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A more finite classification of Archaic architecture is represented in the work of <br />Thompson and Pastor (1996). Three different structure types (i.e., pithouses, house pits and <br />temporary shelters) were identified in the Wyoming Basin on the basis of "associated <br />features (internal or external), density and diversity of material remains (e.g., tools, bone, <br />fire-cracked rock, debitage), and the patterning and interrelationships of those remains" <br />(Thompson and Pastor 1996:90). Pithouses were identified as deep, round subterranean <br />depressions containing interior features and internal architectural features (niches, walls), <br />and that have midden refuse areas away from the structure. Examples include structures at <br />the Medicine House site (McGuire et al. 1984) and possibly the Shoreline site (Walker and <br />Ziemens 1976). House pits were identified according to smaller dimensions in diameter and <br />depth. These structures were also noted to lack internal architecture, such as prepared floors <br />and ventilator shafts. Examples include structures at Maxon Ranch (Harrell and McKern <br />1986), Sweetwater Creek (Newberry and Harrison 1986), and Split Rock Ranch (Eakin <br />1987). Temporary structures were described primarily as sun/wind breaks manufactured out <br />of brush or wood. Remnants of four post molds encircling several small hearths at <br />48SW4492 (Creasman et al. 1983) appear to be temporary structures that were constructed <br />to provide relief from the wind or the summer sun. Evidence for this structure type is <br />extremely limited due to its ephemeral nature. <br /> The ultimate goal of "typing" architecture is to unveil and discern the behavioral <br />implications it carries for interpreting hunter-gatherer settlement and subsistence. For <br />example, the presence of substantial structures carries implications concerning group <br />mobility. Significant investment of labor suggests a strong tether to place and the <br />importance of seasonal sedentism – both of which have been ethnographically documented <br />(Gilman 1987). In the Rocky Mountains, evidence of substantial structures has stimulated <br />speculation of a unique Archaic adaptation (i.e. the Mountain Tradition) to upland terrain- <br />contesting the original idea that the mountains were exploited on a transitory seasonal basis <br />(Black 1991). Despite criticism, the concept of a Mountain Tradition has directed "attention <br />toward the existence of a rich prehistoric record that stands independent of broader culture <br />areas like the Great Basin or Plains" (Reed and Metcalf 1999:79). <br />The occurrence of storage and habitation structures in this region have only in recent <br />years been documented, primarily due to cultural resource management projects. The recent <br />study by Metcalf and Reed (2011:139) detailed data from a sample of 65 house pits with <br />occupations spanning nearly the entire Archaic Era. <br />House pit ages ranged from the oldest at 8170 to 8022 cal BP (5MF6255) to the <br />youngest at 3970 to 3560 cal BP (5MF2990). Their best documented/dated houses in the <br />sample have ages between 4835 and 8170 cal BP, and the majority of houses date between <br />5600 and 7100 cal BP. <br />Prior to their study, two of the oldest pithouses in Colorado were found in the <br />Yarmony site near Kremmling and dated between 5380 and 4800 BC (cf. calibrations in <br />Metcalf and Black 1991:57-58). Also, at altitudes of 8,000 feet or more in Colorado, what <br />were apparently wattle and daub structures have been found in the Curecanti National <br />26