ARCHAEOBOTANIC ANALYSIS OF SAMPLES FROM EAGLE POINT, COLORADO

Summary

Deposits within the Eagle Point Site (5RB4662), a rockshelter located along Piceance

Creek in northwest Colorado, were sampled stratigraphically at close intervals for the purpose

of building a detailed paleoenvironmental pollen record for this portion of Colorado. Although

the sampling model called for sampling at approximately 2 cm intervals, the intervals collected

varied because some levels were obviously unconsolidated and represented a single

depositional, non-cultural event. In this case, the sampling intervals were widened with fewer

samples collected. In some cases, cultural lenses dictated collecting samples at closer

intervals than 2 cm to obtain discrete samples of individual depositional events related to

cultural activity. This approach lead to examining 46 pollen samples over the space of 184 cm

of deposition. The people who lived at Eagle Point throughout the years were probably

occupants of the shelter and other areas, meaning that it is important to understand the

paleoenvironmental conditions for the area, not just this particular point. To facilitate this, an

archaeoclimatic model was created that postulates climatic conditions for the past 14,000

radiocarbon years for this general area. This will be compared to the detailed stratigraphic

pollen record as it unfolds to create a state-of-the-art paleoenvironmental record. A sample

from the massive charcoal layer also was floated to recover macrofloral remains. In addition,

fiber, eggshell, and macrofloral remains recovered during pollen sampling were submitted for

identification.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• PaleoResearch Institute

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