12 __ Regional Overview _

of paleo-environments are realized, more accurate
interpretations of past human subsistence strategies and
adaptations become possible. Quaternary studies include
the analyses of alluvium, pollen, soils, chronology,
paleohydrology, paleontology, fecal remains, packrat
middens, and malacology.

The time of the earliest arrival of people in North
America is a topic with divergent views. There is no
consensus among archeologists about the arrival of the
earliest North Americans except that man was definitely
in the New World within the Quaternary. Advancement
in Paleoindian field studies during the past decade
concludes that we can now place the minimum time for
the first occupation of America at 20,000 B.P., with some
probability of this event occurring 30,000 B.P., and the
possibility that it occurred as long as 50,000 B.P.
(Fladmark 1983)

The major problem with most of these sites is that they
do not meet specific criteria that would provide clear
evidence of the hypothesized ‘Pre-Clovis’ culture (ca.
15,000 to 12,000 B.P.). Stanford (1983:65) describes
these criteria as (1) a clearly defined stratigraphy, (2)
reliable and consistent radiometric dates, (3) consonance
of data from relevant interdisciplinary studies, and (4) the
presence of unquestionable artifacts in indisputable
primary context. These criteria clearly address research
domains that the National Park Service’s Rocky Moun-
tain Cluster continues to pursue while inventorying its
park units for evidence of Early Man.

Mid- and Late-Wisconsinan

Fladmark (1983:13-41) concludes that the Mid- and
Late-Wisconsinan epochs (25,000-11,000 B.P.) include a
wide range of environmental variables, operative at
different times and places. These variables may have
affected human dispersal through North America, as well
as types of cultural systems that filtered into unglaciated
regions. Some human movement might have been
possible during all or most of the climax phase, particu-
Jarly within the generally mild and resource-rich Pacific
coast. Any interior cultures of the Mid- and Late-
Wisconsinan must have been thoroughly adapted to cold
Arctic-Polar or Subarctic environments.

Within the Rocky Mountain Cluster, there are no parks
with Mid-Wisconsinan deposits. However, there are soils
located near Nathrop, Colorado (Scott 1975; Scott et al.
1975), and the Selby and Dutton archeological sites in
eastern Colorado (Graham 1981; Stanford 1979) that date

to these time periods. Quaternary resources are not
plentiful, albeit inadequately inventoried, in the Rocky
Mountain Cluster.

Yellowstone has paleontological resources from this
time. In addition, Glacier and Bighorn Canyon are
known to contain Quaternary resources.

Culture Areas

There are three major culture areas represented within
the Rocky Mountain Cluster: Rocky Mountains, with
four sub-areas, and the Northern and Southern Plains.
The Wyoming Basin, Great Basin- Wasatch Front, and the
Southwest Cultural Areas are adjacent to the Rocky
Mountain Cluster and our parks were utilized on a part-
time basis by people living principally in these adjacent
areas. ‘The southwestern culture region includes New
Mexico and Arizona. The Great Basin cultural and
geographic region includes Nevada and Utah, western
Colorado and portions of Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and
California. The Colorado Plateau cultural and geographic
region includes wesicrn Colorado, eastern Utah, portions
of southwestern Wyoming, northern Arizona, and
northwestern New Mexico. e

Six culture areas contribute to the Rocky Mountains:

(1) Pacific Northwest; (2) Northern Rocky Mountains,
including Northwest Plateau; (3) Middle Rocky Moun-
tains, including Northwest Platcau and the Wyoming
Basin, (4) Southern Rocky Mountains, including South-
west; and {5 and 6) the Western Plains, which has two
culture areas, Northern Plains and Southern Plains. Each
of these areas has a great variety of environmental zones
that were exploited differentially in the past. Parks in
each of these physiographic/cultural areas are listed in
Table II: 1.

Northern Rocky Mountain
Province

Environment
‘The Northern Rocky Mountains cultural geographical
area straddles eastern Idaho and western Montana. The
portion within the Rocky Mountain Cluster is located in
western Montana. The Northern Rockies extend from
north of the Canadian border south to the Wyoming
border and the northern boundary of Yellowstone e
National Park. The Northern Rocky Mountain province


Figure 18. Mitigative excavations in the quartermaster
dump, Fort Laramie National Historic Site.

1959:596). The Dismal River Aspect has been associated
with Plains Apachean groups which are thought to have
migrated south across the Plains, some arriving in the
Southwest around A.D. 1525 (Gunnerson 1974:5). None
have been found to date in parks in this cluster.

Historic Period

The division between the Ceramic Stage of the
Protohistoric Period and the Historic Period is somewhat
arbitrary. Generally the Historic Period begins when
written records ere available for a specific area. Although
European people were in the region throughout the
Protohistoric Period, their effect on the aboriginal peoples

__Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan _ 33

within the project area was minimal until the middle
eighteenth century, when contact between the European
and aboriginal groups became regular.

The Historic Stage is divided into two periods, the
Aboriginal Occupation Period (1750-1867) when the
native peoples in the region controlled the land, and the
Settlement Period (1867-1930) when Euro-Americans
controlled the land.

During the middle eighteenth century, French traders
successfully penetrated the Arkansas Valley. Simulta-
neously, the Spanish began regularly attending the trade
fairs held at Pecos, Taos, and elsewhere. Fur traders
joined the aboriginal trade fairs at the Knife River Indian
Villages (North Dakota) and in Jackson Hole (Grand
Teton National Park) with trade goods coming in from
the Hudson Bay Company and the Northwest Company
in St. Louis.

With this regular contact, some quantities of European
goods began to occur on aboriginal sites on the Northen
and Southern Plains provinces. Bent’s Old Fort was
established on the Santa Fe Trail to take advantage of the
developing trade. In southeastern Colorado, groups of
Apache and Comanche arrived from the north, while the
Utes continued to seasonally exploit local resources.

For Native peoples, the Historic Period is marked by
upheaval and unrest. The transmission of common
European discases to populations without any immunity
resulted in many deaths and extreme social disruption.
Relatively few sites can be attributed to this period. One
exception are the wooden structures (wickiups and
cribbed-log structures) made by Aboriginal peoples
throughout the plains and mountains for shelter, a few of
which have survived to the present (Fig. 12).

In the Northern Plains, Fort Laramie is tied to the
military, Native peoples, important treaties, and the
development of the west (Fig. 18). Little Bighorn
Battlefield National Monument marks the conflict
between the military and Native Americans that culmi-
nated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. As noted in the
Middle Rocky Mountain Section, Bighorn Canyon
contains archeology related in the Crow Indians for this
period (Fig. 19).


Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 29

Tabte II:6. Cultural chronology of the Great Plains province.

Major Dates Northwest Central Southern
Periods (Yrs BP) Plains Plains Plains
Paleoindian 11.000 Clovis Clovis Clovis
10,000 Folsom Folsom Folsom
9,000 Agate Basin Lime Creek
8,000 Scottsbluff, Eden Simonsen Plainview
7,000 Logan Creek Portales
Archaic 6,000 Mckean Edwards Plateau
3,500 Pelican Lake Signal Butte
Ceramic Stage/ 2,000 Besant/ Renner Delaware A
Late Prehistoric Middle Woodland (Hopewell) Cooper Phase
1,400 Avonlea Loseke
Late Woodland Sterns Creek
Plains 900 Old Women’s Nebraska Apishapa
Village Phase/Initial
Middle Missouri Antelope Creek
800 Extended Middle Upper Republican Custer Washita
Missouri
300 Extended Coalescent Lower Loup Henrietta
250 Apache? Dismal River
Protohistoric/ 200 Arikara, Crow, Cree, Pawnee Comanche
Historic Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Omaha Kiowa (Dismal River)

Sioux, Mandan/ Hidatsa

Paleoindian Period

The Paleoindian Period, prior to 6,000 B.P., was the
time of the Big-Game Hunting tradition on the plains.
Eastern Colorado has been a focal point for research into
the Paleoindian Period because of the high density of
sites coupled with relatively little overburden. Duc to
deflation during Dust Bowl years, it is unclear whether
the high density is the result of a higher prehistoric
population density on the plains or to the physical
processes of site formation and transformation.

The earliest generally recognized evidence for human
activity in Colorado is represented by Paleoindian Period,
12,500 to 7,000 B.P., when the climate was characterized
by cool summers and warm winters (Bryson et al.
1970:53-74). This tradition is characterized by the
presence of relatively large lancelot projectile points
found in association with large extinct Pleistocene fauna
(mammoth, bison, horse and camel). Paleoindian peoples
are inferred to have been organized into egalitarian

nomadic bands depending on the large game they hunted
and also on the seasonal plants they gathcred.

The Paleoindian Period can be divided into three
periods; Clovis, Folsom, and Plano, recognized by
distinctive projectile points. Although Paleoindian
projectile points have been reported from many areas of
southern and eastern Colorado, no sites have been
reported south of the Arkansas River.

Clovis. The Clovis Period, 12,500 to 11,000 B.P, is
considered to be the earliest period within the Paleoindian
Stage. Clovis material culture is characterized by large,
fluted lancelot spear points, and blade tools that were
most likely used for various tasks. Clovis sites in eastern
Colorado include the Dent site, where a Clovis projectile
point was associated with the remains of a horse and
several other stone tools dated to 11,760 years B.P., and
the Lamb Spring site south of Denver (Frison 199];
Stanford et al. 1981:115-116). In addition, evidence for



38 OA, rheological ‘Databas e

Table IlI:2. Recorded sites and site records of Rocky Mountain Cluster park units.

Estimated Overview Artifact

Number Number and Site Conservation Base
Park Unit of Sitesin CSI' _ of Sites Assessment Forms CSI ANCS = andStorage Maps
BEOL 8 8 1997 yes yes yes yes yes
BICA 187 112,876 1996 yes yes yes yes yes
BLCA 42 100 1995 yes yes yes yes yes
CURE 221 32,054 1998 yes yes yes yes yes
DETO 58 58 1992 yes yes yes yes yes
FLFO 21 2,254 1998 yes yes yes yes yes
FOLA 10 10 1989 yes yes yes yes yes
GLAC 404 37,597 1993 yes yes yes yes yes
GRKO 21 21 1989 yes yes yes yes yes
GRSA 43 990 1991 yes yes yes yes yes
GRTE3 385 565 1992 yes yes yes yes yes
JODR 15 2,533 1987 yes yes yes yes yes
LIBI 10 10 1992 yes yes yes yes yes
ROMO 150 4,749 1995 yes yes yes yes yes
YELL 807 295,813 1997 yes yes yes yes yes
TOTAL 2,382 483,610 ced — - — — —

) The first three columns of data are current as of September 4, 1997,

Little Bighorn Battlefield. Only Bent’s Old Fort, Little
Bighorn Battlefield, and Devils Tower have been sur-
veyed at 100 percent intensity to modern standards.

