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RULE 2 PERMITS
<br />• Paleoindian Stage (13,400 to 7,500 years before present (B.P.)). Characterized by kill sites and game
<br />processing sites. Tool assemblages consist of chipped stone tools, including dart points and specialized
<br />hide-processing tools, used in the hunting and processing of large animals, primarily now-extinct
<br />megafauna such as mammoth, extinct species of bison, and camels. In northwest Colorado, the
<br />Paleoindian Stage is divided into four traditions: Clovis, Goshen, Folsom, and Foothill-Mountain.
<br />Archaic Stage (8,400 to 2,000 B.P.). Time of changing environment that necessitated modifications of
<br />the preceding lifestyle to the warmer, drier conditions. These adaptations were manifested in intensive
<br />foraging of plant resources and hunting of deer and smaller game. Technologically there was an increased
<br />use of grinding stones and a general decrease in the size of dart points. Known site types include both
<br />open sites and rockshelters. These sites often contain features such as firepits, storage Gists, and
<br />azchitectural structures.
<br />Formative Stage (2,400 [0 700 B.PJ. This stage includes the Anasazi, Fremont, Gateway, and Aspen
<br />traditions. The stage is characterized by a change in technology, subsistence, trade, and demographics.
<br />The technology is marked by [he widespread use of pottery and small corner-notched and side-notched
<br />projectile points that were hafted to arrows. There is also evidence of gardening or horticulture, with corn
<br />as an important subsistence crop, combined with the use of wild plants. Site types include open sites,
<br />rock shelters, and various forms of architecture. Architecture includes masonry structures, pit structures,
<br />and kivas. In some areas there aze highly patterned residential sites, water control structures, and roads.
<br />Protohistoric Stage (700 to 120 B.P.). This stage is defined as the era at the end of the horticultural-based
<br />subsistence practices of the Formative era up through the final expulsion of the Ute to reservations (Reed
<br />and Metcalf 1999). The Ute Indians were the primary occupants of the azea with Shoshone in the extreme
<br />• northwest portion. The Comanche may also have occupied some areas briefly. These people were
<br />mobile hunters and gatherers. Site types include open camps, rockshelters, and wickiup sites. Artifacts
<br />include a combination of traditional hunting and gathering items, evidence of equestrian lifestyle, and
<br />European trade items.
<br />The research areas identified settlement patterns, paleodemography, subsistence, trade and exchange, and
<br />chronology which are topics that still need further resolution for all prehistoric stages. Specific research
<br />problems are defined within these broader research areas and are discussed in greater detail in Reed and
<br />Metcalf (1999).
<br />Historic Context -The project area is within the Colorado Plateau Country Historic Context (Husband
<br />1984). Among the themes discussed the most relevant to the project area are fur trade and exploration,
<br />Ute-Euroamerican contact, mining, early transportation, railroads, ranching and farming, the lumber
<br />industry, recreation, and tourism.
<br />The Spanish were the first Europeans to enter [he southern portions of [he area in the late 1700s but lefr
<br />no record of the region. Fur trappers and explorers were the first Euroamericans to have sustained contact
<br />and [o leave some record of the area. John Charles Fremont made several expeditions into northwest
<br />Colorado but records show that the area was written off as worthless. It was the discovery of gold that
<br />brought a substantial number of settlers into the region. Middle Pazk and North Park had miners settling
<br />in the area during the 1860s gold rush. It was soon evident that gold was not panning out but settlement
<br />had begun. In 1861, William Byers bought Hot Sulphur Springs with plans on turning it into a tourist
<br />resort. However, development of the area into a bustling tourist center did not happen until a reliable
<br />access route was established. The survey by John Wesley Powell in 1869 added new and accurate
<br />• information on western Colorado. Powell noted that the land was not well suited to agriculture and that to
<br />attempt i[ would require irrigation. The United States Geological Surveys (USGS) in the 1870s by
<br />South TaylodLower Wilson -Rule 2, Page 24 Revision Date: 11/30/06
<br />Revision No.: PR-02
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