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30 <br />of mammoth and other extinct mammals. Such sites represent <br />components of a hunting oriented lifeway that occurred globally <br />during the late Pleistocene. <br />By approximately 10,500 years B.P. Clovis projectile points were <br />replaced by a form indicative of the Folsom period. This <br />technological change coincided with a shift away from primary <br />dependence on mammoth to increased exploitation of Pleistocene <br />bison (Bisott antiquus). The largest and most thoroughly inves- <br />tigated Folsom occupation in northeastern Colorado is the Lin- <br />denmeier site, located north-northeast of the Study Area in <br />Larimer County. <br />The majority of Paleo-Indian sites or components represent the <br />Plano period, which began by ca. 9000 years B.P. This period <br />includes several technologically related complexes, most notably <br />Agate Basin, Hell Gap, and Cody. Increased exploitation of plant <br />resources is indicated at one Plano period site in eastern <br />Colorado (Wheat 1979). Some researchers feel that a greater <br />level of social organization is indicated at certain Plano period <br />sites than at earlier Paleo-Indian occupations (Kalasz et al. <br />1992:26). <br />2.2.2 Archaic Stage <br />The Archaic Stage is divisible into Early, Middle, and Late <br />periods. By approximately 7,000 years B.P. cultural materials <br />indicative of the Plano period of the Paleo-Indian stage began to <br />be replaced by evidence of markedly different technological <br />adaptations and subsistence strategies. During this time much of <br />North America was affected by an accelerated continental warming <br />trend, the Altithermal episode, which resulted in ecological <br />changes. The lifeway that developed in response to these <br />conditions during the Early Archaic period was characterized by <br />increased dependence on small mammals and wild plants. A <br />decrease in the exploitation of the plains region and increased <br />utilization of foothills and montane environments is <br />characteristic of this period. (Larson et al. 1992; Benedict and <br />