Lost City of Pueblo Grande de Nevada

The Lost City of Pueblo Grande de Nevada (also known simply as the Lost City or Pueblo Grande) was a former settlement of unknown provenance situated in the Moapa Valley of Nevada that has since been engulfed by the waters of Lake Mead, an artificial reservoir that was formed by the Hoover Dam in 1935. The site was first officially excavated during 1925-1926 by archaeologist M. R. Harrington on the behalf of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, a private museum owned by George G. Heye, and again in 1935 prior to the deluging of the site on behalf of the National Park Service and the Southwest Museum of the American Indian (the showcase of the Southwest Society, a California-branch of the Archaeological Institute of America).

Early press reports on the Lost City made reference to skeletal remains found as being gigantic, averaging 7 feet (2.13 m.) in height, while later reports saw these measurements reduced considerably with the largest supposed to be 5 ft. 8. in. (1.73 m.), most of them "rather shorter than modern Americans."

Harrington's Reports

1925-1926

• Harrington, M. R. (Jan. 1925), "Pueblo Site Near St. Thomas, Nevada", Indian Notes (New York: Mus. American Indian, H. F.) 2 (1): 74-76
• Harrington, M. R. (Apr. 1925), "Archeological Researches in Nevada", Indian Notes (New York: Mus. American Indian, H. F.) 2 (2): 125-127
• Harrington, M. R. (July 1925), "Ancient Salt Mine Near St. Thomas, Nevada", Indian Notes (New York: Mus. American Indian, H. F.) 2 (3): 227-231
• Harrington, M. R. (July 1925), "The 'Lost City' of Nevada", Scientific American 133 (1): 14-16
• Harrington, M. R. (Apr. 1926), "Western Extension of Early Pueblo Culture", Indian Notes (New York: Mus. American Indian, H. F.) 3 (2): 69-73
• Harrington, M. R. (July 1926), "Primitive Pueblo Ruins in North-Western Arizona", Indian Notes (New York: Mus. American Indian, H. F.) 3 (3): 171-177
• Harrington, M. R. (Oct. 1926), "Another Ancient Salt Mine in Nevada", Indian Notes (New York: Mus. American Indian, H. F.) 3 (4): 221-232
• Harrington, M. R. (Oct. 1926), "A Pre-Pueblo Site on Colorado River", Indian Notes (New York: Mus. American Indian, H. F.) 3 (4): 274-284
• Harrington, M. R. (Mar. 1927), "On the Trail of the First Pueblos", The Outlook (New York: Outlook Co.) 145: 305-309 — describes the work of the expedition representing the Museum of the American Indian, Heye foundation, of New York, in excavating the ruins of the Pueblo Grande de Nevada, called the Lost City.

Press Coverage

• "AN EPITOME OF LATE LIVE NEWS", Holy Cross Trail 14 (41), 6 Dec. 1924, https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/cgi-bin/colorado?a=d&d=HCT19241206-01.2.12&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-Harrington+%22Pueblo+Grande%22-------0--, "Nevada’s buried city has been named Pueblo Grande by Gov. J. C. Schrugham and party who have just completed a three-day survey of the ruins and caves of the old settlement. Governor Schrugham predicted that the Pueblo is destined to become one of the greatest attractions of the West. M. R. Harrington, in charge of the exploring company, said that the village appears to be the farthest north Pueblo habitation." 
• "RUINED CITY OF GIANTS IS BARED. Prehistoric Indian Town 2,500 Years Old Found in Nevada.", Call-Leader (Elwood, IN): 6, 6 Apr. 1925, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18037233/city-of-giants-found-in-nevada/ 
• "ANCIENT CITY IS DISCOVERED", San Bernardino Sun 56 (7), 8 Mar. 1925.
• "NEVADA RUINS SHOW CULTURE", San Bernardino Sun 56 (84), 24 May 1925, "The inhabitants of Pueblo Grande de Nevada were rather shorter than modern Americans. The tallest skeleton thus far found was of a person who could not have been more than five feet eight inches high. The average was between five feet and five feet six inches."

Resources

• Shutler, Richard (1961), Lost City, Pueblo Grande de Nevada, Carson City: Nevada State Museum