The Colorado Wickiup Project Volume IV: Recordation and Re-evaluation of Twenty-seven Aboriginal Wooden Feature Sites in Garfield, Mesa, Moffat and Rio Blanco Counties, Colorado Completed for The Colorado Historical Society State Historical Fund and Bureau of Land Management DARG Dominquez Archaeological Research Group A consortium for cultural resources research, preservation and education in the northern Colorado Plateau The Colorado Wickiup Project Volume IV Part I: Recordation and Re-evaluation of Twenty-seven Aboriginal Wooden Feature Sites in Garfield, Mesa, Moffat and Rio Blanco Counties, Colorado Part II: Ute Culture History and an Assessment of NRHP Eligibility for the Yellow Creek Archaeological District Completed for The Colorado Historical Society State Historical Fund Project No. 2008-M1-25 and The Bureau of Land Management Assistance Agreement No. 1422CA30007 March 14, 2009 Prepared by Curtis Martin, Principal Investigator and Richard Ott, Project Coordinator with contributions by Nicole Darnell, GIS Specialist and James C. Miller, Research Director Dominquez Archaeological Research Group P. O. Box 3543 Grand Junction, Colorado 81503 Cultural Resource Use Permit No. C-67009 Submitted to The Colorado Historical Society Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation 1300 Broadway Denver, Colorado 80203 and The Bureau of Land Management Colorado State Office 2850 Youngfield Lakewood, Colorado 80215 Front Cover: 1. Site 5RB563, Ute Hunters' Camp. View of apparent door-ap anchors for a canvas wall tent (Feature 6). Pin ags mark locations of spent cartridge primers and other metal and glass artifacts. A sandstone netherstone or "cutting board" can be seen left of the feature. Photo 5RB_563-d_8-9. 2. 5RB563, Ute Hunters' Camp. Iron leather working or bullet reloading punches and awls found at Feature 6 (Specimens 22, 13, and 19 – top to bottom). Item on right is a tightly rolled band of decorative brass or bronze with the remnants of a hole cut in one end (Specimen 15). 3. 5RB563, Ute Hunters' Camp. Decorative bands of brass or bronze found at Feature 6 (Specimens 10 and 16 – top row, and 4 and 54 – bottom row). 4. Site 5RB18, Two Tall Pole Wickiup Village. A partially collapsed leaner wickiup (Feature 1) and one of the best preserved aboriginal wooden structures in the state. One of the feature poles on the left produced a dendrochronological cutting date of fall/winter 1915/1916. Photo 5RB_18-d_3-8. ii Abstract The Colorado Wickiup Project (CWP) is a comprehensive effort to document aboriginal wooden structures and features known to exist in significant numbers in Colorado. In 2007, as Phase IV of the project, Dominquez Archaeological Research Group (DARG) research associates recorded and compiled data from 27 sites and one isolated find in Garfield, Mesa, Moffat and Rio Blanco Counties. Two additional previously recorded sites in Rio Blanco County were searched for but could not be located. The scope of the recorded sites ranged from single structures to villages containing up to 14 wooden features. A total of 92 wooden structures and other wooden features were recorded. The primary goal of Phase IV was to evaluate selected aboriginal wooden feature sites in the Yellow Creek drainage in Rio Blanco County to aid in the assessment of the area’s potential eligibility for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places as an archaeological district, multiple property, or other designation. Fourteen sites in the CWP’s Yellow Creek Study Area were re-visited and 70 aboriginal wooden features were recorded. The discussion of findings in this report includes an overview of the Colorado Wickiup Project results to date, descriptions and evaluations of all aboriginal wooden feature sites recorded in 2007, a discussion of National Register potential for the Yellow Creek study area, and recommendations for future research and management of aboriginal wooden feature sites. Wooden feature types new to the CWP were identified among these sites, as were newly recognized patterns regarding feature interrelationships: canvas wall tent locations, apparent leaner-style and freestanding tipis, and firewood piles paired with hearths. New categories of trade goods were also encountered including bullet reloading materials, apparent leather working tools, mirror fragments, a variety of items of personal clothing and adornment, and expedient tools fashioned from scraps of metal. In response to these findings, recording protocols were once again refined and the Aboriginal Wooden Feature Component Form has been adapted to facilitate the recording of these new data types in the future. Partial funding for this project (for recording sites in the Yellow Creek study area) was provided by the Colorado Historical Society State Historical Fund (Project # 2008-M1- 25). Additional funding was provided by the Bureau of Land Management (Assistance Agreement No. 1422CA300007). iii Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................ iii PART I Acknowledgments......................................................... 3 Colorado Wickiup Project Background......................................... 4 Phase IV Project Overview and Summary of Findings . 5 Location of the Project Areas................................................. 6 Environment.............................................................. 7 Paleoclimate and Depositional Sequences....................................... 9 Culture History........................................................... 14 Project Goals and Objectives................................................ 14 Field Methods ........................................................... 15 Study Findings........................................................... 17 Review of Site Significance........................................... 17 Site Descriptions ......................................................... 22 5GF2333 ......................................................... 22 5ME15794........................................................ 23 5ME15907........................................................ 24 5MF2164......................................................... 25 5MF2631, Sand Wash Wickiup Site.................................... 27 5MF3737......................................................... 29 5MF3993, Gates of Lodore Tree Platform . 31 5MF4368......................................................... 33 5MF6404.1........................................................ 36 5MF6408......................................................... 38 5RB18, Two Tall Pole Wickiup Village................................. 41 5RB53, Duck Creek Wickiup Village................................... 48 5RB57 ........................................................... 54 5RB58 ........................................................... 54 5RB144 .......................................................... 55 5RB539 .......................................................... 56 5RB563, Ute Hunters’ Camp.......................................... 56 5RB566 .......................................................... 66 5RB568 .......................................................... 67 5RB2929 ......................................................... 68 5RB2930 ......................................................... 69 5RB2932 ......................................................... 71 5RB4027 ......................................................... 72 5RB4331, Black Sulphur Creek Wickiup . 80 5RB4338, Bead Village.............................................. 82 5RB5609 ......................................................... 87 iv 5RB5611 ......................................................... 89 5RB5620 ......................................................... 90 5RB5623 ......................................................... 90 Discussion .............................................................. 92 Dating Methods and Results from Phase IV . 96 Results of the Phase II and Phase III Dendrochronological Analysis . 98 Reappraisal of the Baker Model of Ute Culture History . 98 Seasonality....................................................... 101 Newly Described Structure Types and Inferred Functions . 101 Synthesis of Findings..................................................... 104 Determinations of Effect and Management Recommendations . 107 Future Directions and Proposed Field Activities . 108 PART II Introduction ............................................................ 113 Summary of Archaeological and Historical Resources in the Study Area . 113 Culture History.......................................................... 115 Evaluation of Significance of Yellow Creek Archaeology . 127 Further Work and Research Direction........................................ 129 References ............................................................. 130 Appendices Appendix A: Site Summary, Location Information, and Site Maps . A-1 Appendix B: Collected Specimens with Location Data . B-1 Appendix C: Faunal Analysis .............................................. C-1 Appendix D: Dendrochronological Analysis . D-1 Appendix E: Current Aboriginal Wooden Feature Component Form . E-1 Appendix F: Photographic Plates............................................ F-1 Appendix G: OAHP Re-evaluation, Management, and Component Forms . G-1 List of Figures Figure 1 Location map of sites recorded by all phases of the CWP . 2 Figure 2 Chronology in alluvial and aeolian systems since the Latest Pleistocene