Albert Ward papers
Correspondence regarding Site 48
Collection area: Arizona and Southwest
Collection dates: 1953-2009
A majority of this collection contains information pertaining to the Los Esteros "Site 48" excavation and the controversy that surrounded Ward's excavation. Site 48 was a fortified Spanish-Indian trading post that was home to approximately 200 people in the 1700s. The site is unique because it is one of the earliest non-Indigenous settlements in the area. It is suggested that by the 1800s the village was in decline, largely in part due to cattle ranching overtaking sheep herding as an industrial practice in the area, and the population dwindled. Site 48 is currently underwater due to a dam diverging water in the area.
Ward and the Center for Anthropological Studies in Albuquerque were hired to excavate a second phase of Site 48. During the excavation, Ward found established walls and artifacts that he stated authenticated the site and proved it was a residential fort. However, other scholars argued that Spanish colonial documents never mentioned Site 48 and, therefore, it could not have existed. Additionally, some excavators working on the project cited that Ward's collection and documentation of objects and artifacts was not up to par with archeological standards. This led to a lengthy dispute about the validity of Site 48.
The documents in this collection were collected by Bernard L. Fontana, a known anthropological historian primarily focused in the southwest. Fontana and Ward corresponded frequently while Ward was in the midst of the Site 48 controversy.
Albert E. Ward was born in Carlinville, Illinois on August 20, 1940. He would later attend Belvidere High School. After graduation, he persued an Associate of Arts Degree at Bethany Lutheran Jr. College in Mankato, Minnesota from 1959-1961. He would then go on to Northern Arizona University where he would earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology (1965-1968). From 1971-1972, Ward attended the University of Arizona where he would earn his Master of Arts degree in Anthropology.
His field work begain in 1965 when he was still a student at Northern Arizona University, where he worked as a student investigator at the excavation side of Lake Mary Rockshelter; Anasazi, Sinagua Branch. As a student Ward also assisted as excavations of Anasazi ruins in Winslow, Arizona.
While at working at the Museum of Northern Arizona as an assistant archaeologist, he excavated the Inscripton House, Navajo National Monument; Anasazi, Kayeta branch. He also did excavations at Camp Willow Grove, in the Hopi Buttes area of the Navajo Reservation, at Elden Pueblo, Payson, Fish Swamill, Cow Springs, Toonerville, Puerco Ruins, Kabito Trading Post, Wupatki National Monument, the Zeyouma (Hopi) Trading Post, Black Mesa Coal Slurry Pipeline, near Colorado River Buff Ware, etc. For a detailed listing of his fieldwork and research, see Box 1, Folder 1 for his curriculum vitae.
Ward would later be involved in the Site 48 controversy. After excavating at Site 48 in New Mexico, Ward concluded that he'd found ruins confirming the existence of a residential Spanish-Indian trading post in the area. Outside academics questions the find, its results, and the way in which Ward documented the excavation. Critics claimed that Spanish documents did not mention this fort/trading post, and thus it could not be a 'real' site. This led to several lawsuits and questions about the authenticity of Site 48.
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