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incx~rporated with the natural features are conspiciws structures such <br />as dry laid stone walls atu] rock cairns often cYirl~ined with natural <br />blinds such as boulder piles. Be~redict (1978:13) noted that tests of <br />two cirwlar enclosures thought to have served as blinds, yielded "no <br />discernable fill, no artifacts, charcoal, or other evidence of human <br />use". A major point in Benedict's work is that ambush rather than <br />trapping or jumping as practiced orr the Great Plains is particularly <br />characteristic of arctic and alpine environments arv9 that such systems <br />of ambush are c.~cnmon throughout much of the world (Benedict 1978:71). <br />In a later work, Benedict went on to state the "drive systems can be <br />recognized by their dry laid stone walls, lines of cairns, and circular <br />or semi-cirwlar blinds, generally occurYitig in ccmbi.nation" (1985:84). <br />Benedict stresses that the essence of a crntrnural hunt in the high <br />country involved "drifting" animals to the designated kill area. In <br />this regard, he stresses that the yame might be aware of darx3er and <br />drift away fran it but would be kept fran serious alarm. "There would <br />be no pell-tell stampede to death" as in the Plains bison jurr~ing <br />tradition (1985:85). In reference to the situation at the Ridge Site, <br />it appears that a very fortuitious occurance of natural blinds in the <br />rocky hurmiocks of the ridge site cant~ined with a very limited <br />construction effort could have functioned very well iti a con~rauial hunt. <br />`ihe difficulty of destinguishiny between manmade structures and natural <br />or slightly irrxlified natural rock structure is also pointed out by <br />Benedict who goes on to state: <br />In general, the best evidence that a structure was built by <br />,• man is it's ocxurrance, in a rational sequeru~e, with other, <br />similar structures. <br />(Benedict 1985:85) <br />h- Although enthnographic descriptions of carmu~al game drives are <br />scarce in regard to western Colorado and its Ute occupants, cnwgh <br />information is available to iirlicate that they probt,bly also used such <br />systems (Smith 1974:53-55). <br />Li the fall, wkren the deesr were moving dowry fran the high <br />cow~try, piles of brush were placed at intervals on either <br />side of the trail, converging at a point where a deep hole was <br />dug arzd carrouf].ayed with brush. When the deer fell into the <br />hole, the hunter had an easy shot. Several deer ought be <br />t, caught in succession by this method, or short, converging <br />wings of stones or poles would be piled up beside a trail to <br />~ lead a deer to the place where the hunter was waiting to shoot <br />him. Ueer were also stalked on foot. (kily one inforrr~it (U) <br />said that the eyes of a slain deer were put in trees. Deer <br />meat was diviced wrong friends. <br />(:~uth 1974:53) <br />'fhe above information acid the topographic and observable <br />archaeological situations at the Ridge Site lead the project <br />are;haeoloyist to believe he was iii all probability dealiriy with an <br />. aboriginal gave drive system along tlrc crest of the ridge at SUT771. <br />'l he workings of the presumed yarre drive system are n~appe~i in Figure 7. <br />lh <br />