2013-12-12_REVISION - C1982056 (11)

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At present, the area is used predominantly for ranching, agriculture, and coal mining. Large portions of the park and valley appear to have been mowed and/or plowed in the past, and cattle grazing is ongoing. The project area is rich in natural resources that would have been attractive to the Native American inhabitants during prehistory. CULTURE HISTORY AND PREVIOUS WORK Prehistoric Overview A variety of site types are present in the general project area, representing most of the thematic contexts outlined in the original RP3 documents for Northwest Colorado (Grady 1984; Mehis 1984) and in the more recent prehistoric contexts for the area by LaPoint (1987), and Reed and Metcalf (1999). Prehistoric sites in the general area include lithic scatters, open campsites, quarry sites, rockshelters, and rock art panels. Evidence of Paleoindian inhabitants in the area consists of a few isolated projectile points including at Cody Complex points at 5RT139. Archaic -age lithic scatters and open camps have been recorded in the area as well as some rock art panels believed to be Archaic in age. Excavations at the Red Army Rockshelter (5RT345) located a few miles to the west recovered evidence of multiple occupations spanning the Pioneer Archaic through Protohistoric, including two house structures within the shelter (Pool 1997). Numerous Formative Era Aspen Tradition -age lithic scatters and open camps have also been recorded in the general area, as have Protohistoric and Historic Ute or Shoshone rock art sites. In the Northern Colorado River Basin, the prehistoric sequence has been divided into four broad eras (Paleoindian, Archaic, Formative, and Protohistoric), each of which is further divided into time periods, traditions, or phases (Reed and Metcalf 1999; Table 2). Table 2 Temporal sequences for the Northern Colorado River Basins Northern Colorado River Basin Sequence Paleoindian Era Pre -8350 BP Archaic Era Pioneer Period 8350 -6450 BP Settled Period 6450 -4450 BP Transitional Period 4450 -2950 BP Terminal Period 2950 -1950 BP Formative Era Aspen Tradition 1950 -650 BP Protohistoric Era Antero Phase 650 -300 BP Canalla Phase 300 -130 BP Historic Overview Comprehensive historic contexts have been written for the general area surrounding the project. The most recent context can be found in Colorado Mountains Historic Context (Mehls 1984) and Colorado History: A Context for Historical Archaeology (Church et al. 2007). The 5