Two samples of sediment were collected from two different hearths separated by more than a mile distance during the 2006 – 2007 field season. Each of the two individual hearths belonged to a cluster of hearths. Metal detection designed to specifically search around these clusters of hearths discovered metal artifacts believed to belong to the Coronado Expedition. Four artifacts were found around one hearth; two artifacts were found around the other hearth.

The sediment and lithic samples were sent to Dr. Jean-Luc Schwenninger at the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art (RLAHA) at the University of Oxford ( http://www.rlaha.ox.ac.uk/ ). We requested that Dr. Schwenninger attempt to date the sediment by the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) method.

Results of this OSL analysis will be published in the Fall 2008 or Winter 2009 issue of the New Mexico Historical Review.