Investigating the Emergence of Ute Culture on the Uncompahgre Plateau, Colorado

Summary

The Numic Expansion (A.D. 900 to 1300) and other explanatory models that have been used to explain the distribution of Numic speakers across the American West often fall short of providing specific methods for identifying peoples, such as Ute, in the archaeological record. This paper expands on previous investigations of this Numic Expansion narrative through the detailed reanalysis of lithics from two excavated sites: Christmas Rockshelter (5DT2) and Shavano Spring (5MN40). I compare lithic procurement and production strategies through time and between the two sites to characterize the degree of cultural continuity (or lack thereof) in the Uncompahgre Plateau, Colorado. I identify changes to projectile point and biface production and raw material selection strategies that are unit to occupations during and after the Numic Expansion. I conclude that these differences represent changes in the region reflecting the movement of people, development of new Ute communities, and exchange of materials, ideas, and knowledge. I argue these differences represent changes in the area and broader region and may reflect the movement of people, development of new communities, and exchange of materials, ideas, and knowledge.

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): 21760