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As a result of the intensive inspection, five sites, 5MF7540.2, 5MF7762, 5MF7763,
<br />5MF7764 and 5MF7765.1 were newly recorded. Additionally, a previously recorded site,
<br />5MF948, was revisited and it was determined to have been erroneously mapped and was
<br />therefore re-recorded and re -mapped for this project. These resources are described below
<br />and location data (available in the BLM and OAHP copies only) is provided in Appendix A
<br />on Figure A-1, a 7.5' quadrangle map, that shows the resources in relation to the proposed
<br />project; and in Table A-1, which lists the resources UTM locations. Additional detailed
<br />information is provided in the attached OAHP Resource Forms, also in Appendix A.
<br />Site Descriptions
<br />Site 5MF948, the Recurve Rockshelter, is a sheltered camp and rock art site that
<br />consists of a series of pictographs and petroglyphs within the shelter of a large, high, south -
<br />facing overhang. The site was originally recorded by Pat Persinger of Archaeological
<br />Services for Utah International from Laramie, Wyoming, in 1980 as part of their survey
<br />entitled Class III Survey of the Trapper Mine near Craig, Colorado (Caraveo and Greer1980).
<br />The site's location, as shown on the original site form's USGS map, was approximately 550
<br />meters to the east-southeast of its actual location as determined by the current survey project.
<br />The site is in the Transitional Zone at an elevation of 7360 feet. It is situated in the
<br />Williams Fork Mountains at the base of a cliff of sandstone which is a member of the
<br />Williams Fork Formation. The site is in an unnamed, southwest -flowing tributary of Deal
<br />Gulch. The nearest permanent water is the Mine Spring which is 1100 meters to the south.
<br />Deal Gulch joins the Williams Fork river 3.0 miles to the south. The site itself, within the
<br />overhang, is virtually un -vegetated. From the dripline outward the vegetation consists of a
<br />strip of bunch grasses and, to the south of the grasses, Gamble oak and saltbush. The canyon
<br />in which the site is located is vegetated with dense serviceberry, Gamble oak, and saltbush,
<br />with an understory of sagebrush, yarrow, snakeweed, aster, wild rose, thistle, and Indian
<br />paintbrush. The aeolian soil within the overhang consists of grayish -brown to brown, clay
<br />loam of undetermined, but significant, depth --of at least 50cm. The area is currently used for
<br />coal mining, hunting, and cattle grazing, and a great deal of manure rests on the site surface.
<br />The existing, and active, coal strip mine is located approximately 300 to 350 meters
<br />northwest of the site.
<br />The site was originally described as "red and yellow ocher pictographs and a few
<br />petroglyphs of shields, spears, bison, mounted horsemen, and standing warriors." None of
<br />the 1980 photographs of the rock art were available to the current project, however the site
<br />form presented detailed illustrations of six of the elements. The site's dimensions were listed
<br />as 10m north -south by 2.5m east -west. A charred fragment of bone was also collected in
<br />1980. No cultural affiliations or speculation as to the age of the rock art were attempted,
<br />however OAHP's Compass site lists the cultural affiliation as Protohistoric Ute. The site was
<br />listed by the OAHP as officially eligible to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)
<br />in 1982.
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