Ancient village discovered in Arizona's Petrified Forest

Archaeologists recently discovered an ancient village in Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park. The village dates to between A.D. 200 and A.D. 700, Bill Reitze, the park's archaeologist, told USA TODAY Network.

Fifty to 75 "pit house" structures, or semiround subterranean homes, were found at the site this summer, Reitze said. That means between 100 and 125 people likely lived in the village at any one time. Archaeologists also found a number of artifacts, according to Reitze.

"They are primarily stone tools like spear points and scrapers that are made out of the local petrified wood," he said. "There's also some shell that's used to make ornaments and early pottery."

It's the second village of its size to be found in the area in the past two years. They are less than a mile apart and located on neighboring ridges, according to Reitze.

Although there are a number of known smaller villages in the park, finding a larger site like this one was "pretty unique," he said.

The park acquired new land in the past few years, and archaeologists have been surveying the boundary extension with summer field crews, Reitze said. The field crews randomly selected part of the area to survey and came across the villages. As they continue to study the new land, it's possible there will be additional discoveries.

"I think there's going to be more sites like this in the park," Reitze said.

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