Thesis Prehistoric Land Use, Site

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Thesis Prehistoric Land Use, Site THESIS PREHISTORIC LAND USE, SITE PLACEMENT AND AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL LEGACY ALONG THE FOOTHILLS OF THE COLORADO NORTHERN FRONT RANGE Submitted by Caitlin A. Holland Department of Anthropology and Geography In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Spring 2021 Master’s Committee: Advisor: Jason LaBelle Mary Van Buren Jared Orsi Copyright by Caitlin A. Holland 2021 All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT PREHISTORIC LAND USE, SITE PLACEMENT AND AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL LEGACY ALONG THE FOOTHILLS OF THE COLORADO NORTHERN FRONT RANGE This research takes place in the Colorado Front Range foothills in Northern Colorado. Previous artifact collections were recovered in past decades from sixty-six prehistoric sites and isolated finds within a bounded geographical area that includes the Dakota and Lyons hogbacks west of the city of Loveland in Larimer county. The first part of this thesis presents the artifact collections used in this analysis of Edison Lohr (1947), Lauri Travis (1986; 1988), Calvin Jennings (1988), and the work of the Center for Mountain and Plains Archaeology (2015-2017). The second part of this thesis explores the cultural chronology of the region and that of the study area. The study area reflects mostly the ephemeral behavior of indigenous groups along with small diverse activity sites that date between the Folsom period and Protohistoric era, with most sites dating between the Early Archaic and the Early Ceramic periods. Environmental variables that could have played a role in indigenous settlement and mobility patterns are evaluated, such as desirable raw material used for grinding tools. Only eight sites illustrate long-term intensive reoccupation of the foothills. The data shows that this landscape is a temporary exploitation space for indigenous groups passing through to access the Southern Rocky Mountains to the west or the Great Plains to the east. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, my deepest gratitude goes to Dr. Jason LaBelle. Despite all the challenges that I faced throughout this process, his immense knowledge, guidance, and support led me to complete this thesis. It was an honor to be a part of the Center for Mountain and Plains Archaeology (CMPA). I am also grateful for Dr. Mary Van Buren and Dr. Jared Orsi for their time spent reviewing my work. This research would not have been made possible without Jessie McCaig, an undergraduate Anthropology student, and her many hours on cataloguing the Sprenger Valley artifact collection. Community members played a vital role in my work and their support cannot be overstated. Which is why I would like to acknowledge the Aten family for welcoming me into their home to analyze the Sprenger Valley artifact collection. Thank you for sharing your family’s legacy in the valley and beyond. Additional thanks is needed for Mary Painter for showing me Sprenger Valley and answering all my questions on previous work in the area with heartfelt tenacity. Thank you to Bonnie and John McDermid, who were welcoming hosts and introduced me to the Sprenger Valley community. Finally, thank you to the Sprenger Valley community, for sharing their families’ histories and experiences, and for sharing their enthusiasm for the prehistoric past. Spence Sedacca and Kristin Smith, Claudia Kale and Ted Socolofsky, Bob and Lori Smith, Gary and Deborah Light, Tory and Dave Kouma, Mike and Katy Gayle, RoxAnn Schweizer, the Weissmanns, the Shillingtons, Judi Wilkerson, Nancy Burnham, and Roberta Leirer. In many ways, this thesis is for all of you. I would also like to thank Karen S. Greiner Endowment for funding, and Stephanie Boktor and Kellie Sanders of the State Historic Preservation Office for all their archival iii expertise. I am extremely grateful to Sarah Carlson, who is the Curator of Collections at the University of Denver Museum of Anthropology, for enlightening me about the Renaud collection. Critical finds in my research would have never been possible without the University of Colorado-Boulder Museum loaning the Lohr artifact collection to the CMPA as well as the 1988 Colorado State University field school for preserving all the records for my eventual use. Last but certainly not least, I am indebted to my family and friends who helped guide, support and push me to achieve my goals. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES, METHODS AND THEORY .......................................................................................................... 1 THESIS OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................................................... 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ......................................................................................................... 3 METHODOLOGY OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................... 5 ORGANIZATION OF THESIS ......................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 2: PROJECT LOCATION ......................................................................................... 12 CASE STUDY LOCATION AND STUDY AREA BOUNDARIES .......................................................... 13 THE SOUTH PLATTE RIVER BASIN .............................................................................................. 16 THE NORTHERN FRONT RANGE .................................................................................................. 19 FLORA AND FAUNA IN THE FOOTHILLS ....................................................................................... 21 THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT OF THE FOOTHILLS ........................................................................... 26 Historic Utilization, 1870-1960s ........................................................................................... 26 Hydrology Infrastructure ....................................................................................................... 28 Open Spaces and Natural Areas ............................................................................................ 29 CHAPTER 3: PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS AND RESEARCH HISTORY ........................ 32 EARLY ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK, 1900S-1970S ....................................................................... 32 LAURI TRAVIS’ MASTER’S THESIS, 1986 ................................................................................... 34 THE SPRENGER VALLEY FIELD SCHOOL, 1988 ........................................................................... 35 CULTURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FIRM WORK, 1990S-2000S ............................................ 36 CENTER FOR MOUNTAIN AND PLAINS ARCHAEOLOGY, 2000S-2010S ........................................ 38 CHAPTER CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................ 42 CHAPTER 4: DESCRIPTION OF STUDY AREA ARTIFACT COLLECTIONS .................... 50 THE EDISON LOHR SURFACE ARTIFACT COLLECTION ................................................................ 52 THE SPRENGER VALLEY ARTIFACT COLLECTION ....................................................................... 55 THE TRAVIS ARTIFACT COLLECTION ......................................................................................... 62 ADDITIONAL ASSEMBLAGES ...................................................................................................... 63 5LR1861 Isolated Find .......................................................................................................... 64 The Wenborg Vessel .............................................................................................................. 65 Namaqua Skyline Sites........................................................................................................... 66 CHAPTER 5: CHRONOLOGY ................................................................................................... 68 CHRONOLOGY METHODS ........................................................................................................... 68 REGIONAL CHRONOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 74 The Paleoindian Era .............................................................................................................. 74 The Archaic Era..................................................................................................................... 76 Late Prehistoric Era .............................................................................................................. 79 The Protohistoric Era ............................................................................................................ 81 PROJECT AREA CHRONOLOGY ................................................................................................... 82 Chronology Results...............................................................................................................
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