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1 <br />SECI'Ia9 II <br />,• THE RDAZCP.P GAP9E TRAIL SITE: <br />DESCRIPTION AND ENVIROI~S7P <br />' SDT271 was first discovered and recorded on BIM land in June of <br />1978 by Barry Hibbets, Frank Fddy and 4Lin Bridge of Archaeological <br />Associates of Boulder. T91e site was defined as a lithic scatter and <br />' described as follows: <br />SDT271 consists of a scatter of artifacts exposed in bare <br />t spots within oak thicket; no hearths; site situated on bench <br />overlooking Roatcap Creek. Secondary reduction, biface <br />manufacture, indicated by thinning flakes and bifaces. <br />' (See Appendix I) <br />The site was only known from three mall clearings in heavy oak <br />' brush where bare ground made it possible to observe surface artifacts. <br />Hibbets and Fddy mapped the artifact distribution and roughly outlined <br />the site topography and situation. The site was covered in heavy oak <br />brush and service berry and was essentially fully obscured by this heavy <br />' vegetational mantle. They measured the site at 78 m long by 20 m wide. <br />This indicated the site was about 1,560 square meters in extent. They <br />also noted that there was an historic Euro-American cong~onent at the <br />' north end of the site. The site was fully collected of artifacts by the <br />survey team. The team further noted that the site had only light <br />natural deterioration and little human disturbance. It was believed to <br />have sane depth. The original survey team believed the site was <br />probably eligible for the National .Register and it needed to be formally <br />evaluated with a test excavation program. According to the <br />classification scheme used by Archaeological Associates, the site was <br />' provisionally assigned to the "Late Post-Archaic Period" or about A. D. <br />950-1500. <br />' SDT271 is located at 6,900 feet above sea level in the Transitional <br />Life Gone where a mixture of pinyon, juniper and scrub oak dominate. As <br />shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the site is situated on East Roatcap Creek <br />' near where it issues fran the high bluffs above the North Fork Valley <br />out onto the upper terrace of the larger valley. It is located adjacent <br />to an abandoned jeep road on the east side of the creek. It is located <br />on a terrace which is rather substantial by a~arison with other <br />' terraces in the constricted valley of Fast Roatcap Creek. <br /> Prior to the start of excavation, nothing additional had <br />' learned about the site. It was still covered in a heavy mantle of brush <br />and few additbnal cultural materials could be seen. This confirmed that <br />erosion was slow at the site. A few flakes were noted eroding fran the <br />' jeep road and teo lithic tools wise recovered fran the road as the <br />survey crew rode it on horseback while riding into other parts of the <br />inventory area (Figure 11). These tools, a hafted biface and a mall <br />corner notched projectile point, were not inoanpatable with the time <br />' • range suggested by the original survey <br />7 <br />