Two suspected cop-killers who have eluded officials for nine days in rugged canyonland have probably learned to live the way people did almost a thousand years ago, according to an archaeologist.

Alan "Monte" Pilon and Jason McVean could find several types of food among the sagebrush, piñon juniper and cactus that cover the search area, according to Karen Adams, an environmental archaeologist with Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, but they would have to know which plants are edible and how to prepare them.

"The prehistoric people lived on this land and knew what was edible," she said. "They could be eating wild onions or cactus pads if they knew how to prepare them."

Rabbits, deer and rodents also live in many of the canyons, but the suspects might not want to shoot them for fear of giving away their location, Adams said.

The biggest factor hindering the suspects is probably their lack of drinking water, Adams said. They may be staying in the canyons so they can be close to streams.

"Historically, people had to live near springs and seeps," said Adams. "Water is the limiting factor in this area."

The San Juan River, where authorities found the body of a third suspect, Robert Mason, is the largest source of water in the search area. Other water sources are irrigation ditches and cattle reservoirs, if they haven’t dried up, she said.

There may have been more people living in the search area between 600 and 1200 than live there today, she said.

Ute Indians later occupied the land until pioneers moved into the area in the mid-1800s.

Today, there are only a few Navajo camps between McElmo Canyon and Bluff, according to Eldon Zwicker, a rancher who lives in McElmo Canyon.

Zwicker, who has lived in the area for many years, said the suspects must know the area extremely well to remain undetected while 500 people search for them.

"Most of that area is open wind range for cattle," he said. "But there are some rough side roads if you know exactly where you were going."

Zwicker said he doesn’t know of any other water sources except the San Juan River. Stock ponds for cattle would usually hold some water, but this year has been so dry that all the ponds have dried up, he said.

Adams said that although the land between Cahone, Colo. and Bluff, Utah is rugged, it’s not impenetrable. Montezuma Creek and Cross Canyon are each more than 100 feet deep, but they are not as steep as the Grand Canyon. Trees, rock overhangs and ruins in the canyons may provide some shelter for the suspects.

"You can make your way down a canyon, and if a helicopter comes overhead, you duck out of sight," Adams said. "There are also lots of nooks in the sandstone where they could hunker down."