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CONTAINS PRIVILEGED INFORMATION – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE <br /> <br /> 4 <br /> Figure 3. Project area overview, facing southwest. <br /> <br /> <br />CULTURAL HISTORY <br />The following is a brief summary of the cultural history of west-central and northwestern <br />Colorado, which includes the study area. The summary is adapted from the Bureau of Land <br />Management–Uncompahgre Field Office Class I Cultural Resource Overview (Greubel et al. 2010). <br />Additional information about the prehistoric occupation of the region may be found in the Northern <br />Colorado River Basin regional prehistoric archaeological context by Reed and Metcalf (1999). The <br />Colorado historical archaeology context by Church et al. (2007) provides more information regarding <br />the history of the area. <br /> <br />Prehistoric Era <br />The prehistoric occupation of the area can be divided into four different eras. The first of <br />these is the Paleoindian era, dating between approximatel y 11,500 and 6400 cal BC. The <br />Paleoindian lifeway represents an adaptation to terminal Pleistocene environments. The tools <br />characterizing this era include finely flaked lanceolate projectile points and spurred scrapers, among <br />others. Paleoindian peoples employed a highly mobile lifeway, focused upon big -game hunting, <br />especially in the early portion of the era. Four cultural traditions are recognized across the <br />Paleoindian era: the Clovis (11,500–9500 cal BC), the Goshen (11,000–10,700 cal BC), the Folsom <br />(10,800–9500 cal BC), and the Foothill-Mountain (9500–6400 cal BC) traditions. The Foothill- <br />Mountain tradition is thought to represent a more Archaic-like adaptation, characterized by less <br />annual mobility, more extensive exploitation of loca l environments, and more regional variation. <br /> <br />The Paleoindian era is followed by the Archaic era, dating between a pproximately 6400 and <br />400 cal BC. Archaic-era lifeways were characterized by hunting and gathering, lessened group <br />mobility, and extensive familiarity with and exploitation of local resources. The Archaic era in <br />western Colorado has been divided into four periods that reflect increasing population growth and <br />concomitant intensification of subsistence strategies over time: the Pioneer (6400 –4500 cal BC),