Rudd Creek Pueblo  The Rudd Creek Pueblo is an archaeological site in the Upper Little Colorado region in Springerville, Arizona just along the boundaries of the Mogollon and Anasazi culture areas. It is a late Tularosa phase site, dating from ca. 1225 to 1300, which is part of the Mogollan tradition, and located directly inside the Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area. In 1996, the Rudd Creek Archaeological Project, a part of the Arizona State University Archaeological Field School, excavated the site to document the artifacts and architecture, and to observe and keep track the extent of pot hunting at the site, a problematic issue for not only this particular site but for archaeology as a whole. Rudd Creek Pueblo sits on a terrace that overlooks Rudd Creek (hence, the name) and is at an elevation of . The site is situated in a transitional area between the White Mountains and the Colorado Plateau and the Little Colorado River Valley. Rudd Creek Pueblo is located in an open valley, but has access to three different microenvironments: the juniper savanna, riparian areas, and the lower montane coniferous forest. The inhabitants of Rudd Creek Pueblo, therefore, had access to a wide variety of flora and fauna and were able to exploit a broad spectrum of resources. The architecture at Rudd Creek Pueblo is similar to other late Tularosa phase sites in the region, for example Coyote Creek Pueblo and Foote Canyon Pueblo. The site consists of about forty rooms situated inside a sizeable, rectangular shaped masonry roomblock and two large depression areas that are interpreted as being possible locations of great kivas, or ceremonial and ritual centers. The rectangular shaped pueblo is common and indicative of the Mogollon culture, and became common during the Tularosa phase. Most of the rooms that make up Rudd Creek Pueblo have been disturbed by looting and pot hunting, but some still contain undisturbed or “in-situ” fill. Many of the rooms have also been interpreted as probable habitation rooms, containing formal hearths, subfloor pits, and/or mealing bins or as storage rooms with very small floor areas and very few floor features. In addition, a ceremonial room or possible separate structure has been identified (Unit 5) and houses a large raised platform and bench. A circular hearth and ventilator are also present in the center of this room, suggesting that inhabitants may have used this room for rituals or special gatherings.