The Colorado Wickiup Project Volume V

THE COLORADO WICKIUP PROJECT VOLUME V: TEST EXCAVATION OF THE UTE HUNTERS’ CAMP (5RB563) AND THE DOCUMENTATION OF FIVE ADDITIONAL ABORIGINAL WOODEN FEATURE SITES IN RIO BLANCO COUNTY, COLORADO CURTIS MARTIN, MICHAEL J. BROWN, CARL E. CONNER COMPLETED FOR THE COLORADO HISTORICAL SOCIETY STATE HISTORIC FUND AND THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT DARG: D OMINQUEZ ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH GROUP, INC. A CONSORTIUM FOR CULTURAL RESOURCES, RESEARCH, PRESERVATION AND EDUCATION IN THE NORTHERN COLORADO PLATEAU The Colorado Wickiup Project Volume V: Test Excavation of The Ute Hunters’ Camp (5RB563) and the Documentation of Five Additional Aboriginal Wooden Feature Sites in Rio Blanco County, Colorado Completed for The Colorado Historical Society State Historical Fund Project No. 2009-M1-021 and The Colorado State Office of the Bureau of Land Management DARG Project # D2802 October, 2010 Prepared by Curtis Martin, Principal Investigator Michael J. Brown and Carl E. Conner with contributions by John E. Lindstrom, Richard Ott, James C. Miller, Nicole Darnell, and Barbara J. Davenport Dominquez Archaeological Research Group, Inc. P. O. Box 3543 Grand Junction, Colorado 81503 Cultural Resource Use Permit No. C-67009 Submitted to The Colorado Historical Society State Historic Fund 1300 Broadway Denver, Colorado 80203 and The Bureau of Land Management Colorado State Office 2850 Youngfield Lakewood, Colorado 80215 Front cover illustration by Holly Shelton An interpretation of The Ute Hunters’ Camp (5RB563) during its occupation in 1879-1881. iii Abstract The Colorado Wickiup Project (CWP) is a comprehensive effort to document aboriginal wooden shelters and other features known to exist in significant numbers in Colorado. In 2008 and 2009, as Phase V of the project, Dominquez Archaeological Research Group, Inc (DARG) recorded and compiled data from six sites on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in Rio Blanco County, Colorado. The scope of the recorded sites ranged from a single one-pole utility rack (5RB64) to a village consisting of 12 wooden features (5RB4543). A total of 21 structures and other wooden features were documented. The stated goals of Phase V were to conduct test excavations at site 5RB563, the Ute Hunters’ Camp that was documented during Phase IV, and to revisit and evaluate five additional previously recorded aboriginal wooden feature sites in the Yellow Creek Study Area in Rio Blanco County to aid in the assessment of the area’s potential eligibility for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as an archaeological district, multiple property, or other designation. One of these five sites, 5RB53, had been previously recorded during Phase IV of the CWP but was revisited in order to complete the documentation of three partially recorded wickiups. Also, one of the sites proposed for evaluation during the current phase of work, 5RB5624, was determined in the field to consist of a non-aboriginal animal containment feature, and site 5RB530 was recorded as an alternative. The discussion of findings in this report includes descriptions and evaluations of all aboriginal wooden feature sites recorded during Phase V, an overview of the Colorado Wickiup Project results to date, and recommendations for future research and management of aboriginal wooden feature sites throughout the state. A discussion of the National Register potential for the Yellow Creek Study Area as a whole was presented as Part II of the Phase IV report, and additional data in support of this assessment is presented in this volume. In addition to meeting the above goals, two sites that had been documented and reported on as a part of previous phases of the project were briefly revisited for the purpose of collecting additional dating samples to further our investigations into these sites. A luminescent sherd sample was collected from the surface of site 5RB2624, Rader’s Wickiup Village (Phase III), and several dendrochronological samples were procured at site 5RB568 (Phase IV). With the exception of the luminescent sample, the results of the analyses of these samples, and others from the Phase V sites, have been received and are discussed herein. Three pertinent ancillary sites that were independently test excavated by Martin and DARG associates in 2008 and 2009, and not part of the CWP itself, are also discussed in this report; 5ME974; 5ME16097, the Horsethief Creek Structural Clearing site; and 5RB509, the Perforated Can Site. Information from these sites has been included in the compilation of iv wooden feature data for the project (Table 7). A type of wooden feature new to the CWP was identified at 5ME974; a bark-peeled piñon tree. New categories of trade goods were also encountered during the excavation of the Ute Hunters’ Camp, 5RB563. The results of these tests have led to a possible re- interpretation of this site from that of a hunting camp to a potential warriors’ camp. It is notable that the Milk Creek (Thornburgh) Battle and the Meeker Incident took place a short distance away from the site (Warner 1985), and several months after its occupation. Partial funding for this project was provided by the Colorado Historical Society State Historical Fund (Project # 2009-M1-021). Additional funding was provided by the Bureau of Land Management (Assistance Agreement No.LO9AC15861). v Figure 1: Location map of sites recorded during Phase V of the CWP (Available at OAHP and BLM White River, Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction Field Offices) vi Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................. ii Acknowledgments......................................................... 1 PART I: PHASE V PROJECT OVERVIEW Colorado Wickiup Project Background.......................................... Phase V Project Overview and Summary of Findings . Location of the Project Area .................................................. Environment............................................................... Paleoclimate and Depositional Sequences (by James C. Miller) . General Culture History...................................................... Ute Culture History (By Richard Ott) ........................................... Project Goals and Objectives.................................................. Field and Analytic Methodology............................................... Study Findings for Phase V................................................... Review of Site Significance............................................. PART II: THE TEST EXCAVATION OF 5RB563, THE UTE HUNTERS’ CAMP Overview and Background of Investigations...................................... Soil Description and Stratigraphic Notes......................................... Results of Excavation and Metal Detection....................................... Artifact Tabulation and Analysis for 5RB563 . Ordnance ........................................................... Glass Seed Beads..................................................... Other Glass Artifacts.................................................. Decorative Brass Tacks or Studs......................................... Other Tacks or Nails .................................................. Punches and Awls .................................................... Buttons............................................................. Tin Cans............................................................ Miscellaneous Metal Artifacts........................................... Sharpened Wooden Sticks.............................................. Blue Fibers.......................................................... Lithic Artifacts and Groundstone......................................... PART III: ADDITIONAL ABORIGINAL WOODEN FEATURE SITES Phase V Site Descriptions .................................................... 5RB53, Duck Creek Wickiup Village..................................... 5RB64 ............................................................. 5RB129, the Smirnoff Site.............................................. vii 5RB530 ............................................................ 5RB568 ............................................................ 5RB2624, Rader’s Wickiup Village ...................................... 5RB4543, Dancing Cows Wickiup Village . Pertinent Sites from Ancillary Studies........................................... 5ME974............................................................ 5ME16097, Horsethief Canyon Structural Clearing . 5MF6511........................................................... 5RB509, the Perforated Can Site......................................... PART IV: DISCUSSION AND SYNTHESIS Discussion and Interpretation of Findings........................................ Synthesis of Findings........................................................ A Review of the Protohistoric and Historic Eras in Western Colorado: Definitions . Artifact Analysis and Interpretation............................................. Seed beads.......................................................... Ammunition......................................................... Decorative brass tacks................................................. Vessel glass ......................................................... Plate glass........................................................... Metal arrow points.................................................... Culturally peeled tree—a wooden feature type new to the CWP . Settlement Patterns and Site Selection..........................................

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