The Lone Spruce Site, a High-Altitude Seasonal Camp of the Upper Colorado River Basin

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

5GA2312, the Lone Spruce Site, is located within the upper reaches of the Colorado River Basin in Grand County, Colorado, at 8,200 feet above sea level. The site was partially excavated in 2016 when 5,021 artifacts, 32% being identified as various types of scrapers, were recovered. Ninety-five percent of the assemblage is of Table Mountain jasper, which is readily locally available, however does not have a wide distribution beyond the upper Colorado River Basin. The second-most common material being Troublesome chert, the source of which is approximately 8 miles to west. Material originating out of the basin is identified as Parker petrified wood from the Front Range. Radiocarbon dating from hearths and post holes place the site within the late Paleoarchaic into the Archaic Mountain period. The site appears to support the hypothesis that indigenous mountain adaptations, with interior mountain valley residency along the river and up-down transhumance with the gathering of plant resources in the higher elevations, were well established by the late Paleoarchaic period.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 35526.0