‘There are only 85 archeological properties on the
National Register in the cluster, although many others are
eligible for nomination. The lack of nominations is a
major deficiency in the archeological program. There are
four individually listed archeological sites: two at
Bighorn Canyon, two at Rocky Mountain, one archeo-
logical district in Curecanti which contains more than 81
separate archeological sites, and one archeological
National Historic Landmark, Obsidian Cliff in
Yellowstone. The number of sites that have been
formally determined eligible for the National Register
through concurrence determinations with the various
State Historic Preservation Offices is unknown; cach park
keeps its own records in this regard.

Underwater Projects

Underwater archeology is identified separately due to
the special expertise and equipment that are needed for
such projects. Reconnaissance-level investigations by the
Submerged Cultural Resource Unit (SCRU) staff at

Bighorn Canyon, Rocky Mountain, and Grand Teton
indicate potential submerged pre-contact and historic
archeological sites in park lakes. Initial investigations
would involve interviewing park personnel and knowl-
edgeable locals for potential areas of interest; visual
investigation and survey by SCRU archeologists and
photographers, using Diver Propulsion Vehicles (DPVs);
and selected core sampling of high-probability areas.
The most cost-effective way to complete reconnaissance
of these parks is for SCRU to spend approximately 7 to
10 days at each park in conjunction with another project.
The cost would be approximately $7,000 per park,
assuming parks provided logistical support.

In 1996, SCRU conducted assessments of underwater
resources in Yellowstone and Glacier (Fig. 21). This
work located docks, historic artifacts, and a variety of
boats and barges. Further work includes the possibility of
investigating submerged prehistoric materials. A detailed
list of projects is identified in the parks’ resource man-
agement plans and could be compicted by two archcolo-
gists and a photographer in approximately 2 to 3 weeks at
an estimated cost of $12,000 per park, assuming park
logistical support.



6 Introduction

record, including cultural affiliation of human remains
and associated artifacts. In addition, the RMC plan adds
to the consultation process and directs the RMC park
units to consult with specific tribes. Both tribal secular
and religious leaders are to be consulted to determine the
ultimate disposition of American Indian human remains,
funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural
patrimony with which they can demonstrate biological or
cultural affiliation.

The RMC’s Systemwide Archeological Inventory
Program also takes special care to be responsive to the
concerns of Native Americans under the American Indian
Religious Freedom Act of (1978) as discussed earlier.
The plan should be equally responsive to American
Indian tribal members who have been delegated responsi-
bility for specific matters by tribal governments. The
RMC has developed an American Indian Consultation
Guidelines and Directory (Ruppert 1994) to simplify and
aid in the consultation process.

National Park Service Management
Policies (1988)

Since the National Park Service’s inception in 1916,
the philosophy and policy of the National Park Service
has been to conserve the parks’ cultural and natural
resources for the benefit and enjoyment of future genera-
tions. Through the decades, many factors have contrib-
uted to the parks’ popularity and increasing visitor
populations. Several parks measure their visitors in the
millions per annum. Obviously, park infrastructures in
their original forms were grossly inadequate to meet
growing and contemporary needs. With the constantly
growing demand to better serve public needs, develop-
ment of park services are mandated, often by legislation,
and by Department of Transportation, Public Health and
Safety regulations and so on. These requirements have to
be balanced with the equally mandated contemporary
philosophy and poticy of “protection and preservation.”
The National Park Service Management Policies are
designed to bring consistency and continuity to planning
and development throughout the National Park Service
System.

NPS-28 (Release No. 4, 1994)

The purpose of NPS-28 is to elaborate on the basic
principles governing the management of cultural re-
sources in the National Park System, consistent with law
and the Secretary of Interior’s Standards. NPS-28
addresses Section 106 of the National Historic Preserva-
tion Act, research, planning, stewardship, management of
archeological and ethnographic resources, cultural
landscapes, and historic and prehistoric structures.

Document Organization

This document is organized into five parts:

© Parr I. DESCRIPTION OF PARK LaNbs is a summary of
basic information regarding the 15 park units in the
region (Table 1:1).

© Part I, REGIONAL Overview summarizes the prehis-
tory, history, and environment of the four basic
physiographic units in the region and examines the
cultural associations for each of the park units

© Paw If. ARCHEOLOGICAL DaTaBaSE FOR THE CLUSTER
summarizes the archeological survey and site records

for each park and lists the proposed inventory and e@

evaluation projects for each park (Table 3:1).
© Parr IV. CLusTerwiDE STRATEGIES discusses overall

guidelines for archeological inventory and evaluation

projects and related projects proposed for the cluster’s
park units.

* Part V. Proposed PROJECTS AND CLUSTER PRIORITIES
{Tables 5:4 and 5:5) to help establish priorities for the
cluster.

© Part VI. SumMMARY OF ARCHEOLOGICAL RESOURCES AND
NEEDS IN THE PARKS.

«Part VIL THE Five-Year PLAN: A Priorinzep List oF
Rocky Mountain CLusTFR ARCHEOLOGY PROJECTS.

The RMC’s Systemwide Archeological Inventory
program is designed to be a multidimensional document
and should be reviewed and updated at five-year inter-
vals. Project statements in park Resource Management
Plans and other sources are not appended to this docu-
ment but are available at park units, the Midwest Archeo-
logical Center, and the RMC Support Office (Denver).



48 Proposed Projects and Cluster Management Priorities

Research Designs infrequently identified in the cluster, this does not make it
The Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program less important. Due to its rarity, it should be handled on a

promotes flexible research designs to accommodate

different park situations; geographical settings, archeo-

logical resource types, known archeological data, and
individual park needs, as well as significant research

problems or questions, trends, patterns, or themes about a

park or region’s prehistory and history.

Data gaps and research questions identified in the
particular State Historic Preservation Plan should be
included in the project research design. History and
Prehistory in the National Park System and the National
Historic Landmarks Program (NPS 1987) identifies
themes represented by National Park units and National
Historic Landmarks and should be consulted when
preparing research designs.

The following research areas should be used to meet
these requirements and standards.

Stabilization and condition assessments

. Environmental reconstruction

. Cultural chronology

. Rock art

. Ceramic petrography

. Artifact assessment

. Submerged cultural resources

. Geoarcheology/geomorphological studies

. Tribal consultation

10. Cultural processes

In addition, the following technical methods should be
considered where appropriate:

1. Dating: Archeomagnetic, radiocarbon, dendrochronol-
ogy, obsidian hydration, patination analysis, osteomet-
ric analysis

. Stable carbon isotope analysis

. Pollen sampling

. Faunal analysis

CrIADKHAWNH

. Geographic information systems

. Global positioning systems

. Direct/Remote sensing: high resolution photography,
digital photography, ground-penetrating radar, and
other geophysical tools (Fig. 18)

. Quantitative analyses

9. Culture processes

AAUAWHN

oo

Rock Art

Rock art is especially sensitive to environmental and
human impacts and is specifically identified in the NASI
document (Aubry et al. 1992). Although, rock art is

case-by-case basis.

Tribal Consultation

The National Park Service is required by various
federal laws, regulations, policies, and management
directives to consult with Native American tribes in
decisions regarding planning, interpreting, and managing
park resources. An Indian Tribe is defined in Section
301(4) of the National Historic Preservation Act (1966),
as amended and in the regulations of 36 CFR 800.2(g).
The reasons for consultation as outlined by the Rocky
Mountain Consultation Guidelines and Directory
(Ruppert 1994) include:

1. The NPS manages lands that contain cultural and
natural resources essential to the American Indian
lifeways and cultural survival;

2. The NPS maintains in storage, and has on public
display, collections of archeological and ethnographic
items important to their lifeways and ethnic heritage;

3. The NPS annually interprets to millions of Americans
and foreign visitors both the past and present lifeways
of American Indians and thereby incur a very special
responsibility to be factually informed, culturally
unbiased, and sensitive in our presentations; and

4. Due to the recently enacted Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990...(P.L. 101-
601). Compliance with this act will require that most
parks consult with American Indian governmental
leaders, and later, at the direction of these leaders, to
consult with both secular and religious leaders of
tribes,

Ethnographic research related to archeological sites
within a inventory project area may help establish
eligibility of the site or district for the National Register
of Historic Places. A reasonable effort in identifying
traditional cultural properties requires consultation of

those who would ascribe cultural affiliation with sites and

districts within the inventory area (Parker and King
n.d.:6) Native American or other locals who have
special interest and knowledge about a given area under
investigation may be a resource to consult in regards to
establishing significance of a site or district. Parties may
regard a site or district significant due to its affiliation to
religious or cultural practices, historical events, or
important person.

Published and unpublished source material regarding



46 Proposed Projects and Cluster Management Priorities

Table V:1. Requirements of the Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program for archeological activities in

National Park Service units.

Requirement Description

1 Archeological inventory activities are focused within the National Park Service areas.

2 Archeological inventory activities are focused on systematic research to locate, identify, evaluate, and document
archeological resources.

3 As appropriate, the full sequence of necessary activities are planned, programmed, and undertaken in an
archeological inventory project.

4 All appropriate and available National Park Service and non-National Park Service sources of funds, equipment,

services, and personnel are used to undertake archeological inventories and to develop regionwide archeological

survey plans.

and political and outside pressures. In the future, projects
may rise to the top of the cluster priority list because of
threats to cultural resources, new park or land acquisi-
tions, or other strategic or management concerns. It is
assumed that after five years or completion of these
projects the entire list of park will be reevaluated.
Prioritization is a dynamic process over the life of
Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program. The
priority factors listed above can indicate the importance
of specific projects. Project statements themselves may
be rewritten or take on a new focus. New project
statements may be added.

Requirements and Standards of the
Systemwide Archeological
Inventory Program

To achieve the archeological research goals and
objectives, the Systemwide Archeological Inventory
Program has established minimum requirements and
standards (see Tables V:1 and V:2), and priorities (see
Management Priority Factors listed). By delineating
these requirements and standards the Systemwide
Archeological Inventory Program further emphasizes
systematic, scientific research to locate, evaluate, and
document archeological resources within National Park
Service units.

