Passing Through or Settling Down? Paleoindian Occupation of Colorado’s Southern Rocky Mountains, USA

Summary

Colorado is well known for dense concentrations of Paleoindian sites found within its eastern plains and in multiple high altitude basins (Middle Park, Gunnison Basin, San Luis Valley) to the west. Prominent mountain ranges separate these clusters of sites, and the question remains, when were these mountains first crossed and/or utilized? These high altitude settings (elevations routinely topping 3000-4400 m) would have presented both challenges and opportunities for the earliest inhabitants of the region. This paper examines the occurrence and frequency of Paleoindian components within the montane, subalpine, and alpine ecosystems of the Front Range and the Medicine Bow Range of the Southern Rocky Mountains. Over 750 sites of all periods (276 prehistoric components) are recorded over an area encompassing seven 1:24,000 scale maps. While limited numbers of late Pleistocene materials are present (faunal remains, Folsom materials), these ranges are dominated by late Paleoindian occupations, found at Early Holocene Allen complex sites such as Carey Lake, Caribou Lake, Fourth of July Valley, and Rollins Pass. Archaeological data are summarized to discuss the timing of the initial occupation of these high mountains, identify the periods of most intensive Paleoindian use, and propose reasons for these early occupations.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20862