THESIS ABSOLUTE AND RELATIVE CHRONOLOGY OF A COMPLEX ALPINE GAME DRIVE SITE (5BL148), ROLLINS PASS, COLORADO Submitted by Kelton A. Meyer Department of Anthropology In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Spring 2019 Master’s Committee: Advisor: Jason M. LaBelle Michelle M. Glantz F. Jay Breidt Copyright by Kelton A. Meyer 2019 All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT ABSOLUTE AND RELATIVE CHRONOLOGY OF A COMPLEX ALPINE GAME DRIVE SITE (5BL148), ROLLINS PASS, COLORADO Native American alpine game drive sites are recognized along major mountain travel corridors in Colorado’s Southern Rockies. The Rollins Pass project area, located east of Winter Park, represents the densest concentration of alpine game drive sites in North America. Game drives at Rollins Pass vary in terms of size, frequency and diversity of features and artifacts, but also landform context. Past game drive research at Rollins Pass and elsewhere in the Colorado Front Range demonstrates that hunter-gatherer groups reoccupied some sites for centuries and even millennia, creating an amalgamation of material culture over the course of time. However, chronological reconstructions in alpine environments are limited by poor preservation, lacking stratigraphy, and the ephemeral nature of hunter-gatherer occupations at high altitudes. This thesis considers an investigation of the largest game drive at Rollins Pass, 5BL148, with a focus on chronology reconstruction. A relative occupation span is provided with an analysis of chipped stone tools and jewelry. Lichenometry is used to determine the age of lichen colonization events on stone walls, and radiocarbon dates on faunal remains and charcoal are used as absolute chronological measures. A spatial analysis of the artifact and feature assemblage is further used to identify evidence for distinct or temporally overlapping occupation episodes. The results indicate that 5BL148 represents a palimpsest of hunter-gatherer occupations, beginning in the Early Archaic era and ending in the Protohistoric era. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to numerous individuals and organizations for their help in fulfilling this thesis project. Though it goes without saying that the pioneering efforts of Jim Benedict inspired generations of archaeologists to pursue high altitude research, I reiterate here that without his tedious approach and love for mountain archaeology, we would all be lost. My graduate advisor and mentor, Jason LaBelle, is the constant source of encouragement and enthusiasm which guides my academic career. His devotion to his students and their interests permeates through everyone and everything, and the time I’ve spent with him and the Center for Mountain and Plains Archaeology provided me with unforgettable experiences. I want to thank Jason particularly for keeping me alive throughout my Master’s coursework, with paid leadership opportunities but also loyal and exuberant friendship. Our collaboration on numerous projects fostered my confidence as a student, field and laboratory researcher, and team member with the Center for Mountain and Plains Archaeology. Thank you, Jason. I would also like to thank my other thesis committee members, Mica Glantz and Jay Breidt, for their helpful comments on this thesis manuscript. Jay Breidt provided essential help in reconstructing the Colorado Front Range growth curve for use in lichenometry, and contributed useful insights for statistics. The Alice Hamilton scholarship, endowed by the Colorado Archaeological Society, paid for field supplies to use in lichenometric measurements and data storage. Thanks are in order, specifically, to the Pikes Peak Chapter of CAS for inviting me to present my research. The Karen S. Greiner Endowment, granted by the Department of Anthropology at CSU, provided me biannual scholarships to pay for radiocarbon dating. Thank you to Mary Van Buren, especially, iii for reviewing my materials for the Karen S. Greiner Endowment. The Colorado Mountain Club Foundation bestowed a substantial endorsement with the Al Ossinger Fellowship, which also contributed funds for radiocarbon dating. Thank you to Paula Cushing of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for reviewing my fellowship application. Lastly, I would like to thank Jason LaBelle and the Jim and Audrey Benedict Fund for Mountain Archaeology for financial support of my fieldwork and contributing additional funds for radiocarbon dating. Dr. Jason LaBelle integrated my interest in Rollins Pass game drives with the 2017 archaeological field school at CSU as well as the overarching Rollins Pass project that he directs, and he made fieldwork for this thesis possible. I am beholden to the efforts of numerous undergraduate and graduate students who attended and participated in the field school, and I appreciate their efforts and due diligence in helping to create the data addressed herein. The Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest provided the permits to conduct fieldwork, and continue to support the CMPA’s efforts in high altitude research. Lastly, thank you to a number of CMPA graduate students. Hallie Meeker and Aaron Whittenburg initiated me into the CMPA, and without their friendship I wouldn’t have known all that a graduate student experience can be. Michelle Dinkel, Ray Sumner, and Marie Taylor provided outstanding assistance during the fieldwork phase of this project, and I will always remember our times spent atop the world at the Continental Divide. My newest office mates, Paul Buckner and Marie Taylor, lent their ears on more than one occasion and they made the end of my time as a Master’s student immensely enjoyable. To Michelle Dinkel, thank you especially for everything you do, you made this all the more worthwhile. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 Thesis Objectives and Organization ........................................................................................... 3 Research Questions ................................................................................................................. 5 Temporal Resolution and Dating Theory ................................................................................... 7 Location and Setting at Rollins Pass ......................................................................................... 10 Geology and Ecology ............................................................................................................ 11 History of Investigations at Rollins Pass .................................................................................. 14 Center for Mountain and Plains Archaeology ...................................................................... 16 The 5BL148 Site ....................................................................................................................... 17 Recent Fieldwork at 5BL148 ................................................................................................ 20 Summary and Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER II – ARTIFACT ASSEMBLAGE ............................................................................. 26 Theory in Typology and Relative Chronology ......................................................................... 26 The 5BL148 Artifact Assemblage ............................................................................................ 30 Projectile Points.................................................................................................................... 31 Diagnostic Projectile Points ................................................................................................. 31 Non-diagnostic Projectile Points .......................................................................................... 34 Hafted Bifacial Drill ............................................................................................................. 37 Unhafted Bifacial Tools ........................................................................................................ 38 Unhafted Flake Tools ............................................................................................................ 41 End Scraper .......................................................................................................................... 42 Edge-modified and Utilized Debitage ................................................................................... 43 Unmodified Debitage ............................................................................................................ 45 Euro-American Bead ............................................................................................................ 48 Chipped Stone Summary .........................................................................................................