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<br /> <br />in the archaeological record: the introduction of ceramic <br />technology, the replacement of the spear thrower with the bow, and <br />the advent of horticulture. Both ceramic technology and <br />horticultural practices are believed to represent extremely <br />' attenuated manifestations of the Eastern Woodlands culture, or at <br />least a diffusion of traits from that region (Cassels 1983:158- <br />' 160). Cord-impressed vessels with conical bases are typical of <br />early ceramic artifacts in eastern Colorado. <br />Although the Early Ceramic period is contemporaneous with the <br />' rise of a relatively sedentary, horticultural lifeway in some <br />adjacent areas, there is scant evidence of plant domestication <br />' during this time in eastern Colorado and none from the project area <br />proper. Although the practice of horticulture in neighboring areas <br />probably had some impact on lifeways in northeastern Colorado, the <br />overall subsistence strategy in this area appears to have remained <br />' generally similar to that of the Archaic Stage. <br />By approximately 1,000 years B.P., cord-marked ceramics began <br />I to be replaced by smooth surfaced forms, indicative of the Middle <br />Ceramic period. This transition coincided with the introduction of <br />small side-notched projectile points. Both traits are generally <br />considered diagnostic of the Upper Republican phase which was <br />1 centered geographically in Nebraska (Cassels 1983:170-173). The <br />temporal span of the Middle Ceramic period in eastern Colorado <br />corresponds also with the Old Woman's phase or Late Side-Notched <br />Arrow Point tradition of the Northwestern plains (Reeves 1978). <br />Although Frison (1978) attributes the appearance of small side- <br />notched projectile points and smooth ceramics on the Wyoming plains <br />to northwestern influences, this region of influence has been <br />' traditionally overlooked by Colorado archaeologists. <br />In Eighmy's chronology the Middle Ceramic period terminates at <br />' the beginning of the Protohistoric period, ca. 275 years B.P. <br />' 25 <br />1 <br />