An Archaeological Inventory in North Park, Jackson County, Colorado
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BLM LIBRARY AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL 88000228 INVENTORY IN NORTH PARK, C®L(Q)[M\®(D Joseph J. Lischka Mark E. Miller E3TOEMJ (DLF ^ Branson 'Reynolds LAHIE) M^KfACSEMIEKnr Dennis Dahms C(D)IL(D)IS^[D)(D) 'F^athy Joyner-McGuire David McGuire CULTURAL RESOURCES SERIES •Number 14 f*t ' # QWtf- AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVENTORY IN NORTH PARK, JACKSON COUNTY, COLORADO BY JOSEPH J. LISCHKA MARK E. MILLER R. BRANSON REYNOLDS DENNIS DAHMS KATHIE JOYNER-MCGUIRE DAVID MCGUIRE EDITED BY MICHAEL PIONTKOWSKI BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT DENVER, COLORADO BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LIBRARY Denver, Colorado 88666228 1983 Bureau of Land Management Library Bldg. 50, Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 COPIES OF THIS DOCUMENT ARE AVAILABLE FROM: BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT COLORADO STATE OFFICE 1037 20TH STREET DENVER, COLORADO 80202 OR BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT CRAIG DISTRICT OFFICE 455 EMERSON STREET CRAIG, COLORADO 81626 OR BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT KREMMLING RESOURCE AREA HEADQUARTERS P.O. BOX 68 KREMMLING, COLORADO 80459 This document is in the public domain and may be quoted. Please credit either the Bureau of Land Management and/or the author if quotations are made. This document is printed in conjunction with the Kremmling Resource Area Resource Management Plan/ Environmental Impact Statement. It serves as support for the RMP and EIS. In addition, this document is integral to the Craig District Cultural Resource Management Plan. BLM-CO-PT-83-002-8100 This document is also available via computer from: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161. A Craig District, Colorado Publication DESIGNED BY: Leigh Wellborn SERIES EDITOR: Frederic J. Athearn FOREWORD This document presents the first major study of the prehistory of North Park, the northernmost of the three intermontane basins in Colorado. The archaeological investigations were conducted by the University of Colorado for the Bureau of Land Management to determine areas suitable for leasing and mining coal. These data have also provided baseline information for the preparation of a land use plan encompassing North Park. Investigations conducted in 1977 and 1978 reveal a long and rich prehistory in North Park, where a number of prehistoric cultures utilized the natural resources available in this region. The record of these peoples is a valuable and fragile legacy of their efforts to survive in a harsh environ- ment. I am pleased to make this monograph available to the public and to interested students of prehistory in North Park and the Rocky Mountains. The preservation of information through publication is an important tool in the management of our fragile and precious heritage. W/U^ George C. Francis State Director Bureau of Land Management Colorado PREFACE I have endeavored to assemble a document which will be useful and informative to both professional and general interest audiences without loss of information or comprehension by either group. The information which has not been included is the exact locations of archaeological sites and Appendix C which presents management recommendations. Technical information has been placed in appendices and some of the chapters rearranged, however, the main body of the report is as submitted. I trust I have not done an injustice to the fine effort of Dr. Lischka and his students and hope that this monograph is of value to all who read it. Michael Piontkowski Editor ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not have gotten off the ground, so to speak, without the enthusiastic participation of most of the project personnel, both in the field and in the laboratory. Special thanks are given to Mark Miller for his unflagging attention to detail and his insights and to Jane Anderson for providing the theoretical foundation of the functional analysis of the artifacts and for initiating the laboratory phase of the project. I also wish to thank David McGuire, Kathie Joyner-McGuire, Branson Reynolds, Dennis Dahms, Meredith Matthews, Robert Lawrence and John Montgomery for assistance above and beyond the call of duty. A number of North Park residents provided valuable assistance. Marvin and Beverly Fuqua provided a temporary home for the field personnel and generous hospitality. Many pleasant hours were spent at Rancho Deluxe. John and Hazel Gresham were helpful informants for North Park history; and Done Gore, Don Bourbeau and Rob Morris generously shared their knowledge of sites in North park. Ken Lutz, of the SCS District Office in Walden, was particularly helpful in obtaining information on the environment of North Park. Don Fiero of the IAS and Beth Walton, the BLM Craig District Archeologist, have been particularly helpful and supportive under occasional trying circumstances. