Laserfiche WebLink
<br />~' <br />i, <br />~' <br />1 <br />1 <br />1 <br /> <br />1 <br />i <br /> <br />1 <br />1 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />consistent with expectations based on previous findings throughout <br />eastern Colorado. However, the radiocarbon age estimate of 2,660 <br />+/- 90 years B.P. was obtained from charcoal that was over 2 meters <br />(5.56 feet) below the ground surface. Archaeological sites in <br />eastern Colorado rarely attain such depth and significantly earlier <br />radiocarbon ages are typically recovered from much shallower <br />cultural strata. <br />Radiocarbon data from both of these sites raises unique <br />questions about the Study Area. Site SBL676 provides limited <br />evidence that ceramic technology may have been introduced to groups <br />living on Indian Mountain markedly earlier than is generally <br />believed to have occurred within the foothills region. Site <br />SBL2431 provides evidence that sites on the valley floor may be <br />subject to depositional processes that are not typical of other <br />sites in the region, and that Late Archaic and earlier components <br />may be deeply buried. The following questions will direct research <br />efforts aimed at establishing a more detailed chronology: <br />1. Is additional evidence of early ceramic technology present <br />within the Study Area? <br />2. Do deeply stratified sites such as 5BL2431 occur throughout <br />the valley floor? <br />3. Is the apparent paucity of preceramic sites and isolated <br />artifacts indicative of changes in settlement patterns through <br />time, the effects of collector activity, depositional factors, or <br />interactions among all of these? <br />' 9. Are fluctuations in prehistoric use of the Study Area keyed <br />to identifiable paleoenvironmental events, such as glacial stades <br />or changes in the forest/grassland boundary? <br />1 <br />66 <br /> <br />