Requirements |, 2, and 4 (Table V:1) need little
explanation. The “full sequence” in Requirement 3
means the activities for projects as identified in NPS-28.
Thus, when a project is planned, activities would include,
as appropriate, consulting and coordinating with appro-

priate NPS and non-NPS parties, preparing research
designs for tield studies, stabilizing and preparing
archeological collections for storage, preparing National
Register of Historic Places nominations for eligible
archeological resources, and making project results
available to park managers, planners, interpreters, other
appropriate NPS specialists, and the professional commu-
nity and public.

Research Priorities

Research on cultural resources within the National
Park System shail be mission-oricnted, supporting their
preservation, development, interpretation, and manage-
ment. When conducting archeological inventories,
rescarch guestions as well as management priorities and
criteria must be addressed. Research domains must be
directed at information gaps that exist within cach park
unit and across the region as a whole. By incorporating
the Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program, the
cluster has chosen a standardized inventory process so as
to elicit archeological information from all park units that
will uniformly address information gaps and use stan-
dardized data gathering methods. The standard inventory
strategy provides a priority guideline for archeological
inventory objectives, research methods, and applicable
tools that will maximize the archeological information for
the individual parks and for the cluster. This strategic
guideline is not intended to replace previous archeologi-
cal inventory requirements. In fact, its intent is to
provide a direction for the research aspect of the other-
wise management-oriented archeological inventory. The @
current archeological information base of the Rocky



52 Archeological Resources and Needs

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, several small
archeological projects were undertaken in Florissant
Fossil Beds National Historic Site (FLFO). These
projects revealed lithic scatters and culturally scarred
trees, and supported results of an earlier and larger but
not-to-standard park inventory. The less than one percent
of park inventoried (see Table VI:1) represents intensive,
to standard inventory, although much of the park has been
examined at the reconnaissance level. Although some of
the prehistoric resources of FLFO may be locally eligible
to the National Register, most sites are not eligible.
However, additional work is needed on the park’s historic
archeological sites, which are not adequately docu-
mented.

Fort Laramie National Historic Site (FOLA) contains
nationally significant archeological resources that relate
to the Oregon Trail and operation of Fort Laramie by the
military. The park is also important to many modern
tribes. Since much of the park’s surface has been
disturbed by plowing and is now covered by thick grass,
traditional inventory methods are often not effective at
finding buried resources. Non-destructive geophysical
investigations are required for planning, resource
protection, and to gather data for interpretation. Docu-
mentation of pre-park homesteading is necessary.

Glacier National Park (GLAC) is completing the first
SAIP project in the Rocky Mountain Cluster. Most of
GLAC’s high and medium priorities and some low-
priority areas have been inventoried. Archeological
resources within GLAC, which span the range of human
occupation in the New World, include northwestern
Montana's major quarry for stone tools, vision quests,
bison kills, and fishing locations. The high coincidence
of park-developed areas (trails, campgrounds) with
prehistoric sites results in ongoing impacts to archeologi-
cal resources. Archeological investigations have been
limited by difficult access, ground visibility problems,
and a very short survey season for some high-altitude
areas (one month in late summer). Currently, the park’s
greatest archeological need is for a multi-year (Cultural
Resource Preservation Program base) National Register
evaluation and nomination project.

Most of the areas in Grand Teton National Park
(GRTE) where sites were likely to be found were invento-
ried in the late 1970s, but the documentation is inad-
equate and out of date. In the 1980s, another multi-year
project occurred during the draw-down of Jackson Lake,
which allowed inventory of the pre-dam shoreline.
However, condition of and impacts to sites outside of the

Jackson Lake Reservoir unknown. The park’s prehistoric

sites represent a wide range of plant, animal, and obsidian

procurement locations, as well as camps and plant-
processing features that represent more than 10,000 years
of human use of Jackson Hole. The major needs are 1) to
relocate previously identified sites, record them to
standard, and to evaluate National Register eligibility; 2)
document historical archeological sites; and 3) nominate
the eligible Jackson Lake archeological district to the
National Register.

Grant-Kohrs National Historic Site (GRKO) is 100
percent inventoried, except for the recent 200-acre
addition to the park. All of the inventoried prehistoric
sites within the park have been determined ineligible to
the National Register, but several historic archeological
sites should be evaluated. The park has a Cultural Sites
Inventory but will need historic archeological investiga~
tions to support a cultural landscape reconstruction
around the Kohrs House. The archeological resources at
this park are limited.

Great Sand Dunes National Monument (GRSA) has
the largest concentration of culturally scarred trees within
the Intermountain Field Area, Other GRSA sites repre-
sent camps and plant procurement sites in and around the
dune field. Sites in this area are impacted by on-going
natural processes and visitation. However, the documen-
tation for GRSA’s archeological resources is inadequate
for all but the most recently recorded sites. Based on
evidence from areas adjacent to the park, archeological
sites in moderate density covering almost 11,000 years
are expected to be found. Vandalism and threats from
activities outside the park to the stability of the dune field
and thus to park resources are of concern. The dune field
poses special seasonal and logistical problems for
inventory.

Within the John D. Rockefeller National Parkway
(JODR), inventory is limited to the Snake River and the
highway corridors. This inventory work was completed
in the 1970s. In general, the archeological resources of
JODR are almost unknown due to the extremely heavy
ground cover and the lack of development projects. The
dense ground cover makes it extremely difficult to find
sites, but it also protects resources from erosion and
vandalism. Survey work in YELL (on the north) and
GRTE (on the south) suggests that the archeological
resources of JODR are not as numerous, threatened, or
important as in the adjacent parks.

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Site (LIBI) has a
100 percent modern inventory, including preparation of



56 Five-Year Plan

Table VII:1. Rocky Mountain Cluster Archeological Inventory prioritized program funding needs.

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005, 2006
Funding Funding Funding Funding Funding = Funding = Funding Funding Funding Funding
Park Needs Needs Needs Needs Needs Needs Needs Needs Needs Needs
ROMO —25,000* 53,000# 100,000 100,000 20,000
80,000 req. 110,000 req

YELL 100,000* 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000
GRSA 30,000° 80,000 80,000
BICA 80,000 90,000 100,000 100,000
FOLA 50,000 50,000 50,000
GRTE 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000
CURE 100,000 100,000 100,000
GRKO 15,000
JODR 60,000

* Represents dollar amounts, FY97 project funding approved
# FY98 funds approved.
* Not funded

It is understood that after five years project priorities
will again be examined. However, Table VII:1 was
prepared in order to show cluster inventory needs and to
show parks where they rank generally for this funding
type.

It is important to again emphasize that the SAIP
funding is inadequate to satisfy all the archeological

needs of the parks. Other fund sources (base Cultural

Resource Preservation Program) and creative arrange-

ments should be carefully examined. It is also unlikely

that funding levels identified in Table VII:1 will be r )
forthcoming but this shows what the cluster archeological

needs are and what could efficiently and effectively be
obligated.



44 Strategies for Archeological Survey and Highest Priority Projects

support site management and protection. National
Register listings are a logical result of SAIP inventory
projects.

Park-Specific Research Projects

For parks having a sufficient level of understanding of
their archeological data base, it may be appropriate to
develop problem-specific investigations that focus on
specific information or documentation needs. These
should be projects such as documentation of roasting pits
or Quaternary resources, detailed documentation of
prehistoric structures as a vehicle for providing increased
interpretive information, and development of detailed
geochronological control within a given park. These
projects could conceivably be documentation leading to
long term preservation of major sites or clusters of sites.

Backlog Projects

It may be appropriate to develop a project to clean-up
long overdue or postponed projects for which inadequate
funding or loss of funding did not permit completion. At
this writing, the Rocky Mountain cluster does not have
any such projects.

Political or Strategic Interests

It is recognized that there may be political or strategic
interests which would raise the need for archeological
data.



16 Regional Overview

scrapers, serrated flakes, spear points, and pointed
unifaces. A conical core technology was also used. The
predominate raw chipped tool stone matcrials were
derived from Montana chert quarries. This sub-phase
represents a mountain adapted, regional culture, perhaps
equivalent to a tribal grouping within a larger linguistic
cultural group (Husted and Edger n.d.).

Pelican Lake may be ancestral to the Avonlea Ph:

and later phases, identifiable as the archeological
representative of the pre-contact Piikani (Blackfeet) on
the plains and K’Tunaxa (Kootenai) in the mountains.

These people were intimately tied to the seasonal
movements of the mountain bison herds that wintered and
calved in the main valley, moving in the spring into
pastures in Blakiston Valley and other pastures in the
lower valleys.

Besant Phase. The Besant Phase represents an
intrusive cultural tradition whose homeland lies to the
east of the Pelican Lake area. Distinctive characteristics
include Besant side-notched dart points and Samantha
side-notched arrow points. Additional distinctive tools
include dorsally retouched, triangular-shaped end
scrapers and asymmetric knives. Utilized tool-stone
sources consist of Knife River flint and related varieties
obtained from quarries in the plains of the Missouri Basin
in North Dakota. Distinct territorial boundaries existed
between the Besant and Pelican Lake-Avonlea Phase

cultural tradition groups.

Late Prehistoric Period

The Late Prehistoric Period is characterized by the
introduction of the bow and arrow. The Crandell Moun-
tain Sub-phase is the local representative of the Avonlea
Phase. Diagnostic projectile points consist of small
(Head-Smashed-In) corner-notched and (Timber Ridge)
side-notched types. Utilized tool stone materials were
from Montana cherts and chalcedony as well as Top-of-
the-World materials. Also characteristic of this phase are
roasting and bone boiling pits.

Avonlea Phase. The Avonlea appears to be an
ancestral archeological culture to both the Tobacco Plains
and Old Women’s Phases as it occurs in both areas, and
continuity between it and the later phases can be traced in
a number of material culture traits. In the mountains,
Avonlea is generally accramic and there seems to be a
transition in technology from Late Middle Archaic sites
to Tobacco Plains. On the Canadian plains, Avonlea is
often ceramic—the nearest excavated Avonlea ceramic
site to Waterton-Glacier lies approximately 20 kilometers
north. These ceramics are the early Saskatchewan Basin

Ware (Byrne 1973). The archeological data suggest that
the initial splitting of Avonlea began some 1,400 B.P.

