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31 <br /> Olson 1978; Benedict 1979; Kehoe 1981) . <br /> The general hunting and gathering lifeway that evolved during the <br /> Early Archaic period persisted with only minor alterations <br /> throughout the Middle and Late Archaic periods. Cultural <br /> variation during this stage is indicated by changes in projectile <br /> point morphology and by increased exploitation and settlement of <br /> plains regions during the milder climatic episodes that followed <br /> the Altithermal . <br /> Sites or site components attributed to the Middle Archaic period <br /> (5, 000-3, 000 years B.P. ) are well documented in eastern Colorado, <br /> particularly along the North and South Platte drainages. A <br /> generalized hunting and gathering lifeway continued in eastern <br /> Colorado during the Late Archaic Period (3, 000-2000 years B.P. ) . <br /> Summarizing the work of several researchers, Eighmy (1984 : 62-63) <br /> notes that Late Archaic camp sites in eastern Colorado tend to <br /> •cluster on stream terraces, while relatively briefly occupied <br /> lithic scatters are found more often on ridge tops. <br /> 2.2. 3 Ceramic Stage <br /> The termination of the Archaic Stage in Eastern Colorado is <br /> indicated by the occurrence of three roughly contemporaneous <br /> events in the archaeological record: the introduction of ceramic <br /> technology, the replacement of the spear thrower with the bow, <br /> and the advent of horticulture. Both ceramic technology and <br /> horticultural practices are believed to represent extremely <br /> attenuated manifestations of the Eastern Woodlands culture, or at <br /> least a diffusion of traits from that region (Cassels 1983: 158- <br /> 160) . Cord-impressed vessels with conical bases are typical of <br /> early ceramic artifacts in eastern Colorado. <br /> Although the Early Ceramic period is contemporaneous with the <br /> rise of a relatively sedentary, horticultural lifeway in some <br /> adjacent areas, there is scant evidence of plant domestication <br /> during this time in eastern Colorado and none from the project <br /> area proper. Although the practice of horticulture in <br />