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-12 - <br />until the middle of the nineteenth century. Archaic populations were <br />composed of migratory bands which seasonally exploited diverse ecozones <br />within a smaller territory. Alterations in subsistence patterns were <br />reflected by changes in the artifact assemblages. Projectile points <br />decreased in size in accordance with changed in function from spear to <br />dart to arrow points, and milling stones were more abundant. The <br />chronological scheme for projectile points defined for the Archaic in <br />southern Wyoming appears to be applicable to northwestern Colorado, <br />and references to this sequence follow (Frison et al. 1974). <br />---Large corner and side notched projectile points are diagnostic <br />of the Early Plains Archaic stage, which coincided with the Altithermal, <br />a period of hotter and drier weather than was known before or after. <br />Dates for this period range from 5000 B.C. to 3000 B.C. No altithermal <br />i <br />~~ sites have been found on the High Plains to date, although this apparent <br />lack may be due to an imcomplete sample of material remains (Frison 1978: <br />41). Benedict provided the alternate hypothesis that during the Altithermal <br />' period, lowland inhabitants of the region sought refuge at higher elevations <br />(Benedict and Olson 1978: 179-180). In any case, there is abundant <br />evidence of Altithermal~age sites from the foothills of Colorado to the <br />high mountains. Current evidence includes remnants of game drive systems <br />at higher elevations; walls and cairns were constructed behind which <br />Altithermal hunters could hide and force game animals toward their demise <br />at predetermined kill locations (Benedict and Olson 1978: 5-14 ). No <br />Early Archaic cultural materials have been recorded from the vicinity of <br />the study area, but these remains have been found elsewhere in northwestern <br />"~ Colorado. <br />- <br />