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

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perhaps not severely enough to change the cultural adaptation. Certainly the drop in the number of dated occupations after about 700 BP strongly reflects a change in adaptation. • Antero Phase/Protohistoric Era (650 — 300BP) - The Antero Phase is marked by the replacement of small corner notched points by side and tri- notched forms, by the introduction of Ute Uncompahgre brown or Shoshone Intermountain pottery, by increased mobility, and less reliance on storage. Considerably fewer pit features are apparent in the record and there is a shift in land -use patterns from open basin dunal environments in favor of wooded uplands and wet drainages. Within the cultural period, the transition to the Protohistoric Era is signaled by the introduction of a small amount of European trade goods. Canalla Phase/Protohistoric Era (300- 130BP) - The Canalla Phase is essentially a continuation of the latest prehistoric period with the addition of trade goods. Sites of this age have not been investigated in or near the PSCM permit area. Historic Context Comprehensive historic contexts have been written for the general area of the project. The most recent can be found in Colorado Mountains Historic Context and Colorado History: A context of Historical Archaeology. The United States obtained the Louisiana Purchase, which included the territory that is now Colorado, in 1803 and sent expeditions west to document this new territory. It is during this time frame that the "contact- traditional cultures" were building economic relationships with the Spanish • and other European traders. The period from 1820 to 1860 was characterized by more intensive migrations westward of American settlers as a result of the Louisiana Purchase. This led to heightened competition for resources and thus more cross - cultural conflicts. The fur trade was dwindling, and gold was discovered in the Colorado high country in 1859, starting the Colorado gold rush. Although this did not greatly affect the northwest portions of Colorado directly, it did move settlers closer to the area and prompted Congress to establish the Colorado Territory in 1861. The Late Contact Phase (1860 -1881) of the Protohistoric era is characterized by the initiation of U.S. Government and Indian relations, including displacement of Indian Nations onto reservations to stabilize new western territories for settlement. The Homestead Act was passed in 1862, opening new lands in the Colorado Territory and the west. In 1876, Colorado was established as a state, and by 1881, the Utes were relocated from western Colorado to eastern Utah. With the relocation of Native Americans further west, American settlements grew rapidly in western Colorado. This growth was further fueled by oil and coal extraction, which began in 1872 in much of the state; although it did not take off in northwestern Colorado until the 1880's. The mining industry boom led to the expansion of commerce, transportation, and support industries in the west. Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad across southern Wyoming in 1869 contributed greatly to increased settlement in northwestern Colorado, and the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Company had developed lines from Denver to Salt Lake City, UT, by 1883. These railways provided market • access that had been previously unavailable to the farmers and cattle and sheep ranchers of the areas, as well as the coal mines. Roadways were also expanding further west, bringing increasing PSCM Permit App. 2.04 -12 6/15/09