila River, and Pinal County Historical Society Museum in Florence. Bring your own picnic lunch and water.

            “Tucson-Marana Rock Art and Archaeology” (ST149) study tour visits the Picture Rocks Hohokam petroglyphs site, Los Morteros Hohokam village with ballcourt and bedrock mortars, and an upland Hohokam village and an agricultural features site on slopes of the Tortolita Mountains. Bring your own picnic lunch and water, wear comfortable hiking shoes.

            “Mimbres Ruins, Rock Art and Museums of Southern New Mexico” (ST585) comprehensive study tour to southwestern New Mexico's Silver City area to visit Classic Mimbres Pueblo Ruins, Early Mogollon village archaeological sites, the Gila Cliff Dwellings, spectacular petroglyph sites, and a museum with one of the world's finest collections of Mimbres Puebloan Pottery (the kind with those spectacular human and animal figures). Tour includes transportation, lodging and entry fees. ~Special cancellation policy applies~. Offered in partnership with Old Pueblo Archaeology Center.

Other Old Pueblo Ancient Discovery Tours

            Other tours offered by Old Pueblo are led by experienced guides.
            Allen Dart, a Registered Professional Archaeologist, is Old Pueblo’s founder and Executive Director who has led tours in the Southwest since 1975.
            Marc B. Severson was a full-time archaeologist before he became a teacher in southern Arizona’s Indian Oasis and Tucson Unified school districts; Marc has been active teaching archaeology and leading exciting archaeological and cultural site tours for more than 20 years, and still works as an archaeologist during summers off from his teaching career.
            James W. Trimbell is a retired airline pilot who became intrigued with archaeology during flights over the magnificent Chaco Canyon ruins in New Mexico. For years since that aerial discovery Jim has been an active avocational archaeologist. He has participated directly in numerous archaeological excavation and research projects with professional archaeologists in Chaco and elsewhere, and is a Past President of Old Pueblo Archaeology Center.
            Old Pueblo also contracts experienced local guides and charter companies to provide accurate interpretation and comfortable transportation and lodging for specific Old Pueblo Archaeology Center tours.

Other tours offered by Old Pueblo periodically include:
            Canyon de Chelly, Puerco Ruins-Petrified Forest, and Hubbell Trading Post. This multi-day tour travels from Tucson via Globe, Show Low, and Holbrook to the Petrified Forest, Ganado, and Chinle. Visits the Puerco Ruins and numerous petroglyphs of the Ancestral Pueblo culture in the environs of the Petrified Forest National Monument, and Arizona’s stunning Painted Desert; the historic Hubbell Trading Post National Monument to learn about the historic Navajo economy and buy Navajo rugs if you wish; and the Indian ruins, petroglyphs and pictographs, Native American craft vendors, and beautiful views of historic Canyon de Chelly and the adjacent Canyon del Muerto in the colorful Navajo sandstone country, including a spectacular four-wheel-drive vehicle trek into Canyon de Chelly to visit the White House Ruin, other Puebloan ruins and rock art, and contemporary Navajo dwellings and fields. Lodging and some meals are at the famous Thunderbird Lodge. Guide: Marc Severson.

            Central Arizona’s Classic Period Gila and Besh-ba-gowah Pueblo Ruins. This one-day tour proceeds from Tucson to Globe by way of Oracle, Mammoth, and Winkelman. It visits the historic Gila Pueblo, an ancient Salado Indian ruin that was rebuilt by archaeologists Harold and Winifred Gladwin in 1928. Now the site of a junior college, the Gila Pueblo grounds feature excavations done by students of Eastern Arizona College in the late 1970s, and the site's rich history is presented and interpreted inside the rebuilt pueblo. The tour also proceeds to Besh-ba-gowah (the Apache name for the City of Globe!), a large Salado pueblo first excavated in the 1930s by Irene Vickrey. Nearly fifty years later the City of Globe set about to re-excavate, stabilize, and develop Besh-ba-gowah for public interpretation. The site's fine museum and ruins make Besh-ba-gowah one of the most interesting archaeological sites to visit in central Arizona. The tour may include a visit to the Pinal Creek Ruin and a short trip to the local historic museum on the west side of Globe as we head back to Tucson by way of Devil's Canyon, Queen Creek Canyon, and Superior, all of which offer spectacular scenery including the fabled “Apache Leap”.
Guide: Marc Severson.

            Chaco Canyon, Pueblo Pintado, Aztec, & Salmon Ruins. Visit the ancestral pueblo ruins of Chaco Canyon including “downtown Chaco” sites Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl, the Casa Rinconada Great Kiva, Pueblo del Arroyo, and Kin Kletso, usually with one or more of the prominent archaeologists currently conducting research in Chaco Canyon. The Chaco segment of the tour includes an optional visit to the ancient Puebloan stairways carved out of the canyon wall bedrock, as well as a visit to Pueblo Alto on the mesa top overlooking the canyon. The tour also visits some of the “Chaco Outlier” archaeological sites that were integral outposts of the far-flung “Chaco Phenomenon” that developed between A.D. 850 and 1250. Pueblo Pintado, located south of the main group of Chaco Canyon ruins, is a Chacoan Outlier, as are the Aztec and Salmon ruins north of Chaco Canyon in the San Juan River valley. Aztec and Salmon also exhibit subsequent Mesa Verdean influence, as do some of the latest Chaco Canyon sites. Most of the major Chaco communities were connected by unusually wide and straight prehistoric roads.
After visiting Aztec and Salmon the tour stake a quick hop into the canyon country of southeastern Utah to culminate with a morning visit to the Hovenweep Ruins and an afternoon of shopping and optional tours in and near the colorful town of Bluff. Guide: Jim Trimbell.

