Data Recovery at Six Prehistoric Sites, Uinta Basin Replacement
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DATA RECOVERY AT SIX PREHISTORIC SITES, UINTA BASIN REPLACEMENT PROJECT BONNEVILLE UNIT, CENTRAL UTAH PROJECT, DUCHESNE COUNTY, UTAH By: Monique M. Pomerleau and Heather M. Weymouth Prepared for: TEC, Inc. 2496 Old Ivy Road, Suite 300 Charlottesville, Virginia 22903 On behalf of: Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission 102 West 500 South, #315 Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 Prepared by: Sagebrush Consultants, L.L.C. 3670 Quincy Avenue, Suite 203 Ogden, Utah 84403 SFS Special Use Permit DCN993904 Cultural Resource Report No. 1588 March 02, 2009 Freedom of Information Act Exception Notice This document has been modified from its original form. Information concerning the location of archaeological resources has been concealed or removed to satisfy requirements of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 as amended (16 U.S.C 470hh(a); 43 CFR 7.18). Such information may not be made available to the public and is excepted under the Freedom of Information Act. This document, in its current form is available for release to the public without further restrictions. ABSTRACT In Fall 2006, the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission (URMCC) requested that Sagebrush Consultants, L.L.C. (Sagebrush), as a partner company with TEC, Inc., of Charlottesville, Virginia, conduct data recovery at six prehistoric sites. This work is part of ongoing mitigation efforts associated with completion of the High Mountain Lakes Stabilization Project, an element of the Uinta Basin Replacement Project (UBRP) of the Central Utah Project (CUP), located in northwestern Duchesne County, Utah. This stabilization project is associated with the transfer of water storage rights from 13 high mountain lakes to a downstream reservoir that was enlarged as part of the UBRP. The purpose of the Section 203 High Mountain Lakes Cultural Resources Site Mitigation Project is to conduct cultural resource data recovery at six prehistoric sites near Island, Kidney, and East Timothy Lakes to partially mitigate the effects of stabilization efforts at the 13 lakes on recommended eligible sites prior to proposed construction. This report presents the results of cultural resource mitigation efforts undertaken at six prehistoric sites (42DC1340, 42DC1341, 42DC1342, 42DC1344, 42DC1411, and 42DC1412) recommended eligible to the National Register of Historic Places during the inventory phase of the Section 203 Project. Sites involved in the High Mountain Lakes Mitigation Project are located at three lakes on the Lake Fork and Swift Creek Drainages. Sites 42DC1340, 42DC1341, 42DC1342, and Site 42DC1344 are located at Island and Kidney Lakes in Brown Duck Basin on the Lake Fork drainage. Sites 42DC1411 and 42DC1412 are located at East Timothy Lake in Swift Creek Basin on the Swift Creek Drainage. Data recovery indicated that all sites in Brown Duck and Swift Creek basins are in highly disturbed reservoir settings, which have detrimental effects on archaeological deposits. Due to the cycle of inundation and draining of these reservoirs, erosion and redeposition of cultural materials has altered site integrity. However, temporal data recovered at sites 42DC1340, 42Dc1341, 42DC1344, and 42DC1412 strongly indicates a mid-to-late Archaic pattern in Swift Creek and Brown Duck basins and also a Late Prehistoric/Formative and possible Numic presence at Brown Duck Basin. Combined with data from the lithic analysis, these sites show a mid- to late-Archaic hunting pattern followed by what appears to be a Late Prehistoric logistical hunting and foraging pattern. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................... ii TABLE OF CONTENTS...............................................................................................................iii LIST OF APPENDICES................................................................................................................. v LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES......................................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 PREVIOUS RESEARCH ...............................................................................................................3 Previous Research in the Brown Duck and Swift Creek Basins............................................... 3 Previous Research in the Uinta Mountains............................................................................... 6 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING .................................................................................................... 7 Geology..................................................................................................................................... 7 Climate...................................................................................................................................... 8 Uinta Mountain Locales............................................................................................................ 8 Brown Duck Basin/Lake Fork Drainage................................................................................... 9 Swift Creek Basin/ Swift Creek Drainage .............................................................................. 10 METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................... 11 Field Methods ......................................................................................................................... 11 Laboratory Methods................................................................................................................ 12 Analytical Methods................................................................................................................. 13 Debitage Analysis ............................................................................................................. 13 Pollen/Phytolith and Macrofloral Analysis....................................................................... 14 Organic Residue Analysis................................................................................................. 14 AMS Radiocarbon Dating................................................................................................. 15 Obsidian Sourcing and Hydration..................................................................................... 15 PREHISTORIC OVERVIEW ...................................................................................................... 15 Uinta Basin Culture Chronology ............................................................................................ 17 Paleo-Indian Period: ca. 12000 B.C. to 9000 B.C. ................................................................ 17 Desert Archaic Period: ca. 9000 B.C. to A.D. 500 .......................................................... 17 Bonneville Phase: ca. 9000 B.C. to 7500 B.C. .......................................................... 17 Wendover Phase: ca. 7500 B.C. to 4000 B.C. ........................................................... 17 Black Rock Phase: ca. 4000 B.C. to A.D. 500........................................................... 18 Formative Period: ca. A.D. 400 to 1300 .......................................................................... 18 Fremont Culture Phase: ca. A.D. 400 to 1300 ........................................................... 18 Cub Creek (Sub)Phase: ca. A.D. 650 to 800........................................................ 19 Whiterocks (Sub)Phase: ca. A.D. 800 to 950 ...................................................... 19 Post-Formative Period: ca. A.D. 1200 to 1776................................................................ 19 iii The Numic Expansion: ca. A.D. 1200 to 1776.......................................................... 19 Eastern Uinta Mountain Cultural Chronology........................................................................ 20 Ethnographic Overview: Prehistoric Times to Early European Contact ............................... 21 Period of Contact .............................................................................................................. 22 HISTORIC IRRIGATION STORAGE DEVELOPMENT IN THE PROJECT AREA.............. 23 Development of Irrigation Storage within the Lake Fork Drainage....................................... 23 Development of Irrigation Storage within the Swift Creek and Yellowstone Drainages .......................................................................................................................... 25 THE EFFECTS OF RESERVOIRS ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES ..................................... 27 Lakeshore/Nearshore Fluctuation Zones ................................................................................ 28 Exposed Shorelines........................................................................................................... 28 Peninsulas ......................................................................................................................... 29 Inlets.................................................................................................................................. 29 Stream Inflows.......................................................................................................................