2022-05-10_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - M1993041

Home Browse Search

I 30 of mammoth and other extinct mammals. Such sites represent components of a hunting oriented lifeway that occurred globally during the late Pleistocene. By approximately 10, 500 years B.P. Clovis projectile points were replaced by a form indicative of the Folsom period. This technological change coincided with a shift away from primary dependence on mammoth to increased exploitation of Pleistocene bison (Bison antiauus) . The largest and most thoroughly inves- tigated Folsom occupation in northeastern Colorado is the Lin- denmeier site, located north-northeast of the Study Area in Larimer County. The majority of Paleo-Indian sites or components represent the Plano period, which began by ca. 9000 years B. P. This period includes several technologically related complexes, most notably Agate Basin, Hell Gap, and Cody. Increased exploitation of plant resources is indicated at one Plano period site in eastern Colorado (Wheat 1979) . Some researchers feel that a greater level of social organization is indicated at certain Plano period sites than at earlier Paleo-Indian occupations (Kalasz et al. 1992:26) . 2.2.2 Archaic Stage The Archaic Stage is divisible into Early, Middle, and Late periods. By approximately 7, OOO years B.P. cultural materials indicative of the Plano period of the Paleo-Indian stage began to be replaced by evidence of markedly different technological adaptations and subsistence strategies. During this time much of North America was affected by an accelerated continental warming trend, the Altithermal episode, which resulted in ecological changes. The lifeway that developed in response to these conditions during the Early Archaic period was characterized by increased dependence on small mammals and wild plants. A decrease in the exploitation of the plains region and increased utilization of foothills and montane environments is characteristic of this period. (Larson et al. 1992; Benedict and