NDOT Archaeological excavation of a Fremont village in Pahranagat Valley. This is the second Fremont village site recorded in the state and the only Fremont village site in southeast Nevada. Pottery collected from the site dates from 500 to 1646 AD. (At left: Patti DeBunch, at right: Steve Stearns)
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Archaeology
NDOT archaeologists are fortunate to have the entire state of Nevada as a study area. Human occupation of Nevada spans at least the last 10,000 years and includes prehistoric, indigenous and historic cultures. Our primary purpose is to guide department projects through Historic Preservation laws established by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) so that cultural properties are avoided or minimally impacted by NDOT projects and are preserved in some manner for the benefit of our common cultural heritage. The Cultural Resource team advises NDOT on how to balance the protection of the resource with the transportation needs of the public.Bios and Contact Information
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Cliff Creger – Chief Archaeologist
M.A., Anthropology, University of RenoCliff has extensive experience with Federal Civil Service. He worked for three years as archaeologist for the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife and for 10 years as archaeologist with the U. S. Department of the Navy. Cliff joined NDOT in 2004. Also, Cliff should not be mistaken for Hal.
Contact information: Telephone: (775) 888-7666 Email: ccreger@dot.state.nv.us
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James Bunch – Archaeologist, Supervisor
M.A. Anthropology, University of Nevada, Reno
B. A. Anthropology, University of Washington, minor in GeologyJim’s career as an archaeologist began over 35 years ago in the Pacific Northwest and the Columbia River Plateau where he oversaw excavations of prehistoric burials, villages, and fishery sites as well as excavations of historical Fort Vancouver and other Hudson Bay Fort sites. Before coming to NDOT in 1980, Jim worked as an archaeologist for the Boise State University, Idaho, the Idaho Department of Transportation, the Nevada State Museum, the University of Nevada-Reno, and conducted research in West and Southern Mexico for his Master’s thesis on prehistoric settlement patterns. Jim’s work for NDOT includes: survey, excavation, and inventory of Cultural Resources in NDOT material sites and road Right-of-Way for the entire state. His research interests include Puebloan ceramic technology, thermoluminescence (TL) dating, rock art, paleo-environmental reconstruction, and Mesoamerican archaeology.
Contact information: Telephone: (775) 888-7488 Email: jabunch@dot.state.nv.us
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Steve Stearns – Archaeologist, Supervisor
B.A., Anthropology, California State University, Sacramento
B. S., Environmental Resources, California State University, SacramentoSteve has attended graduate school at California State University, Sacramento, and at the University of Nevada, Reno. He has worked as an Archaeologist for NDOT since 1977. Prior to that he worked for California State University, the Nevada State Museum, the Nevada Archaeological Survey and as a principal investigator for S&S Archaeological Consultants.
Contact information: Telephone: (775) 888-7484 Email: sstearns@dot.state.nv.us
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Patti DeBunch – Archaeologist
General Studies/Social Science, Instituto Mexicano de InvestigacionesFor the past 27 years, Patti has worked as an archaeologist for NDOT conducting surveys, doing photography, excavations and state-wide inventory of sites in borrow pits and NDOT Right-of-Way. Prior to coming to NDOT, Patti worked on excavations for the University of Idaho in Moscow, the Nevada State Museum and the University of Nevada-Reno. In 1984 Patti was instrumental in creating a technical report series produced by NDOT. The scope of this series was to report on important and unique archaeological sites encountered during NDOT projects. Patti is a member of the Guild of Scientific Illustrators for the Smithsonian Institute and her photographs and drawings have been published in numerous publications. In 1986 Patti translated over 300 Basque writings in French and Spanish for the Battle Mountain Bureau of Land Management. In 1999 she was asked to do a TV documentary about the Hidden Cave archaeological site in Nevada.
Contact information: Telephone: 775-888-7489 Email: pdebunch@dot.state.nv.us
