Ponderosa Pine Culturally Modified Trees (CMTs) at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado: What We Have Learned from 40 Years of Recording, Dating, Analyzing, and Consulting with Tribal Peoples

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Entangled Legacies: Human, Forest, and Tree Dynamics" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Ponderosa pine trees with cultural modifications, primarily bark peeling and wood removal, were first officially documented in Colorado at Great Sand Dunes in the late 1970s by the author for her master’s thesis. At that time, CMTs were not recorded as cultural resources in Colorado. Since then, several hundred ponderosa pine CMTs have been documented within the Park and many hundreds more have been recorded throughout the State. Advances in recordation techniques and dendrochronological analysis have resulted in more precise documenting and dating. The peeling dates for CMTs within the Park range from the late 18th century through the early 1900s. Research goals have evolved from viewing the trees as individual resources to analyzing their distribution as indicators of how trees were utilized in larger historical landscapes over time. Tribal consultation suggests that numerous groups, including Ute, Apache, and Navajo, utilized these trees for food, medicine, building materials, tools, cradleboards, adhesives, and waterproofing. In partnership with tribal consultants, the Park has created strategies to preserve and protect the CMTs and interpret these unique resources to visitors. A newly created visitor center exhibit includes a peeled tree with information about the tree peelers and how/why trees were modified.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Entangled Legacies: Human, Forest, and Tree Dynamics   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37882.0