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.another question that has been raised in the literature is the presence of Paleo-Indian <br />material in northwestern Colorado. Paleo-Indian projectile points have been discovered, • <br />and one Paleo-Indian site (SI2T139) was identified on a survey very close to the Yoast. <br />Lease area (IVheeler 19801. ~!uring testing of SRT139, additional diagnostics of the <br />Paleo-Indian technocomplex (Band 1980) and subsurface deposits were discovered. <br />Archaic and some Late Prehistoric components •.vere also identified. Buckles (1971} <br />considers muse of PaLeo-Indian artifacts a characteristic of an Archaic complex on the <br />Unco~npaligre Plateau. Surface finds can then be interpreted either as evidence of <br />archaic transport or evidence of Paleo-Indian occ~i~ation. The question of which <br />interpretation is correct can only be resolved by the recovery of Paleo-Indian material in <br />.i stratigraphic context, either as a portion of an Archaic assemblage, or as a definite <br />Paleo-Indian occupation. <br />The literature review has identified a number of archaeological investigations relevant to <br />[he project area, each with a different research orientation. Several avenues of research <br />leave been identified, but a comprehensive understanding of Northwestern Colorado is <br />lacking at this time. Since the region lacks a co~n~rehensive research framework and <br />corresponding fieldwork, it is not possible to make a predictive statement of what one <br />would expect to encounter within the project area, nor was it possible to pose detailed • <br />formal hypotheses prior to the survey. Fieldwork was initiated with the hope of adding <br />to the regional dsta base, end of addressing the above rese:irc~i questions in general <br />terms. <br />1RCilACOLOGIC:~L SCG)UENCE <br />The project area is located between the Plains to flee east, the Great Basin to the west, <br />the 1Vyoming Basin to the north, and the Southwest to the south. It is clear from <br />arct[seological data that these regions have witnessed a long and varied sequence of <br />human occupation and utilization. Sites in northwestern Colorado are li;:ely to exhibit <br />affinities with sites from the Plains, the Treat Basin, and the 1Vyoming Basin. The <br />cultural sequence for northwestern Colorado outlined below slid su~ninarized in Table 3, <br />incorporates data from these three regions. The sequence has been divided into several <br />traditions, each exhibiting characteristic assemblages o[ artifacts, settlement patterns, <br />and subsistence pursuits. Nhether or not these cultural stages are directly ancestral to <br />one another is almost impossible to determine, at least on the basis of current <br />archaeological data. • <br />14 <br />