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page I. Introduction 1 II. The Natural Environment of North Park 5 Physiography 7 Geol ogy 10 The Pre-Quarternary Geol ogy n The Quaternary Geol ogy 13 The CI imate of North Park 18 The Flora of North Park 26 Potential Wil d Plant Foods 30 The Fauna of North Park 33 Migratory Animal s 35 Non-Migratory Animals 44 Wi nter Game Counts 48 III. Prehistoric and Historic Background 55 Prehistoric Background 57 Pre-Projectile Point Horizon 57 Paleo Indian Horizon 58 The Archaic Stage 60 The Ethnographic Present 62 The Ute 63 The Shoshone 64 The Arapaho Cheyenne 65 Historic Background of North Park 67 Prior Archaeololgical Investigations in North Park 84 IV. Research Design and Methods 91 The Settl ement-Subsi stence Model 94 Resource Use and Scheduling 96 Settlement Location and Duration 101 Establishing a Site Chronology 105 Classification of Sites 107 i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Historic Settlement Analysis 109 Implementation of the Research Design 110 The Envi ronmental Data Ill Environmental Variables , 112 Artifact Variables 116 Statistical Techniques 117 Fi el d and Laboratory Methods 122 V. The Data Base 129 Location of Survey Areas 131 Probl ems Encountered 136 Si tes Recorded 138 Results of the Survey 133 Testing Operations 141 VI . Arti fact Analysi s 143 Introduction 145 Descriptive Analysis of the Artifacts 145 Non-Utilized Flakes 146 Utilized/Retouched Flakes 150 Patterned End and Side Scrapers 150 Cores and Core Tools 151 Hammerstones 152 Projectile Points 152 Manos 153 Metates 153 Mi seel laneous Ground Stone 154 Non-Utilized Bi faces 154 Utilized Bi faces 154 Gravers 155 Ceramics 156 Chronological Analysis of Artifacts 156 Projectile Points 159 Ceramics 180 Summary 185 Use-Wear Analysis of the Lithics 187 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page VII. The Site Classification 191 I introduction 193 Criteria for Classification 194 Results of the Classification 196 VIII. Site Settlement Patterns 201 Variations Between Temporal Periods 203 Variation Between Site Types 208 Site Type Functions 213 Site Type 1 214 Site Type 2 214 Site Type 3 215 Site Type 4 215 Site Type 5 216 Site Type 6 217 Site Type 7 217 Si te Type 8 218 Visual Observations of Settl ement Patterns 224 Summary of Subsistence-Settlement Analysis 226 IX. Conclusions and Recommendations for Future Research 231 The Artifact Analysis 234 The Settlement System Analysis 236 The Environment 236 Prehi storic Settl ement Systems 237 Hi storic Settl ement Patterns 240 Recommendations for Future Research 242 Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction 243 Analysis of Recorded Sites 243 Representative Surveys 244 Excavation 246 X. References Cited 249 in LIST OF FIGURES Page 1. Major Natural and Cultural Features in North Park 9 2. Annual Precipitation Pattern in North Park 21 3. Distribution of Survey Areas in Relation to Major Resource Use Zones 28 4. Winter and Critical Winter Ranges of Mule Deer in North Park 53 5. Location of Areas Surveyed 132 6. Paleoindian Projectile Points from JJA 245 164 7. Paleoindian Projectile Points Recovered During the North Park Project 166 8. Early Plains Archaic Projectile Points Recovered During the North Park Project 169 9. Middle Plains Archaic Stemmed Projectile Points Recovered During the North Park Project 173 10. Middle Plains Archaic Notched Projectile Points Recovered During the North Park Project 174 11. Middle Plains Archaic Contracting Stemmed Projectile Points Recovered During the North Park Project 176 12. Late Plains Archaic Projectile Points Recovered During the North Park Project 178 13. Late Prehistoric Projectile Points Recovered During the North Park Project 181 14. Distribution in North Park of All Known Stone Circle Sites, Woodlands and Critical Winter Ranges of Mule Deer and Elk 223 B-l. Mine Buildings at Upper Coalmont ca. 1930 289 D-l. Ground Surface of Test Pit 1 at Site 5 JA 262 308 D-2. Plan View of Bottom of Level 4, Test Pit 1, Site 5 JA 262 (Charcoal Stain and Sandstone Blocks are Feature 1) 309 IV List of Figures - Cont. Page D-3. Level 5 (Feature 1) in Test Pit 1, Site 5 JA262 311 D-4. Plan View of Botton of Levels 6 and 7, Test Pit 1, Site 5 JA262 313 D-5. Profile of North Side of Test Pit 1, Site 5 JA262. Feature 1 is Stratigraphic Unit B at Interface Between Stratigraphic Units A and C 314 D-6. Ground Surface of Test Pit 2, Site 5 JA262 316 D-7. Profile of North Side of Test Pit 2, Site 5 JA262 318 LIST OF TABLES Page 1. Temperature Data on Jackson County 19 2. Precipitation in Jackson County 22 3. Approximate Acreage and Proportional Extent of Range Sites in North Park 31 4. Major Characteristics of North Sites in North Park 32 5. Edible Biomass for Individual Range Sites and Woodlands 34 6. Aerial Winter Big Game Counts in North Park 49 7. Aerial Antelope Winter Counts in North Park 51 8. Archaeological Sites Other Than Those Recorded During the North Park Project 88 9. Legal Descriptions for Surveyed Parts of North Park 133 10. Surface Artifact Inventory 147 11. Site Classification for the North Park Project 197 12.