2011-06-15_PERMIT FILE - C1981038 ‎(2)‎

• Permit No: C1981038
• IBM Index Class Name: Permit File
• Doc Date: 6/15/2011
• Section_Exhibit Name: Volume 9B Archaeology Appendix Table of Contents Part 1
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

It was against she regional research background surrmariztd by Reed
that the excavation was canr.nced. The first obligation was to see if
• there was any archaeological potential relative to the research danains
outlined by Reed within the yeneralized chronological occupational
record of the area. As outlined by Reed (1984:3), this record is as
follows:
Paleo-Indian Stage
Archaic Stage
I'orrt,tive Stage
Proto-Historic/Historic Stage
ca. 10,000 - 5,500 B.C.
ca. 5,500 B.C. - A.D. 500
ca. A.D, 500 - A.U. 1200
ca. A.D. 1200 - A.D. 1881
Buckles (1971) has proposed a far more detailc~cl reyional c}ironology
and this is reproduced in Table 1. This chrronoloyy is srnetimes
considered to be too detailed for satisfactory application at this stage
of research but provides a good hypothesis which carr be tested by future
work in the area.
The Sub-iect of Game Drives
Of primruy ucq.,ortance in the test work at Ure Ridge Site was the
subject of aboriginal hunting methods ar~ci particularly the use of game
drives. A file search was made in the central carputer file in the
State Archaeologist's office in Denver. This search was for prehistoric
yame blind systems and/or blinds recorded throughout Colorado. The goal
of the search was to find out how many such sites had been recorded and
how they were evaluated in terms of National Register eliyibility. The
• search revealed that 67 such sites had been recorded and that all 67
involved game blinds. Only 24 wise rated as having game arive lines
associated. Of the 67 sites, only 12 had been recam~ded as Register
', eligible at the time of field assessment. The rest either were not
assessed or wore throught to be ineligible or in need of further
evaluation. Of these, only three sites had finally been detumined
eligible. These included two sites in Gunnison County and one in Rio
~
Grande County.
' ' The file search indicated that very few such resources had been
~" formally evaluated ar,d that very little had been determined about their
potential informational content relative to gaining a better
" understanding of prehistory. This was confirmed through conversation
~'. with State Archaeologist Leslie Wildeson (Wildeson 1986) who vidicated
it was too early to say [ruc-h about their potential since so few had been
• formally evaluated. It was her opurion that until such tine as test
excavations were conducted, it was best to treat them as potentially
" eligible. Stich an approach was used in referenc.~e to SUi'771.
A review of the regional literature indicated that Berredict's
writings (1978, 1985) contained the must ecx,y~rehensive analysis of
camnu,al aboriginal gave drive systems in the state. His work confirmed
that such systems are fairly cannon acid otter, reflect cronsiderable
eftort in their construction and maintenance. Ile en4;}tirsizes the use of
topographic features such as "passes and ridges where natural features
• such ds cliffs and sn[rwbanks aided in guiding the animals fran graztng
aror,s to predetununed kill sites" (Be~redict 1978:5) . Frc~quc~trtly
' I~
•