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In the Gunnison Basin, a similar temporal distribution is evinced. Stiger (1998: <br />Figure 7-2) indicates that unlined firepits occur in all periods. Specialized boiling pits occur <br />from about 7500-4650 BC, and slab-lined pits occur from about 7000-1200 BC. Large <br />fire-cracked rock features occur from 4650-1200 BC. Smaller fire-cracked rock features are <br />more abundant later in time. <br />Several avenues of research are proposed to promote a better understanding of the <br />associations between feature morphology, function and site activity. For instance, <br />experiments with the heat out-put of different feature types may lend insight into the <br />intensity of activities at a site and/or the length of occupancy. The temporal distribution of <br />features or, more correctly stated, the frequencies of radiocarbon dates through time, has <br />often served as a tool for estimating population. Finally, the temporal distribution of <br />different feature types may carry implications concerning social organization (Stiger 1998). <br /> <br />Formative Era <br />The Formative Era from 400 BC – AD 1300 (as defined by Reed and Metcalf 1999:6) <br />is represented the Fremont, Anasazi/Ancestral Puebloan, Gateway, and Aspen Traditions. <br />The Fremont Tradition people are likely the most represented in the region and may have <br />occupied it from ca. AD 200-1500; but there remain many unanswered questions concerning <br />the Fremont. It is generally agreed, however, that various horticulturalist (Formative) <br />groups--possibly of diverse origins and languages, but sharing similar material traits and <br />subsistence strategies--occupied selected areas in Utah and western Colorado during that <br />time. <br />The local Formative Era groups adopted many of the Anasazi traits, yet remained <br />distinct in several characteristics including a one-rod-and-bundle basketry construction <br />style, a moccasin style, trapezoidal shaped clay figurines and rock art figures, as well as a <br />gray coiled pottery (Madsen 1989:9-11). The Fremont apparently retained many Archaic <br />subsistence strategies, such as relying more on the gathering of wild plants and having less <br />dependence than the Anasazi on domesticated ones--corn, beans, and squash. However, <br />maize horticulture was practiced by the Fremont in selected areas throughout the region, as <br />indicated by excavations in east central Utah and west-central Colorado (Barlow 2002; <br />Hauck 1993; Madsen 1979; Wormington 1956). On the southern Uncompahgre Plateau, <br />although radiocarbon data from Formative Era sites are fairly evenly distributed in that area, <br />ten sites with corn and/or squash remains have been dated and indicate their use within two <br />distinct times, ca. 200 BC to AD 500 and ca. AD 900-1100 (Reed and Gebauer 2004:83). <br />A significant concentration of the Fremont Era sites has been identified in the <br />Douglas Creek area of northwestern Colorado. Characteristics of this group include dry and <br />wet-laid masonry structures on promontories, granaries in overhangs, and slab-lined <br />pithouses. In recognition of the significance of the Douglas Creek’s archaeological sites a <br />National Historic District was established in 1973 that includes a 1.0 mile wide corridor that <br />stretches roughly from where East and West Douglas Creeks divide north to the White <br />River. The district was largely established in recognition of the highly visible rock art <br />29