An Early Archaic Melting Pot in the Southern Rocky Mountains: Early Holocene Mobility and Settlement Patterns in the Gunnison Basin, Colorado

Summary

In comparison to the Late Paleoindian Period (10,000-8,000 rcybp), the Early Archaic (8,000-6,500 rcybp) in the Gunnison Basin, Colorado is a poorly understood time because of its relatively light archaeological signature. Not only is the archaeological record more ephemeral, but we also see a change in technologies, such as projectile points types, in this transitional period. Some archaeologists explain these observations as a result of changing environments and shifting settlement processes as new populations moved into the basin. Preliminary research has shown that Early Archaic projectile point types from the Rocky Mountains, Great Basin, Southwest, and Great Plains are all present in the Gunnison Basin. Using multiple lines of evidence, I investigate the settlement and mobility patterns of the people who lived in the Gunnison Basin during the Early Archaic Period.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21701