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1 ' The Early and Middle Ceramic periods, dating from A.D. 1 to 1550, is marked by a transition to a new hunting technology introduced by the bow and arrow, and by the production of ceramic vessels. ' Several stages are recognized in eastern Colorado: the Plains Woodland, the Ceramic Woodland, Upper Republican, and protohistoric Dismal River. The Formative stage in eastern Colorado, unlike other areas that have developed village ' traditions, is characterized by open sites, some architectural remains, and friable pottery remains. The evaluation of the ceramic period in eastern Colorado indicates a more broad-based t hunting and gathering economy with only limited addition of horticulture. The Van Bibber Creek site (Nelson. 1969), the Willowbrook shelter, Franktown Cave, and Bayou Gulch have produced cultural materials and information about this stage. ' The Protohistoric period, postdating A.D. 1550, is characterized by surface lithic scatters and stone rings. The period marks the transitions from semisedentary occupations to temporary campsites of bison-hunting nomads on the Plains. Ethnographic documentation of native historic populations reveals relatively rapid transitions of tribes in the region. The Plains Apache groups are known in the region prior to 1700 and Comanche and Ute in the northeast quarter of Colorado by 1750. By 1820 ' the Ute had moved to the Mountain region in Colorado with Comanches east of the mountains in the Plains region. The Arapaho and Cheyenne replaced the Comanche in the northeastern Colorado by 1830 and in southeastern Colorado by 1870. In the ' 1870s the U.S. government reservation program removed most native groups to reservations in Colorado, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. ' HISTORY The history of the area is based on Eddy et al. (1981:21-29) who provide a short history of Douglas County, 1820 to 1690, based on studies by Hall (1891) and Moore (1970), and from a history of Douglas County by Marr (1983). 1 Cherry Creek provided a natural route along the Front Range that provided both water and timber. The route was used well before the eighteenth century by Crow and Cheyenne Indians from the Black Hills to get horses from the Comanches south of the ' Arkansas River (Marr 19N3:16). During the American fur trade period it was one of the well-known frontier trails. It was known by many names including Trappers Trail, Old Divide Trail, ' Military Trail, Jimmy Camp Trail, and Cherokee Trail. From Saint Louis, this route followed the Santa Fe Trail to Bent's Old Fort on the Arkansas River, up the Arkansas to the trading post at Pueblo, up Fountain Creek, across the divide between the Arkansas and Platte drainages, t)iei~ down Cherry Creek, to the posts on the South Platte River. The discovery of gold at Russelville started the Pikes Peak gold rush in 1959. As early as 1859, gold was being mined in Cherry 1 11 1