Old Women’s and Tobacco Plains Phases. The Old
Women’s and Tobacco Plains Phases are characterized by
two cultural traditions: the K’Tunaxa, representing the
Tobacco Plains Phase of the Rocky Mountains, and the
Piikani, representing the Old Women’s Phase in the
Foothills and Western Plains. The ‘Tobacco Plains and
Old Women’s are quite distinct cultural phases.
Plains is best known from traditional K’Tunaxa camps in
the Crowsnest Pass (Loveseth 1980), Waterton Valley
(Reeves 1980), and the Kootenai Valley (Roll 1982). The
Tobacco Plains phase emphasizes the use of the Top-of-
the World chert that is the traditional K’Tunaxa quarry.
Jn addition, a microlithic bifacial core technology
characterizes this phase. The Old Women’s Phase
emphasizes local plains and mountain lithics and has a
technology based on the extensive use of split pebble
techniques to produce blanks for end scrapers and other
tools. Diversity between tools of each phase continues
with knives, end scrapers and drills. Pottery in Old
Women’s sites is late Saskatchewan Basin Complex ware.
Tobacco Plains sites are aceramic.

Tobacco

Transitional Period

The Transitional Period represents a short period of
Gime when traditional native culture, subsistence, and
setlement patterns under went rapid and radical change
as a result of the continuing impact of disease, the horse,
and the penetration of the lands by the non-native fur and
whisky traders, miners, missionaries, army, ranchers, and
farmers. Stone tools, particularly those most characteris-
tic of different ethnic groups including projectile points,
scrapers, knives, and pottery, were replaced by items of
European manufacture such as metal points, muskets,
rifles, knives, and copper pots. The transition is very
visible in the archeological record in Glacier National
Park,

Historic Period

During the Historic Period, American Indian cultures
such as the Nitsitapii (Blackfoot), Snakes (Nimi/
Shoshone), and K’Tunaxa (Kootenai) occupied the
Glacier National Park region. These Indian tribes were
socially and culturally complex, nomadic Northern Plains
bison hunters. ‘Their scasonal rounds began in the spring
with bison drives, planting tobacco, and replacing tipi
poles. The summer brought the bands together for the
traditional sundance. As the summer passed into fall,
bison drives were conducted in order to lay in stores of





List oF Ficures..

List or TABLES

INTRODUCTION...
The Systemwide Archeological Inventory
Program.....

The Rocky Mountain Cluster SAIP Plan
Relevant Policies and Federal Legislation
Document Organization ....

Part I: DESCRIPTION OF PARK LANDS ...
Number of Park Areas
Park Sizes ....
Park Type and Archeological Values

Identified in the Enabling Legislation
Wilderness ..
Land Ownership within the Parks ..
Neighboring Government Landholding:
Nature of Physical Environment .....

ui

mo wows

Part II: REGIONAL OVERVIEW.....
Introduction

Northern Rocky Mountain Province
Middle Rocky Mountain and Wyoming

Basin Provinces
Southern Rocky Mountain Province
Great Plains Province

Part IIT: ARCHEOLOGICAL DATABASE FOR THE
CLusTER .
Overviews.
Resource Management Plans ...
Previous Archeological Projects ..
Acres and Percent of Park Surveyed
Archeological Sites Recorded and

Condition of Site Records .....
Base Maps ....

TABLE OF CONTENTS

iit

Site Data Bases
Artifact Locations and Storage Conditions
National Register of Historic Places
Underwater Projects
Historical Archeology ...
Proposed Project Statements

Part IV: CLUSTERWIDE STRATEGIES FOR ARCHEOLOGICAL
Survey AND HIGHEST Priority PROJECTS ..
Ciuster Standards....

Archeological Overview and Assessment
Archeological Inventory and Site Evaluation ..43
Park-Specific Research Projects.
Backlog Projects...

Political or Strategic Interests ....

Part V: Proposeb PROJECTS AND CLUSTER
MANAGEMENT PRiorITIEs .
Cluster Inventory Goals
Management Priority Factors ...
Classifying the Rocky Mountain Cluster

Projects .... we 45
Requirements and Standards of the Systemwide

Archeological Inventory Program...
Research Priorities...

Part VI: SuMMaRY OF ARCHEOLOGICAL RESOURCES
AND NEEDS IN THE PARKS .

Part VIE: THe Five-Year PLAN: A PrioritizeD
List of Rocky Mountain CLusTER
ARCHEOLOGY PROJECTS ..

REFERENCES ..

APPENDIX A: ACRONYMS FOR THE Rocky MOUNTAIN
CLUSTER Park UNITS ....

64

APPENDIX B: LEGISLATION AND POLICIES AFFECTING
(CuLTurAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT .....



Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 27

area for Fremont occupation is scarce; however, there is
some evidence {i.c., point styles) for Fremont occupation
in the Routt National Forest (Ward-Williams and Foster
1977) and in the Middie Park area (Lishka and Black
1979).

Plains Woodland/Upper Republican Phases, Evi-
dence of Plains Woodland occupation in the Southern
Rocky Mountain province has been found along the Front
Range along in the foothills/plains transition zone and in
the San Luis Vallcy. The Plains Woodland Tradition to
the east is characterized by sedentary village
horticulturalists and is represented in the mountains only
by ceramic fragments and projectile points. Rock
shelters along the Front Range contain multiple Archaic
and Plains Woodland components suggesting local
continuity with the addition of the bow and arrow and
pottery to the archaic material culture. Plains Woodland
pottery and points are found in Rocky Mountain National
Park (Hartley 1981). Evidence for Plains Woodland

Figure 14. Game Blind
Structure (SLR15).
,. | Animals would not have

|_ seen the blind until they
crested the saddle and
were within atlatl range.
Charcoal from blind was
dated at 2610460 BP.
Rocky Mountain National
Park,

decreases as the movement to the west of the Front Range
increases (Black 1982:163). The presence of Plains
Woodland materials in the Southern Rocky Mountain
province does not necessarily suggest the presence of a
Formative Stage. Instead, it appears that Formative
peoples probably utilized the mountains in a hunting and
gathering pattern of seasonal tranhumance by taking
advantage of the diverse biotic zones and resources
present.

Upper Republican sites are found within sight of the
Front Range but not within the foothills or Rocky
Mountains (Wood 1971). Sites are identified by charac-
teristic pottery, The core Upper Republican area is in
Nebraska and Kansas.

Protohistoric/Historic

The Protohistoric/Historic Period for the Southern
Rocky Mouniain province dates from about A.D. 1300 to
1800 (Guthrie et al. 1984). This period includes part of



Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 13

. Park Units in their physiographic/cultural areas.

Physiographic Unit Cultural Areas Number Park Units'

Rocky Mountains Northern Rocky Mountains 3 YELL, GLAC, GRKO
NW Plateau
Pacific NW
Northern Plains
Middle Rocky Mountains 4 GRTE, JODR, YELL, BICA
NW Plateau
Wyoming Basin
Southern Rocky Mountains 5 BLCA, CURE, FLFO, GRSA, ROMO.
Southwest

Great Plains Northern Plains 4 DETO, FOLA, LIBI, BICA
Southern Plains 1 BEOL

‘Some units contain evidence from more than one cultural area.

is flanked on the east by the Northern Plains and to the
west by the Columbia Plateau. Elevation ranges between
3,100 and 11,000 feet above mean sea level. Most of the
Northern Rockies had upthrust and extensive Quaternary
glaciation that created deep trough-shaped valleys. Most
of the mountains are separated by broad intermountain
grasslands. The various geomorphological landforms
within the Northern Rocky Mountain area contain several
life/vegetation zones. These life/vegetation zones include
foothills, and valley grasslands, coniferous montane and
subalpine forests, and alpine (Fig. 4). Vegetation
communities in the Northern Rocky Mountain province
are dominated by Ponderosa, lodgepole, and limber pines,

Englemann spruce, and Douglas-fir. However, the
understory includes many various edible plants (Scott
1989:3).

Only two Rocky Mountain park units are located
within the Northern Rocky Mountain province: Glacier
National Park and Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic
Site. The following cultural chronology is drawn from
Reeves (1993:2-25).

Cultural Chronology

The native cultural history, prior to the coming of the
Europeans, has been divided into three periods termed the
Paleoindian, Archaic, and Late Prehistoric (Tables II:2,

BB Figure 4. Site 24GL702.
Crew excavating upper
component on terrace in
‘| Glacier National Park.

wave action of the
Sherburne Reservoir.



Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 19

Agate Basin

Figure 7. Paleoindian points from Yellowstone National Park. (Dashed

line shows grinding. Actual size.)

with a cultural hiatus in the region. Antevs (1948, 1955)
describes the Altithermal as a period of increasing
temperature and xeric climatic conditions which resulted
in a reduction of available forage and carrying capacity
for populations of large herbivores. This hypothesis may
be partially correct. However, cultural evidence for this
area during this period is generally lacking and cannot
support or negate this hypothesis. The altithermal could
represent a climatic condition that resulted in the exclu-
sion of human habitation in much of the area. There is
strong evidence of Early Archaic cultural groups in the
foothill-mountain area and in most areas of greater
topographic relief along mountain slopes. It is thought
that the subsistence base shifted from the exploitation of
large mammals to a balanced utilization of wild plant
resources and smal] mammals (Armatage et al. 1982).
Evidence of this subsistence shift and semi-sedentary
settlement is present in the Wyoming Basin (Eakin 1984;
Eakin et al. 1987; Harrell and McKern 1986; Miller 1984;
‘Truesdale et al. 1987). At Mummy Cave, the Early
Archaic is represented by the Bitterroot Culture and
phase with diagnostic (Pahaska and Blackwater) side-
notched points (Fig. 6). The Early Archaic is well

represented in the Middle Rocky Mountains and Wyo-
ming Basin and in Grand Teton National Park,
Yellowstone National Park, and Bighorn Canyon Na-
tional Recreation Area.

Middle Archaic. The Middle Archaic Period, dating
from 5,000 to 2,500 B.P., coincides with a return of mesic
climatic conditions. Subsistence strategies continue to be
a balanced economy of hunting and gathering. Techno-
logical changes include the appearance of lanceolate
(McKean) and stemmed (Duncan, Hanna) projectile
points. Desert Archaic points (Elko, San Rafael side-
notched) are found in southwestern Wyoming. At
Mummy Cave, 15 miles east of Yellowstone National
Park, the Bitterroot Culture’s Beaverhead Phase prevails
with stemmed, indented base and corner-notched points.
Middle Archaic sites have been recorded in Bighorn
Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Teton National
Park (Fig. 8), and Yellowstone National Park.

While a variety of dated features and isolated activity
areas have been excavated from this period, extensive
assemblages and feature complexes are not yet well
documented. In addition, several Middle Archaic sites
appear to suggest that elaborate mortuary rituals, includ-



Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 15

Table 11:3. Cultural chronology of the Northern Rocky Mountain province.

