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~~ Grand River Institute <br />February 12, 1992 <br />Colorado Historical Society <br />Preservation Office <br />1300 Broadway <br />Denver, Colorado 80203-2137 <br />Attn: Jim Green <br />Assistant State Archaeologist <br />Re: GRI Project No. 9115 - Data recovery for site 5MN3760 in <br />association with Phase I of the proposed Hamilton Mine Project <br />Dear Mr. Green: <br />This letter is written to confirm our telephone conversation <br />of a few weeks ago in regards to the project cited above. As <br />I stated then, the test excavations at the site were closed at <br />the end of November, 1991. <br />• The test excavations determined that the area around Feature <br />1, a slab-lined hearth, did not contain the remains of shallow <br />pit-structure as indicated by the original test in conducted <br />last summer. The gray, ash-layer previously believed to be a <br />prehistoric living floor was found to be the result of a <br />natural fire that apparently predates the feature. Flakes had <br />been mixed into this ash layer around the hearth probably <br />during the period of occupation. It was the presence of these <br />flakes that led to the original assessment. Outside the <br />immediate hearth area, all artifacts occurred on and above the <br />ash. <br />Additional work at the site included a complete, systematic <br />surface collection. Another hearth (unlined) was found as a <br />result of this process. It was excavated, and like Feature 1, <br />yielded a good carbon sample, which was sent for analysis. <br />Four projectile points and several tips were obtained as part <br />of the surface collection and test excavation. These <br />diagnostics suggest at least two occupations of the site, one <br />in the Late Archaic and the other in the Late Prehistoric. <br />Unfortunately, the testing also indicated that the shallow <br />cultural levels were mixed during occupation and by domestic <br />herds in recent times. <br />• <br />Archaeology Paleontology History • Environmental Studies <br />P.O. Box 3543 Grand Junction, CO 81502 303/245-7868 <br />