NAU graduate student Ted Tsouras stands where the new Merrill Crater Ranches development is planned in northeastern Arizona. Tsouras investigated and recorded the ancient history of the land so it could be preserved while it is developed.

A patch of culturally rich land between Flagstaff and the Navajo Nation that has sat unoccupied for hundreds of years is about to be developed with exclusive ranches, but its first inhabitants will not be forgotten.

With the assistance of Northern Arizona University anthropology graduate student Ted Tsouras, developers for Merrill Crater Ranches are not only preserving the archaeology of the area, they are protecting its unique history and using it as a selling point.

Merrill Crater Ranches developers donated $17,500 to support Tsouras' thesis project that investigates and records the ancient history of the area.

Tsouras' findings are guiding the developers from building a dozen or so ranches on the archeologically rich areas that were once home to ancient pueblos and ceremonial sites. Tsouras' data also will be shared with the public at a Merrill Crater Ranches visitor center, scheduled to open next year.

The funding allowed Tsouras to quit his job in NAU's Paint Shop, focus on his thesis and head 17 miles east of Flagstaff to gather archaeological evidence that is helping developers create, "a refreshingly different kind of development, with the concept of people who aren't just owners of the property, but are stewards of the property," said Chris Downum, an anthropology professor at NAU.

Tsouras spent a semester scouring the land's 2,200 acres of mesas, canyons and plateaus that spoke to him of ancient cultures through thousand-year-old ceramic shards, pieces of pitcher handles, hammers, hoes and numerous masonry structures and pit houses set by the Sinagau people, who settled there in the 12th century. He also found evidence of the Hopi and Navajo tribes migrating and trading in the area.

"By identifying what makes the Merrill Crater area so special, we hope to then find a small group of people who would like to buy a piece of land and preserve its botany, biology and the archaeology," said Doug Martin, one of the land's developers.

The geologically plentiful property is replete with howling coyotes, herds of elk and antelope, and a bounty of bird species among views of mountains and craters, including Merrill Crater.

Tsouras explained that prehistoric occupation of this area of northern Arizona goes back around 10,000 years.

"The sites I found date from 1048-1197 A.D. and are primarily associated with the Sinagua culture that hunted, gathered and planted over a large portion of northern Arizona at the time," he said.

Among the cinder mounds, rock art and evidence of water irrigations techniques that ancient tribes used to plant corn and squash, Tsouras came across some archaeological surprises.

"On the more unexpected side," Tsouras said, "aerial views of the area have allowed us to uncover agricultural features constructed of mounded cinders from Sunset Crater that haven't received much attention."

Tsouras said being able to concentrate on his thesis has allowed him to focus on his career in anthropology. "I am proud my results will be used and lasting," he said.