The Late Paleoindian Cody Complex Component at Lamb Spring, Colorado

Summary

The Late Paleoindian Cody complex component at Lamb Spring, Colorado was recently reanalyzed. While best known for its possible association with Late Pleistocene fauna, the Lamb Spring Cody component with its nearly 2,000 bison bones, seven Eden projectile points, Cody knife fragment, and two flakes has largely been overlooked and incompletely described in the literature (excepting McCartney’s study of the bison bones). To remedy the situation I: (1) use prior publications, reports and the original field notes to describe and interpret the component, (2) describe the recently analyzed chipped stone assemblage, and (3) compare Lamb Spring to other Cody complex sites in the region. The Cody component is in a paleo-stream channel that directly overlies the Late Pleistocene fauna, and has two spatially discrete levels separated by 4-5 cm of sediment. The occupation levels vary in projectile point technology and raw material preference. Though made from locally available lithic materials, the tool assemblage is fragmented and heavily resharpened. The projectile points are atypical in their lack of a dominant parallel collateral flaking pattern. Two (or more) small groups of Cody hunters used a stream channel to trap, kill and process some 27 bison between the late fall/early winter and mid-spring.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21432