High Elevation Land Use in the Cougar Pass Region of the Absaroka Mountains of Northwest Wyoming

Summary

Historically, high elevations have been considered as peripheral to past human cultures. Indeed, high elevation areas are somewhat marginal given their increased energy demands and generally low productivity; yet, archaeological evidence shows that human use of high altitudes reaches far into prehistory. Here I present an analysis of human land use through time and its relationship to major environmental and climatic shifts to determine the conditions under which humans make more or less intensive use of high altitudes. The case study comes from the Cougar Pass Region of Wyoming’s Absaroka Mountains and contains fifteen distinct archaeological sites situated near six permanent ice patches that have preserved dateable artifacts and paleobiological specimens. Projectile points also provide a means of determining occupation in broad chronological categories. Through the comparison of various artifacts and associated dates, the relationship between high elevation land use by prehistoric people and the environment can then be determined. This research has the potential to be applied to other, environmentally similar regions.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22344