Archeological Survey of Lower Vine Ranch, Death Valley National Monument

In late 1986, archeologists from the Western Archeological and Conservation Center conducted two phases of archeological fieldwork at Death Valley Scotty's Lower Vine Ranch property in northern Death Valley National Monument, California. The completion of a large-scale instrument map of the structures and grounds composing the historic ranch complex and a pedestrian survey of the ranch access road were the primary objectives of the initial phase of fieldwork at Lower Vine, carried out from September 3 to September 12, 1986. The succeeding phase of fieldwork, conducted from October 22 to November 9, focused on inventorying the cultural resources located on the remainder of the unsurveyed, lower portions of the ranch. At the completion of the project, the entire fenced 1500-acre Lower Vine Ranch property, including both the lower bajada and the upper mesa areas, had been surveyed, with 57 sites and 74 isolates recorded. Cultural materials located on the property indicate the project area has been utilized from Paleo-Indian (Death Valley I) times through the recent historical past. The following volume documents the results of the fieldwork, provides environmental and cultural background information pertinent to the project area, summarizes the cultural history of the property, assesses the condition of the cultural resources located there and suggests options for managing those resources.