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~ larger Orchard Valley study program was designed and its potential for contributing to the local cultural history was assessed as part of the 1984 baseline study program. The mall survey reported on here was designed to tie into the program outlined at that time (Baker 1989, 1984a). The project area of 880 acres is small when cc~ared to the geographic magnitude of western Colorado or even of previous survey efforts on behalf of the Orchard Valley Mine. Several previous studies (Baker 1984a) had shown that archaeological sites were rare in the high bluffs of the project area. It was, however, strongly suspected that prehistoric resources did indeed exist in the project vicinity, if not in the area of previous direct un~P*+ak~ngs thanselves. Ttrus, it was believed that a solid contribution to archaeological inquiry wuld be trt~de in the 1984 baseline studies if a broader geographical study domain could be established so that score ideas about the presence and/or absence of resources could be obtained for the North Fork Country. The primary problem domain became one of settlement patterns in relation to local geography. In short, if there were sites in the area, it was necessary to find them. Sir~ly finding, recording, aryl evaluating any prehistoric sites in the North Fork Country Mould be a solid contribution to the archaeology of the 61uuLison Country. The smaller 1986 effort, which in large part resurveyed previously inventoried areas, allowed for even tighter scrutiny of an area already known to crontain at least sore prehistoric sites (Baker 1984a). • }iistoric Context In 1989 (Baker 1964a) it was rerngruzed (Reed and Scott 1980; Baker 1977, 1978; and Buckles and Buckles 1984) that historical azchaeology needs to be more consistently addressed in cultural resource studies in Mestern Colorado and the North Fork Country in particular. In this regard primary patterning in the Faro-American historical archaeological resource base needs to be delineated. Two such fundamental patterns have been previously proposed. These are the 1) Primazy settlement with extensive land exploitation and 2) Urbanization and intensive land exploitation (Baker 1977). As will be discussed, these took place within the American Victorian Cultural Tradition and ertghasized the evolution of the Rural Sub-Tradition in the North Fork Country (Baker 1980, 1977, 1978 and 1978a). Understanding of the regional historical archaeology is very poor and little progress has been made even when con~ared to the slaw growth in the regional prelistory. The great need is still to develop a data base and seek to formally delineate the primacy patterns in the resource base. Thus, in terms of problem domains we are looking primarily at settlement systenLS and economics. Once are learn to identify and differentiate the basic patterns tse can consider rare refined problem domains. Iri this light, a major goal of the Orcharn Valley Project is, like the prehistory, to obtain baseline data on hiswric sites. Where are they? K}iat are their salient charactx:ristics? What is their time period? how r,any are there? What can that' tell us that we don't already know? • 13