Period Complex/Phase Age B.P.
Paleoindian 10,500-7750 7
Early Archaic Bitterroot 7750-1600
Middle Archaic Mummy Cave Complex 7750-3500
Mckean Complex 4500-3500
Late Archaic Pelican Lake Phase 3500-1800
Besant Phase 2000-1500
Late Prehistoric Avonlea Phase 1600-800
Old Women’s and 800-200
Tobacco Plains Phases
Transitional/ Mandan/Hidatsa, 200-125
Protohistoric Arikara, Shoshone,
Blackfeet, Crow
Prehistoric/ Mandan/Hidatsa, Crow, Nez Perce, 125-present

Historic

Blackfeet, Cree, Flathead,

Kootenai, Gros Ventres,
Assiniboine, Cheyenne,

Sioux. Arapahoe, Kiowa

montane forests were reduced, and sub-alpine forests
expanded. A major shift occurred in the mountain
ecosystems (Reeves 1978) and the local inhabitants are
hypothesized to have used fire to lower the forests to
maintain open valley grasslands and the mountain bison
population.

The late Mummy Cave sites are more common than
early Mummy Cave sites as landforms of Neoglacial age
are better preserved than those that date to earlier times.
Thus, the Mid-Holocene climate resulted in prolific
downcutting and erosion of stream valleys and removal
of many early Mummy Cave sites. Consequently, early
Mummy Cave sites with buried and
stratigraphically intact components are quite rare.

McKean Complex. The McKean Complex is
an intrusive cultural complex into the Northern
Plains/Rocky Mountains. The complex has
three distinctive projectile points: McKean,
Duncan, and Hanna. Large stone boiling
and roasting pits occur and fire-cracked
rock is common. Distinctive burial
styles and other cultural traits set this

@evrvier well apart from the resident
Mummy Cave Complex. In addition,
McKean Complex sites contain

specific kinds of chipped stone materials (basalt and
obsidian) and calcined bone fragments scattered on living
surfaces. The burned bone fragments suggests that bone
was used for fuel. Continuity in artifact assemblages and
other archeological traits can be traced forward in time to
the subsequent Pelican Lake Phase. This suggests that
McKean is the ancestral culture of this later buffalo
hunting culture of the Western Plains and Rocky Moun-
tains (Brumley 1975; Reeves 1983).

Late Archaic
Pelican Lake Phase. The Pelican Lake Phase is the
best documented phase of the Late Archaic Period
in the Northern Rocky Mountains. A series of
regional sub-phases have been proposed, In
Waterton-Glacier, Pelican Lake is represented
by the Blue Slate Canyon Sub-phase (Reeves
1983). This sub-phase is predominately
characterized by large corner-notched dart
points. Other diagnostic artifacts include
triangular knives, rectangular and oval

Figure 5. Early Archaic point from
Yellowstone National Park.



28 _ Regional Overview

the Late Prehistoric Period as defined by Frison (1991)
but excludes the earlier Plains Woodland and Upper
Republican traditions. Ethnographic accounts indicate
occupations by groups such as the Ute, Shoshone,
Arapahoe, Comanche, Cheyenne, and Apache in the
Southern Rocky Mountain province. It is difficult to
identify ethnic affiliation of archeological sites in the
absence of historical documentation and even more
difficult to distinguish between related groups, such as
Ute and Shoshonean, at archeological sites. The Ute/
Shoshonean Indians were primarily small game hunters
and gatherers, collecting nuts, roots, seeds, and grasses,
and utilizing many species of wild plant life (Fig. 15).
Much of their game included the smaller animals such as
rabbit, antelope, deer, and fish. They also lived off of
even smaller resources such as eggs, lizards, snakes,
insects, and ants (Steward 1967:243). In the early 1800s,
the Ute/Shoshonean sociocultural and socio-economic
lifestyle changed with the introduction of the horse.
Though this new way of life was short-lived from the
early 1800s to about 1870 when the United States forces
defeated them, the horse markedly changed the people’s
lives (Steward 1967:252).

‘The introduction of the horse into the Rocky Mountain
Cluster and the manifest destiny of the United States
changed all historically known Indian tribes in the area,
removing them from traditional lands and placing them
onto government reservations.

Great Plains Province

Environment

The Great Plains province slope eastward from about
5,500 feet at the foot of the Rocky Mountains foothills to
about 2,000 feet at the eastern boundary. In the United
States, drainage on the plains is parallel and the streams
flow eastward from the Rocky Mountains to the Missouri
and Mississippi rivers. Trees are largely confined to the
valleys; the uplands are, for the most part, treeless;
original grasslands are now plowed fields or pastures.

The Great Plains within the Rocky Mountain Cluster
are bounded on the north by the Canadian-United States
border and extends south to central Texas, and from the
Rocky Mountains on the west to the central portion of
South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Most of the cultural chronology described below has been
taken from Eighmy (1984). Culturally, the Great Plains,
for purposes here, is divided into two distinct areas: the
Northern and Southern Plains. Willey (1966:313) divides

the Great Plains into several) areas (Northwestern, @
Central, and Southern Plains); the Central Plains influ-

ences rarely extend into eastern Colorado. Park units

located in the Western Plains include Little Bighorn

Battlefield National Monument, Fort Laramie National

Historic Site, Devils Tower National Monument, and

parts of Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. Only

one park unit, Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site, is

located in the Southern Plains province.

Cultural Chronology

There are five cultural traditions associated with the
Plains area: Paleoindian, Archaic, Ceramic, Plains
Village/Late Prehistoric, and Protohistoric/Historic. The
general archeological chronology of the Plains area is
presented in the following cultural traditions and culture
periods (Table II:6)

Figure 15. Culturally scarred tree (5SH1035), Great
Sand Dunes National Monument. This scar was created @
in A.D. 1826. The inner bark would be collected and

used for food.







2 Introduction

manufacture and repair of stone tools. However, since
this activity frequently took place at camps, there may
also be the remains of hearths, charcoal from fires, pits
for cooking roots, grinding stones, the bones of animals
used for food, and stone tools, both lost and discarded.
Shelter at these camps was most often the skin tipi.

One way of interpreting these is as special or general
purpose sites. “Special purpose sites” are smaller and
focused on one or a few activities, such as a kill site (a
location where a deer or bison was slaughtered for food,
religious purposes, and where the initial butchering
occurred) or a quarry (the source of stone for tools).
“General purpose” sites are usually larger with evidence
of a wide variety of activities such as hide processing,
cooking, and tool repair. Men, women, and children
lived at general purpose sites, while single-sex work
groups traveled, perhaps on a daily or overnight basis, to
special purpose locations.

Compared to the two other clusters in the Intermoun-
tain Field Area, the archeology of the Rocky Mountain
Cluster is less visible to the untrained eye, but it repre-
sents the successful adaptation of Native Americans to
the region’s harsh living conditions. These early people
made their living by hunting animals and gathering roots,
bulbs, berries, and seeds. Thus, their economy has been
characterized as “hunting and gathering,” but no trace of
simplicity is intended. Only well-adapted cultures could
make a living in such a seasonally difficult environment.

Archeology has interdisciplinary applications. In
addition to providing information about the region’s early
inhabitants, archeological investigations are useful tools
for learning more about the natural resources within the
Rocky Mountain Cluster. Plants and animal remains are
often preserved in archeological sites. Because these
sites can be dated through archeological means, archeol-
ogy can help provide answers to questions about past
plants, animals, and environmental conditions.

The National Park Service (NPS) is responsible for
conserving, protecting, preserving, and managing the
cultural resources in its care for long-term scientific
research, public interpretation, and education. The laws
ensuring that the federal agencies fulfill their obligations
to inventory and evaluate cultural resources include
section !10(a)(2) of the National Historic Preservation
Act (NHPA), as amended, section 2(a) of Executive
Order 11593, and section 14 of the Archeological
Resources Preservation Act (ARPA).

The Systemwide Archeological e
Inventory Program

A 1991 Management Control Review of the National
Park Service archeology program identified a critical
high-risk material weakness in basic inventory account-
ability of cultural resources on National Park Service
lands. The National Archeological Survey Initiative
(NASI) was established to improve archeological
inventory and accountability for the archeological
resources in our national parks. The NASI Task Force
(Aubry et al. 1992) developed the Systemwide Archeo-
logical Inventory Program (SAIP) to establish guidelines
for an inventory program that will last for the next 20 to
30 years. The SAIP report describes the systemwide
program and outlines the requirements for the earlier
regionwide and now clusterwide survey plans. The
national plan is the foundation for this clusterwide
document:

The goal of the program is to conduct
systematic scientific research to locate,
evaluate, and document archeological
resources on National Park System lands; to @
nominate eligible properties for listing in the
National Register of Historic Places; and to
recommend appropriate strategies for conser-
vation, protection, preservation in situ (senior
author’s emphasis), management, and
interpretation. The program is intended to
augment, rather than replace, the Service's
existing archeological policies, guidelines, and
standards (Aubry et al. 1992:iii),

The Rocky Mountain Cluster SAIP
Plan

The Rocky Mountain Cluster of the National Park
Service has 15 park units (Fig. 2} comprising 4,027,497.3
acres. These include various types of NPS units from
national monuments to national recreation areas (see
Description of Park Lands). Four of these areas specifi-
cally include archeological values in their enactment
legislation and all 15 are known to have significant
archeological resources. Yellowstone National Park is
recognized as a World Heritage Park for both natural and r



Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan

25

0

@:. 12. Middle and Late Archaic projectile points from Curecanti National Recreation Area.



Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 61

Appendix A
Acronyms for the Rocky Mountain Cluster park units.

BEOL Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site

BICA Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
BLCA Black Canyon on the Gunnison National Monument
CURE Curecanti National Recreation Area

DETO Devils Tower National Monument

FLFO Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
FOLA Fort Laramie National Historic Site

GLAC_ Glacier National Park

GRKO_ Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site
GRSA_ Great Sand Dunes National Monument

GRTE_ Grand Teton National Park

JODR John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway
LIBI Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
ROMO Rocky Mountain National Park

YELL Yellowstone National Park

GQ vrensix B

Legislation and Policies Affecting Cultural Resource Management

1906 Antiquities Act (34 Stat. 225) and implementing regulations, Preservation of American Antiquities (43 CFR Part 3).

1916 National Park Service Organic Act.

1935 Historic Sites Act.

1955 Museums Properties Management Act.

1960 Reservoir Salvage Act.

1966 National Historic Preservation Act (PL 95-515).

1969 National Environmental Policy Act and various amendments

1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of
Ownership of Cultural Property (PL 97-446, in 1983).

