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<br /> <br />Regionally, studies have been conducted by Hibbets et al. (1979)., <br />Nickens et al. (1980), and Gooding (1981). As part of their survey of <br />the west-central Colorado coal leases, Hibbets et al. inventoried two <br />transects near our study area: Transect 9B, 5039 acres in T. 125., R. 91W., <br />and Transect 9A, 1440 acres in T. 135., R. 92W. The first yielded a,pre- <br />historic site density of .0006/acre, the second a density of .0007/acre. <br />Nickens et al. (1980) performed a Class II inventory of the Glenwood <br />Springs Resource Area, within twenty miles of our study area. They pre- <br />dict that the higher altitudes (spruce-fir, aspen, and mountain grassland <br />strata) will generally yield less than five percent of the area's cultural <br />resources and that these will likely be limited activity and short-term <br />camping sites. <br />A high-altitude excavation at Vail Pass by the Colorado Department of <br />Highways (Gooding 1981) produced cultural materials dating from 7320 to <br />200 years B.P. Cultural horizons represented include Early Archaic ,'McKean <br />Technocomplex, Late Plains Archaic, Woodland, Upper Republican, and Late <br />Prehistoric. <br />Other studies concerning the regional prehistory include Reed and <br />Scott's (1980) work in the Gunnison and Uncompahgre Resource Areas, which <br />identifies manifestations of Archaic, Fremont, and Ute cultures; Baker et <br />al.'s (1980) work on the Mount Emmons project which produced evidence of <br />occupiation as early as 8000 B.C. (Palen-Indian); and Buckles' (1971) work <br />on the Uncompahgre which identified twelve phases of the 'Uncompahgre Com- <br />plex' dating from 5000 B.C. to A.D. 1880. This body of literature suggests <br />that west-central Colorado was influenced by regional variations of the <br />Desert Archaic (Uncompahgre Complex), the Fremont, and the Ute, and that <br />these peoples may have been present in or near the study area. <br />Because there is so little known about the archaeology of this geo- <br />graphic area or that of high altitudes in general, the search for archaeo- <br />logical sites is imperative for the development of a comprehensive data <br />-4- <br /> <br />