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<br />' sites were determined eligible to the National Register of <br />Historic Places: 5DA97, SDA261, SDA263, 5DA265, and SDA269. <br />Further excavations were performed at the Sayou Gulch site, <br />' 5DA265, which revealed occupations of the site Prom Early Archaic <br />through the Protohistoric period. Further excava*_iens were also <br />performed at the Kinney Creek site, SDA269. <br />' A cultural resources survey in Castlewood Canyon State Park (Eddy <br />1981) identified 18 prehistoric sites, 15 isolated finds, and 5 <br />historic sites. This survey indicates an upland resource <br />' procurement zone that was used as early as the Middle Archaic, <br />In addition, excavations at Franktown cave, a rockshelter on the <br />Willow Creek drainage, had cultural materials that may be <br />transitional between the Plains Woodland and Upper Republican <br />cultures (Withers 1954). <br />' CULTURE HISTORY <br />The project area, near the headwaters of Cherry Creek, is on the <br />western edge of the Great Plains. It is within the Plains <br />' Prehistoric Context Region. <br />Archaeological research along the Front Range and the Plains of <br />' eastern Colorado has identified Paleoindian sites. The <br />Paleoindian horizon, including at least three major cultural <br />traditions and dating from 9,250 to 7,000 B.C., is represented by <br />the Dent, Jurgens, Lamb Springs, Lindenmeier, and Olson-Chubbock <br />' sites in eastern Colorado. These sites include kill sites or <br />campsites associated with remains of extinct mammoth and bison, <br />and other extinct fauna. <br />The Archaic stage dates from about 5,500 B.C. to A.D. 1. <br />Evidence for the Early Archaic stage in the High Plains is <br />scarce, and researchers have suggested a hiatus for the <br />Altithermal period in the High Plains due to drought conditions. <br />Frison et al. (1976) suggested that the populations sought refuge <br />in the foothills and mountains in the drought conditions. This <br />' trend seems to be confirmed with evidence of Early Archaic sites <br />in eastern Colorado including occupations at the Magic Mountain <br />site (Irwin-Williams and Irwin 1966), at Dipper Gap (Eighmy <br />1989), and at the Wilbur 'T'homas shelter (Grady 1971). The Bayou <br />' Gulch site, 5DA265, had an Early Archaic occupation also (Gilmore <br />1991). Again, these site components are usually deeply buried <br />and found below other site components during excavations. <br />The Middle Archaic period is associated with the McLean <br />Technocomplex. The Late Archaic period is represented by a <br />decrease in size and in the sophistication of projectile point <br />manufacture. Site components of these periods have been <br />identified at Magic Mountain, Willowbrook shelter (Irwin-Williams <br />and Irwin 1966), at Bayou Gulch (5DA265), and the Willow Creek <br />' site (SDA259). <br />1 10 <br /> <br />