Laserfiche WebLink
10 Class III Inventory, Colowyo's Collorn Mine Project <br />2.2 CULTURAL SETTING <br />Reed and Metcalf (1999) provide a broad, yet substantive, overview of the prehistoric occupation <br />of the Northern Colorado River Basin. <br />The earliest occupation is represented by the Paleoindian era (11,500 -6,400 years before present <br />[B.P.]) that includes at least four traditions (Clovis, Goshen, Folsom, and Plano), with each <br />characterized by distinctive lanceolate projectile points. Most Paleoindian sites investigated within <br />the region, and in adjacent areas, reflect hunting and /or processing of now - extinct megafauna <br />(mammoth, sloth, and varieties of bison) and now - extant large mammals. The oldest known <br />Paleoindian site in the region is Upper Twin Mountain bison kill site (Site 5GA1513) that dates to <br />11,600 years B.P. Two recognizable and contemporaneous subsistence patterns have been identified <br />for the region. One cultural unit occupied the open plains and intermontane basins and focused <br />primarily on bison for subsistence, often procured on communal hunts. A second consisted of a <br />Foothill- Mountain complex that occupied more rugged terrain at higher elevations and procured <br />deer, bighorn sheep, and antelope and may have more intensely utilized plant resources. It is <br />hypothesized that the former complex represents more frequent mobility with sites that represent <br />multiple short-term activities, whereas the latter complex was less mobile with greater utilization <br />of local lithic source material. Generally, due to frequent mobility, Paleoindian hearths are rare and <br />usually manifest thernselves as simple stains or shallow basins. <br />According to Reed and Metcalf (1999), the Archaic -era cultural chronology for the Northern <br />Colorado River Basin has, until recently, been lumped with other Archaic -era chronologies utilized <br />for broader surrounding regions such as the Northwestern Plains, the Great Basin, the Colorado <br />Plateau, and the Wyoming Basin, for example, with a cumulative time frame of 7,450 -1,650 years <br />B.P. Recently, due to the lack of data from sites within the Northern Colorado River Basin that are <br />directly applicable to the frameworks proposed for the surrounding regions, a new four -part scheme <br />consisting of Pioneer, Settled, Transitional, and Terminal periods has been proposed that would more <br />accurately fit the site type chronology of this region. This period witnessed expanded hunter - gather <br />47599 7RC Mariah Associates Inc. <br />