1971 Executive Order 11593,

1974 Amendment to the Reservoir Salvage Act (Archeological and Historic Preservation Act) [PL 93-291].

1978 American Indian Religious Freedom Act (PL 95-341).

1979 Archeological Resources Protection Act (PL 96-95).

1979 Protection of Historic and Cultural Properties; Advisory Council Regulations pursuant to the National Historic
Preservation Act.

1980 Amendments to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

1980 Treatment of Archeological Properties; A Handbook by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

1983 Archeology and Historic Preservation; Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines.

1984 Museum Handbook, part 2, revised (contains Service mandates and guidelines for documentation of collections).

@:: Protection of Archeological Resources: Uniform Regulations (43 CFR Part 7).

985 National Park Service Cultural Resource Management Guidelines--National Park Service 28 (Release 3). Release
4 in 1994.
1985 National Park Service policy on the “Disposition of Human Remains,” in National Park Service Cultural Resource
Management Guidelines (National Park Service-28), Chapter 7, Technical Supplement.



Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan

63



22__ Regional Overview

belt is the Front Range from the Wyoming State line to
beyond the Arkansas River. The area south of the
Arkansas includes the Wet Mountains and the northern
part of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. From north to
south the western belt includes the Park Range, Gore
Range, Saguache Range, and the San Juan Mountains
(Cassells 1983:19).

This geographic region is characterized by rugged
peaks, some over 14,000 feet. Between these peaks are
grass-covered valleys and three major parks: North,
Middle, and South parks. There is one major valley, the
San Luis Valley. The high peaks and valleys that charac-
terize the Southern Rocky Mountain province form a vast
and complex drainage system, and water is plentiful
throughout the area. The major drainages listed from
north to south include; the North Platte, White, Colorado,
Gunnison, Upper Arkansas, South Platte, and the Rio
Grande rivers.

Cultural Chronology

The cultural history of the Southern Rocky Mountain
province, like most of the surrounding cultural/geo-
graphical regions, can be divided into four cultural units:
Paleoindian, Archaic, the Late Prehistoric/Formative, and
the Protohistoric/Historic (Table II:5). This sequence is
summarized in Lintz and Anderson (1989).

Although there is increasing evidence for a Pre-Clovis
Period in Colorado (Humphrey and Stanford 1979), this
topic is still controversial, and this period is not as yet
represented by corroborative archeological evidence from
this region. The Paleoindian Period dates from 12,000 to
7,500 B.C. and is characterized by the hunting of extinct
megafauna. Although evidence of Paleoindian occupa-
tions in the mountain area is limited, many isolated points
and tools are known to exist in the region.

Paleoindian Period

The Paleoindian Period in the Southern Rocky
Mountain region is divided into three cultural segments:
Clovis, the Folsom, and the Plano or Late Paleoindian
(Fig. 7). Each of these sub-periods is well defined are
distinguished by different point styles and manufacturing
techniques and by particular faunal associations. These
distinct tool assemblages and subsistence patterns
represent the Paleoindian peoples adaptation to the plains
and mountain tundra environment of the Late Pleistocene.
In addition, Paleoindians also relied on small game and
plant resources to supplement their diet. An increase of
point styles in the Plano Period may be indicative of a

Table I1:5. Cultural chronology of the Southern
Rocky Mountain province.

Complex/
Period Phase Age, B.P. (Ca.)
Paleoindian Llano, Clovis 11,500-10,800
Folsom 10,800-10,000,
Agate Basin 10,500-10,000
Hellgap 10,300-9,500
Cody Complex —_10,000-8,500
Late Paleo 8,000-7,000
Archaic Early 7,000-5,000
Middle 5,000-2,500
Late 2,500-1,500
Late Prehistoric Anasazi 1,700-200
Fremont
Woodland
Up. Rep.
Protohistoric/ Cheyenne 200-50
Historic Ute
Shoshone
Arapahoe @
Navajo
Hopi

Apache Kiowa

more diverse subsistence pattern and the exploitation of a
wider variety of animals.

Clovis. Clovis points are reported in Rocky Mountain
National Park along Trail Ridge Road at an elevation of
11,000 to 11,500 feet (Husted 1962, 1965:496). Near
Curecanti, in the Gunnison River drainage, Clovis points
occur as surface scatter and as isolated finds (Carpenter et
al. 1976; Burgess et al. 1980:28; Jones 1982:6). An
excavated hearth at Curecanti has also yielded a date of
10,094+/-830 years B.P. (Jones 1982:12; Stiger
1981:109). The Mount Emmons Project, also in the
Gunnison Basin, produced a possible Clovis/Folsom
“fluted” mid-section (Baker et al. 1980:120). Hurst
(1943:251) reported the presence of extinct mammoth
and bison remains from the Gunnison Valley, but no
associated cultural materials. Late Pleistocene fauna
have also been excavated from a cave site in Curecanti,
though cultural associations are dubious (Euler 1979;
Euler and Stiger 1981).

Folsom. There are abundant Folsom remains in the
San Luis Valley, and a more limited distribution in other



tl
1:2
1:3
i4
I
11:2
1:3
IL4
TES
16
Ut
L:2
TE3
Iv:l
Iv:2
Vil

V2
V:3

VII
VIIz1

List OF TABLES

Park unit acreage...
Ease of accessibility of park units
Land ownership in park units ...
Physiographic units in which park units reside .
Park units in their physiographic/cultural areas.
Park units containing materials of recognizable prehistoric groups .
Cultural chronology of the Northern Rocky Mountain province .
Cultural chronology of the Middle Rocky Mountain and the Wyoming Basin province
Cultural chronology of the Southern Rocky Mountain province
Cultural chronology of the Great Plains province
Percentage surveyed of park units .....
Recorded sites and site records of Rocky Mountain Cluster park units
Types of Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program projects ....
Project prioritization factors and park scoring
Ordered cluster projects priorites......
Requirements of the Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program for archeological activities in National
Park Service units .....
Standards for the Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program for archeological activities conducted in
National Park Service units ....
Native American groups/tribes with affiliations with Rocky Mountain Cluster park units
Rocky Mountain Cluster Inventory and National Register status .....

Rocky Mountain Cluster Archeological Inventory prioritized program funding needs



\7.
18.
19.

20.

21.

22.

. Late Prehistoric ceramics from Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area ..
. Paleoindian point fragments from site SRL6. Rocky Mountain National Park
. Middle and Late Archaic projectile points from Curecanti National Recreation Area
. Salvage excavation of 3500-year-old house being eroded by Blue Mesa Reservoir. Curecanti National

List oF FIGURES

Trench feature at Obsidian Cliff National Historic Landmark, Yellowstone National Park ...
Map of the National Park Service’s Rocky Mountain Cluster showing park units..... oe
(a) Chief Mountain has prehistoric, historic, and modern sites related to its significance as a Traditional Cultural
Property. Glacier National Park. (b) Chief Mountain west summit. View of modern vision quest (24GL264) ....
Crew excavating upper component of site 24GL702 which is eroding into the upper end of Sherburne Reservoir,
Glacier National Park...
Early Archaic point from Yellowstone National Park ...
Cutting Packing Co. trademark. Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site .
Paleoindian points from Yellowstone National Park .....
Site map, 48TE1067. Grand Teton National Park
Reconstructed Intermountain vessel from Yellowstone National Park

Recreation Area...

. Game Blind Structure (5LR15). Animals would not have seen the blind until they crested the saddle and were

within atlatl range. Charcoal from the blind was dated at 2610+60 BP. Rocky Mountain National Park ..

. Culturally scarred tree, Great Sand Dunes National Monument. This scar was created in A.D. 1826. The inner

bark would be collected and used for food .

. Interpretation of the movements along the Custer Ridge Extension. Little Bighorn Battlefield National

Monument
Late Prehistoric projectile point from Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Are:
Salvage excavations in the quartermaster dump at Fort Laramie National Historic Site ...
Bighom Canyon NRA has three very rare crib-construction log structures that were built by Native Ameri:
probably Crow Indians, in the late 18" and early 19" centuries A.D. These structures were used by Northern
Plains Indians for hunting, vision quests, and fortifications for war-related activities
Remote sensing data from the cemetery, Fort Laramie National Historic Site
Fish Creek Bay wreck. Glacier National Park .
Number of East Glacier mining claims by year in what became Glacier National Park

33



2 Part IT: =>
Regional Overview

Scientific investigation is the
conscious and designed attempt to
obtain an ‘objective’ evaluation of the
utility and accuracy of proposed ideas
and propositions (Binford 1983:47).

Introduction

One purpose of this inventory plan js to quantify the
cluster’s archeological weaknesses, strengths, data gaps,
and research needs. Additionally, the survey plan
outlines a strategy to address information gaps and
deficiencies. This regional overview describes the
ethnographic studies, prehistory, and history of archeo-
logical] research for each park unit. It is more detailed
and specific than most other sections. However, there is
no attempt to write a definitive or exhaustive summary
for cach of the cultural regions represented within the
Rocky Mountain Region. Field Strategies (Part IV) and
Description of Inventory Projects (Part V) are built on
data presented in the Regional Overview and the Archeo-
logical Data Base (Part III).

The Rocky Mountain Cluster’s park units are in
Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. The diversity
of culture groups represented in the prehistory and history
of these park units is discussed by geographical and
cultural areas. These areas differ slightly from the natural
regions used to describe the region’s physical environ-
ment. The discussion of each area will be very general in
nature and include:

1. The prehistory and history of the area.
. Physiography, ecology, and topography or landscapes
associated with past human occupants and use.
3. Nature of archeological resources (prehistoric,

historic, ethnographic) associated with each type of
physiographic province, ecological zone, topographic
feature, or landscape identified.

4. A summary of the nature and adequacy of prior
archeological research in the region in terms of
guality, quantity, and geographic coverage.

5. Identification of gaps and weaknesses in the scientific
knowledge about the region’s prehistory and history,
and identification of research problems, questions, or
topics (especially those of regional and national
importance) in need of further archcological study.

