2010-05-07_PERMIT FILE - C2009087A (3)

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exploitation of a wider range of fauna, evidence for plant procurement and processing, use of non- specialized chipped stone tool -kits, and the disappearance of traditional well -made Paleoindian • projectile points. Settled Period/Archaic Era (6,450 — 4,450 BP) - The Settled Period is more widely represented than the former period. The approximate dates for the period range from about 6,500 BP to 4,450 BP. It was termed the "Settled Period" because by this time a distinctive subsistence pattern was fully in place across the region. Attributes of this pattern include abundant use of pit features to cook and process a variety of foods, use of roots and seeds, exploitation of a range of smaller mammals in addition to larger mammals, the presence of ground stone in most site types, use of a wide variety of stemmed and notched projectile points, and a settlement pattern that reflects the use of shallow basin houses as dwellings on a seasonal basis. Manifestations of this pattern in the Wyoming Basin led researchers to define a "Western Wyoming Interior Basin Adaptation Type" based on a distinctive settlement and subsistence strategy oriented toward resource use of the broad semi -arid interior basins and intervening uplifts. This adaptation was geared toward utilization of plant and animal resources of mixed desert shrubs, especially those in sand dune communities. As defined, this "adaptation type" existed throughout the Archaic and early Late Prehistoric periods in the Wyoming Basin, with the adaptation fluorescing periodically over time. Through much of the Settled Period, a pattern of central -place foraging seems to have dominated. Transitional Period/Archaic Era (4,450 — 2,950 BP) - The Transitional Period exhibits some continuity with the preceding period but with less evidence of sedentism, greater seasonality in the use of higher elevations, and greater variability in material culture. Despite evidence for variability in material culture, a strong thread of continuity is also present. Use of pit features and basin house • structures continues, there is little change in occupation intensity or in the site function from the preceding period, and there is little to suggest a distinctive shift in subsistence. Terminal Period/Archaic Era (2,950 — 1,950 BP) - The Terminal Period was apparently initiated by a time of stress in the subsistence systems and at witnessed experiments in use of the bow -and- arrow, early experiments in growing corn, an increase in the use of seed processing and other lower rate -of -return foods, and more apparent mobility in subsistence systems, as measured by a decrease in the use of basin houses. Regionally, the numbers of dated components increases during this period, but in Yampa valley, components of this time period are less frequent than for the earlier two Archaic periods. One date from the Red Army Rockshelter pertains to this period; however, there is no clear demarcation that solidly ends the cultural period. Overall, the Yampa valley data set has done little to resolve this poorly described cultural period, but data are accumulating from recent work. Aspen Tradition/Formative Era (1,950 — 650 BP) - The Aspen Tradition/Uinta Phase is characterized by a substantial increase in the number and visibility of archaeological components across the region. Full -scale adoption of the bow and arrow, use of small corner notched points, the introduction of some locally made gray and brown ware ceramics, frequent use of pit features, and evidence of resource use intensification in the form of seed and root processing technologies are all characteristics of the cultural period. This pattern shows up in the vicinity of PSCM specifically at Red Army and in a number of surface sites. Small basin houses are recognized in some sites in the region, and the period is regarded as the final fluorescence of the Western Wyoming Adaptation • Type. The number of excavated components are less numerous than in the Archaic Era in the Yampa valley. A drying climate about 1,000 BP may have strained the Aspen Tradition but ` PSCM Permit App. 2.04 -11 6/15/09