            Mesa Verde-Crow Canyon Children and Parents Archaeology Expedition. Old Pueblo Archaeology Center and Project Exploration, Inc., host the “Mesa Verde-Crow Canyon Children and Parents Archaeology Expedition” for children ages 8-12 to experience Southwestern archaeology together with a parent or other accompanying adult. In this motorcoach learning expedition children and parents explore Ancestral Puebloan ruins at Mesa Verde National Park and Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, Colorado, with a professional archaeologist and experienced local guides. At Crow Canyon there is a special “Discovering the Past” program that teaches about the ancient peoples of the Mesa Verde region, and a guided tour of the real archaeological excavation being conducted by Crow Canyon archaeologists. In the evening Crow Canyon hosts a program about pictographs and petroglyphs of the Archaic, Fremont, Ancestral Pueblo, and historic Pueblo and Ute cultures that are found throughout the Southwest. At Mesa Verde the tour group explores cliffdwellings and other major ruins including the world-famous Cliff Palace overlook, ancient Basketmaker pit-houses, Spruce Tree House, and Sun Temple, and gets to climb up a 3-story wooden ladder to visit the Balcony House Ruin! The tour also visits the Anasazi Heritage Center Museum in Dolores, Colorado; the Montezuma Well, Wupatki, Sunset Crater, and Navajo (Betatakin Ruin overlook) National Monuments in Arizona; and the Four Corners Monument where you can stand in the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah all at once. Motor coach transportation, some meals, and lodging in a Cortez motel and the Crow Canyon Lodge are provided. Participants bring their own bedding towel and toiletries for the one-night Crow Canyon sleep over. Guide: Allen Dart.

            Mimbres Ruins, Rock Art, and Museums. Old Pueblo Archaeology Center offers this separately from Pima Community College’s “Mimbres Ruins, Rock Art and Museums of Southern New Mexico” (ST585) every other year. See the tour description above in the Pima Community College listings. Guide: Allen Dart.

            Wupatki National Monument and the Sinagua Culture. This tour takes in the numerous ruins of four national monuments: Wupatki, Tuzigoot, Montezuma’s Castle, and Montezuma’s Well (which includes a prehistoric irrigation system and an excavated Hohokam pithouse preserved for viewing). These ruins were once occupied by the ancient Sinagua people who flourished in the western and northern parts of prehistoric Arizona and who were ancestors of modern Hopi Indians. The tour also visits the historic Museum of Northern Arizona and includes three nights in Flagstaff (one of Arizona’s coolest cities in July!). Guide: Marc Severson.

            Zuñi Pueblo & Neighboring Areas Rock Art & Ruins. The Zuñi-area tour visits Halona-wa (the modern Pueblo Indian village of Zuñi) including its Mission Church built in 1629, now featuring Zuñi-painted murals that meld native traditions and devotional zeal. Halona-wa and its church and murals are featured in magazines and newspapers, and attract visitors from all over the world. Also visited is Hawikuh, one of the Southwest’s most important historic sites, where history says Esteban the Moor was killed and the explorer Coronado introduced the Zuñi people to Spanish conquistadores. In the early twentieth century southwestern archaeology pioneer F. W. Hodge was one of the first archaeologists to utilize the new stratigraphic techniques, in his excavations at Hawikuh. A spectacular place visited is the Village of the Great Kivas archaeological site, an outlying community of the great prehistoric Chaco Canyon cultural efflorescence, directly below cliffs embellished with abundant petroglyphs and pictograph murals. Also, the Upper and Lower Nutria satellite farming communities east of Zuñi are visited. And, the tour includes a grand loop through El Morro National Monument where the National Park Service protects over 2,000 prehistoric and historic inscriptions and petroglyphs as well as the ancestral Zuñi village ruins of Atsinna. Guide: Marc Severson, accompanied by Zuñi Indian artists Alex and Ken Seowtewa. Alex has been painting traditional scenes of Zuñi ceremonial life for more than three decades, and is the artist of the Zuñi Church murals. Kenneth Seowtewa has joined his father Alex, and his brother Edwin, in the Zuñi murals endeavor for most of Ken’s adult life.

Upcoming tours for adults are listed in our Upcoming Activities Upcoming Activities page.

For more information about a specific tour contact Old Pueblo Archaeology Center

Tours for children are described in our Site Tours for Classrooms page and listed in our Upcoming Activities page.