Time

Broad temporal divisions are not necessarily viewed as
appropriate units of time when examining all research
questions; they are heuristic devices that are legitimate
for an overview of this scale and scope. However, the
temporal placement of archeological materials and sites
does assume an important function. One outcome of this
interest in chronology is the construction of regional
cultural sequences. These chronologies are based upon
changes in archeological assemblages as observed over
time and are thought to represent cultural adaptations. In
order to encourage the examination of long-term cultural
processes, the Systemwide Archeological Inventory
Program of the Rocky Mountain Cluster will follow a
parallel structure for the discussion of each time period.

Quaternary

The Quaternary Period dates to 60,000 to 9,000 B.C.
and is of great interest to archeologists studying Early
Man and Paleoindians. As more accurate interpretations


cxs Introduction —>

Rocky Mountain archeology
contains tremendous diversity.
Our cluster includes archeo-
logical resources, ranging from
12,000-year-old camps
inhabited by the earliest
peoples in the New World, and
the most important obsidian
source in North America, bison
kill sites, and major plant-
processing areas, to several
sites that mark the historic and
bloody conflicts that have
raged between cultures within
the last 125 years. The
Obsidian Cliff prehistoric
obsidian quarry (48YE433) in
Yellowstone National Park is a
National Historic Landmark
(Fig. 1). Native peoples
continue to maintain ties with
parks. In some cases, such as
at Glacier and Bighorn Canyon
National Recreation Area,
where the parks share borders
with the Blackfoot and Crow reservations respectively,
relationships are very close.

The Rocky Mountain Cluster is also rich in historic
archeology, relating to both Euro-Americans and Native
Americans. Historic archeological investigations at Fort
Laramie National Historic Site and Bent’s Old Fort
National Historic Site have led to a greater understanding
of these nationally significant sites. In addition, several
parks encompass historic and prehistoric trails and

Figure 1. Trench feature at the Obsidian Cliff National Historic Landmark
(48YE433), Yellowstone National Park,

archeological sites related to Euro-American settlement,
as well as rare examples of wickiups (wooden tipis) and
log shelters built by Indian peoples.

The Rocky Mountain Cluster contains above-ground
aboriginal structures, including several types of log
shelters and vision quest sites made from stone, but the
most frequent evidence of earlier peoples is what is know
as “lithic scatter” on the surface of the ground. Lithic
scatters are typically characterized by the waste from the



Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 17

Figure 6. Cutting Packing Co. Trademark. Grant Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site.

dried meat and pemmican for winter. After the fall bison
drives, the tribes split into bands and moved to the winter
camp grounds. There are few known sites relating to
American Indian cultures in Norther Rocky Mountain
parks after A.D. 1880.

Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS commemorates the cattle
rontier and the development of the modern cattle
industry. The park’s historic archeological sites relating
to this theme (Fig. 6). Other important non-American
Indian historical archeology includes mining and home-
steading in Glacier and early park administration sites in
Glacier and Yellowstone.

Middle Rocky Mountain and
Wyoming Basin Provinces

Five geographical and culture areas (Middle Rocky
Mountains, Columbia Plateau, High Plains, Great Basin,
and the Colorado Plateau) are considered together
because the prehistory and cultural development of the
Rock Mountain Cluster park units located in the Middle
Rocky Mountains and Wyoming Basin have general
similarities. They all have defined Paleoindian, Archaic,
and Late Prehistoric time periods. There are some
similarities in Historic Period trends in the neighboring
geographic cultural regions. The prehistory of the
Middle Rocky Mountains and Wyoming Basin is well
represented in the cultural chronology for the following

ational Park Service units.
r Four Rocky Mountain park units are located in the
Middle Rocky Mountain geographical province: Bighorn
Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Teton National

Park, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway, and
Yellowstone National Park.

Environment

The Middle Rocky Mountain province takes in the
northwestern portion of Wyoming, including the Bighorn
Mountains and Basin, the Wind River Mountains, and the
Yellowstone Plateau. From Yellowstone National Park,
the Middle Rocky Mountain province trends south along
the Teton Range, then follows the Wasatch Mountains,
turning east and following the Uinta Mountains. The
‘Wyoming Basin connects with and resembles the
adjoining Colorado Plateau. This portion of the Rocky
Mountain Cluster contains several intermountain basins
(Bighorn, Wind, Green River, Great Divide, and Uinta
basins) and small mountain ranges (Owl Creek, Wyo-
ming, Green, and Absaroka). Six major rivers drain the
Middle Rocky Mountains and the Wyoming Basin. The
Bighorn Basin drains to the north by the Wind/Bighorn
River. The Wyoming Basin drains to the south by the
Green, Yampa, Blacks Fork, and Little Snake rivers. In
addition, the major portion of the Wyoming Basin
contains the Great Divide Basin which has internal
drainage that neither drains to the Pacific or the Atlantic.
Hunt (1967:398) states that the Middle Rocky Mountains
and Wyoming Basin differ from their neighbors chiefly
due to their heterogeneity of climate, terrain, and ecology.

The Middle Rocky Mountains contain steep mountains
and foothills that reach a height of 11,000 feet. The
mountains and foothills are covered by dense conifer
forests and aspens. Along the rivers in the valley bottoms
are broad leaf trees such as cottonwood, box elder, and
willow. Altitudes in the Wyoming Basin are mostly



Db 54
File:
Ye Hows ine!

The U.S.
Department of Interior

National Park Service's

Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program:
Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan

by
James A. Truesdale
Department of Anthropology
University of Wyoming

with contributions by
Adrienne Anderson and Ann Johnson

Yellowstone Center for Resources, National Park Service
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
YCR-CR-98-1
1998



40 Archeological Database

Historical Archeology

MB # of Claims

Four parks (Bent’s Old Fort, Fort Laramie, Grant
Kobrs, and Little Bighorn) have significant historic
archeology relating to those events the parks commemo-
rate (Fig. 7). History and Prehistory in the National Park
System and the National Historic Landmarks Program
(NPS 1987) identifies themes represented by national
park units and national historic landmarks and should be
consulted when evaluating park historic archeology sites. 0

Natural parks also often have important historic archeo- g s 3 = 2

. ES & & es a

logical remains from developments before the area 7 ” Dat 7 i
ate

became a park and from management of the park area
(Fig. 22). The historic archcology needs to be considered
during planning for any archeological inventory.

Figure 22. Number of East Glacier mining claims by
year. Glacier National Park

given area. Where a park has an active geographic
information system, these archeological data are incorpo-

Proposed Project Statements

The Rocky Mountain Cluster is fortunate, and fairly rated into that system.
unique, to have fairly current archeological overviews This information results in a good understanding of
and assessments for every park. Through a concerted archeological data deficiencies and serves as a starting
effort, these parkwide databases and assessments have point for development of parkwide and project-specific
been developed and updated as circumstances warranted. research designs. In addition, the cluster parks do not
Park overviews and assessments have been developed in have backlog projects that need to be addressed through
conjunction with computerization of all known archeo- the Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program.
logical information into the current National Park Service Based upon the level of knowledge and understanding
database and preparation of park base maps. These latter of the archeological resources, the highest need in the
not only document site location and size/shape if known, Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program (Table
but also document the areas and the reliability of invento- Tl:3) is for park inventory with site documentation and
ties, and are keyed to the appropriate reference(s) for any National Register evaluation/nomination.

Table III:3. Types of Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program projects.

Inventory, Site Evaluation, and National Register Documentation: This type of effort includes limited testing for
geochronological contro) of the data, for site evaluation, and for the development of archeological contexts in unusual
conditions.

National Register Evaluation, Documentation, and Listing: Thesc projects are for arcas where the resources have been

inventoried and their significance is generally understood, and where it would be an important management tool to have
a group of sites/district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It may or may not include limited testing.

Special Emphasis Projects: Many parks have distinctive and fairly unique resources. such a specific types of structures,
remote sensing applications, roasting pits, and underwater resources. These warrant special types of documentation and
investigative efforts, These are of high priority if they lead to betier understanding of the resources or are anticipatory
to long-term preservation efforts.

Research for Interpretive Information: These types of projects are oriented towards enhancing understanding and visitor
appreciation of park archeological resources. Most projects will involve limited testing using specific, rescarch-driven
questions geared to provide additional data or to refine our understanding of specific resources. They may include
inventory of a new area scheduled for interpretation or to discover new types of sites/data.



4 Introduction

Relevant Policies and Federal
Legislation

Several laws and regulations, including those covering
National Historic Landmarks (NHL) and the Federal
Archeology Programs, are instrumental in the develop-
ment of the Systemwide Archeological Inventory
Program for the Rocky Mountain Cluster. In turn, the
Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program for the
cluster will help the National Park Service fulfill its
responsibilities with segments of these Federal laws and
regulations.

National Environmental Policy Act (1969)
The National Park Service has determined that the
development of the Systemwide Archeological Inventory
Program and its component regionwide plans qualify as a
categorical exclusion from the procedural requirements of
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Neither
an environmental assessment or environmental impact
statement have been prepared for the development of the
systemwide program. Archeological surveys including
small scale test excavations also are categorically
excluded from the requirements of National Environmen-
tal Policy Act. It should be noted that some archeological
work may not qualify as categorically excluded and,
therefore, may require NEPA review and compliance.

9 Figure 3. (a) Chief Mountain
has prehistoric, historic, and
|| modern sites related to its
significance as a Traditional
“| Cultural Property. Glacier

Mountain west summit. View
of modern vision quest

| (24GL264). (Tape measure in
Photo.)

National Historic Preservation Act (1966)

Development of the Systemwide Archaeological
Inventory Program and its component clusterwide plans
are not Federal undertakings requiring compliance with
section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
(NHPA), as amended (1980). In fact, the development of
the program will enable the National Park Service to
fulfill its responsibilities under the act. Consultation with
the State Historic Preservation Office for each state in the
Rocky Mountain Cluster is required under both National
Historic Preservation Act and Executive Order 11593.
The draft of the Rocky Mountain Region Cluster Plan
was sent to the appropriate State Historic Preservation
Officers for review and comments.



Glacier NP

Grant-Kohrs NHS

Montana

Rocky Mountain NP
Colorado B
0)

Black Canyon
of the Gunnison NM,

Curecanti NRA

o
Great Sand Dunes N:

Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan

Fort Laramie NHS.

Florissant Fossil Beds NM,

Bent's Old Fort NHS

Figure 2. Map of the National Park Service’s Rocky Mountain Cluster showing park units.

cultural resources. One park (Rocky Mountain) has a
permanent archeologist, while a Rocky Mountain Support
Office archeologist is duty-stationed in Yellowstone.
Archeologically, the cluster has great cultural diver-
sity. Less than 1 percent of the cluster’s lands have been
surveyed to modern standards. A targe number of sites
have been reported, although fess than half of them
recorded to modern standards. With more than 2,382
documented archeological sites, the Rocky Mountain
Cluster (RMC) has 4 percent of the 60,000 sites reported
systemwide as of October 1996, despite having a very

; low percentage of acres inventoried.

The survey plan for the RMC is a stralegic research
design that helps provide emphases and direction for

future management. Cluster and/or park projects’

specific research designs should be developed around this
document to make this plan an effective management tool
as an approach to understanding the cluster’s archeology,
needs, and procedures.

This RMC inventory plan is a document that incorpo-
rates information from park Resource Management Plans
(RMP) and other sources of park input. It follows the
outline and criteria set forth in the Systemwide Archeo-
logical Inventory Program document (Aubry et al. 1992).
Much of the data are presented in tables; the data may be
repeated when necessary to make each table useful as an
independent unit.



Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan _ 53

Table VI:1. Rocky Mountain Cluster Inventory and National Register status.

Surveyed Percent Recorded Sites on
Park Acreage Acreage Surveyed Sites National Register
EOL 799.80 799.80 100 8 2
BICA 120,296.22 112,876.81 93.8 187 2
BLCA 20,755.14 16,695.45 80.4 42 0
CURE 4,211.47 290.36 6.89 221 81
DETO 1,346.00 1,000.00 74.29 58 0
FLFO 5,998.09 55.86 0.93 21 0
FOLA 832.85 400.00 48.03 10 1
GLAC 1,013,572.43 15,000.64 0.014 404 0
GRKO 1,498.36 1,348.00 89.96 21 i
GRSA 38,662.16 1,679.52 434 43 0
GRTE 309,994.05 19,052.80 6.15 385 0
JODR 23,777.22 140.80 0.59 15 0
LIBI 765.34 765.34 100 10 1
ROMO 265,197.86 6,143.26 2.32 150 0
YELL 2,219,790.71 4194.75 0.0019 807 ]

base maps. Most of the archeological resources relate to
the Battle of the Little Bighorn. All prehistoric sites are
not eligible for the National Register. The archeological
work has elaborated the historic record, but has not
resulted in major interpretive revisions. The park has a
Cultural Sites Inventory, and several books document and
interpret the modern archeological inventory.

Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO) contains
high-altitude game drives, vision quests, trails, and
campsites. Although the resources are of at least regional
importance and cover at least 10,000 years, they are not
well understood. In addition, the extant inventory is old,
and does not meet current standards or management
needs. Large portions of park are remote, and have
ground visibility and scasonal limitations. Many devel-
oped areas and modern tails also need inventory.
Increasing visitation (up 20 percent in FY96) and site
vandalism are affecting the resources.

Yellowstone National Park (YELL) has an extremely
tich historic and prehistoric archeological record. The
park also includes a National Historic Landmark (Ar-
cheological): Obsidian Cliff. For over 12,000 years,
prehistoric people mined obsidian for tools at Obsidian
Cliff, the only archeological site within the park that is
listed on the National Register. Compliance-driven
inventories and recent Federal Highways work along the
road system have provided some information on YELL's
northern half, but almost nothing is known about the
southern portion. Significant impacts are resulting from
erosion and visitor use. Also, most developed areas (for
example, 1,200 miles of trails and 300 backcountry
campsites) have not been inventoried. YELL needs a
basic inventory, evaluation, and nomination project lo
provide information to planners and park managers.
Archeology has high potential to address pressing natural
resource management issues.



36

Archeological Database

Fort Laramie National Historic Site
Cemetery Area
June 26-30, 1995

Magnetic Survey
Contour Interval = 0.25 nT

Magnetic North

Dipole
Anomaly

Dipole
Anomaly Anomaly
Associated with

Two-track Trail

Dipole
Anomaly

Dipole
Anomaly

]
20 meters

Figure 20. Remote sensing data from the cemetary, Fort Laramie National Historic Site.



240 __ Regional Overview

Bitterroot, Oxbow types, and some Mummy Cave points.
Acontroversial topic relating to the Early Archaic
concerns the Altithermal and its effects on Early Archaic
populations. According to Antevs (1955), climatic
conditions in western North America were markedly drier
and hotter during the period from about 7,000 to 5,000
B.P. than they are now. Benedict (1979) proposes that an
analysis of the distribution of Barly Archaic radiocarbon
dated sites in western North America shows large-scale
abandonment of those areas that would be most affected
by a warmer climate and drought. He further proposes
that these populations retreated to cooler and wetter
refuges. The Southern Rocky Mountains is one of these
more hospitable zones (Benedict 1979; Benedict and
Olson 1978). These patterns have led Benedict to
conclude that the Mount Albion Complex along the Front
Range and in Rocky Mountain National Park particularly
is a mountain-based culture that represents one such
population migration to the mountain valleys of the Front
Range. Other sites along the Colorado Front Range such
as Magic Mountain (Irwin- Williams and Irwin 1966) and
LoDaisKa (Irwin and Irwin 1959) display similarities to
the Early Archaic occupations defined in the Mount
Albion Complex. This led Benedict to hypothesize that
at least part of the Magic Mountain occupation included
visits from a mountain-adapted culture (Benedict 1979).

Work in Curecanti National Recreation Area of the
Gunnison River Valley yielded a tremendous amount of
data within the Southern Rocky Mountain province.
Stiger (1981) noted that Curecanti National Recreation
Area radiocarbon dates were prior to 6,000 B.P. He
suggests that this evidence indicates the Indians were
exploiting specific environmental components which
were absent from the region after 6,000 B.P., causing the
aboriginal inhabitants to abandon the area. However,
later Curecanti National Recreation Area investigations
(Jones 1982; Stiger 1981:Appendix B) refute Stiger’s
abandonment theory.

Evidence suggests that at certain locations in the
Southern Rocky Mountain province (i.e., Curecanti
National Recreation Area, Middle Park), occupations
during the Early Archaic were semi-sedentary base camps
(Black 1982). Sites at Curecanti are usually located near
ridges or in lowlands and contain adobe structures, and
slab-lined and unlined hearths. Exposed in excavation,
the structures appear as patterns of post molds, charred
wood, or small charcoal-filled depressions that also
contain concentrations of pole-impressions burnt clay and
are interpreted as evidence of possible wickiup-like

structures (Jones 1982). These sites were probably used @

for habitation and plant and animal resource processing
and consumption. It is possible that trash dumps contain-
ing bone, lithics, charcoal, and fire-cracked rock are
located below these ridges sites (Stiger 1981).

The Curecanti National Recreation Area lowland sites
exhibit a higher density of flaked stone artifacts, cores
and debitage, but produce a lower ground:stone ratio.
This may indicate more stone tool manufacture, less plant
food preparation, and short-term occupation, though fire
hearths also occur here.

Middle Archaic Period. The Middle Archaic, 5,000 to
2,000 B.P. is characterized by the presence of the
McKean-Duncan-Hanna projectile point series. How-
ever, in the Colorado Front Range, the McKean Complex
is preceded by people making a medium sized, atlatl
point with shallow notches and a round base called MM3.
The MM3 point dates from 3300 to 3800 B.P. Middle
Archaic diagnostics also include Mallory and Oshara
styles, the Elko series, and Northern, Hawken, and
Sudden Side-Notched points (Fig. 12). The last three
point types also occur in the Early Archaic Period.
Though there are obviously many diagnostic points of the
Middle Archaic Period, McKean Complex points are
present through the entire Southern Rocky Mountain
province. End and side scrapers appear frequently in tool
kits, ground stone is abundant, and the true mano and
metate grinding tools appear. Early waddle and daub
houses dramatically changed our view of Archaic
lifeways (Fig. 13). Large roasting pits and hearths and/or
boiling pits are definitive features. Benedict (1981:87)
theorized that the McKean Complex was derived from a
relocated Altithermal group. He sees a transition from
Late Paleoindian Jimmy Allen points to McKean lancelot
points and from Pryor Stemmed points to Duncan points
(Benedict 1981:88).

Black (1991:1-29) suggests that lithic technology
leads to the definition of a unique Archaic adaptation
called the Mountain Tradition. This tradition is wide-
spread in the Rockies during the late Paleoindian and
Early Archaic periods as far north as southern Montana.
However, Middle Archaic expansion of the McKean
complex appears to limit use of the term in post- 4,500
year ago era to the Southern Rocky Mountain province.
Archaic continuity in the Southern Rocky Mountains is
expressed in archeological remains as recently as 1,000 to
700 B-P., after which explaining the presence of Numic
sites (thought to represent Shoshonean peoples) may have
required a new influx of hunter-gatherer populations.



css Part IV: Clusterwide Strategies >
for Archeological Survey and
Highest Priority Projects
(Five-Year Plan)

The park units of the cluster are remarkably diverse in
size and type of cultural remains. However, in an attempt
to insure that all parks receive the type of investigation
required and to insure that the data resulting from the
projects provide parks with useful management informa-
tion and “tools” to use in management of their archco-
logical resources, a programmatic approach to work
throughout the region has been developed (Table IV:1).
Following consideration of these factors, the highest
priority cluster parks for inventory are listed in Table
1V22.

Cluster Standards

In addition to the servicewide standards that are to be
followed for any SAIP project, detailed in the National
SAIP Plan (Aubry et al. 1992), there are several cluster
standards that should be incorporated into all projects in
order to insure that parks get the information they need to
effectively manage their archeological resources.

1. Park databases will meet the systemwide Archeologi-
cal Site Information Management System (ASMIS)
data standards, and all data will be incorporated into
park GIS systems as appropriate. This includes both
archeological site data and parkwide archeological
base maps as delineated elsewhere in this document.

2. Prior to development of any Systemwide Archeologi-
cal Inventory Project, there will be an evaluation of
park management needs for a) resource information
(Fig. 17), b) resource protection, and c) resource
interpretation. Results are to be built into the project
and should include management tools, such as updated
computerized database and revised base maps, as well

as preparation of final synthetic reports that specifi-
cally address the research questions posed prior to
initiation of the project.

3. For each project there will be a research design that
details a) research questions (areas to be investigated),
b) methods to be used in accomplishing the work, and
¢) products that will result from the work. The latter
should include more than a final, synthetic report and
associated annual reports. They should include
specific maps, brochures, and curatorial and other
databases that will result from the project. Each park
should receive the data set most appropriate to
enabling adequate and informed site management.
These could include National Register documentation
and site protection plans.
In general, the following process or levels of inquiry

will be utilized in developing Systemwide Archeological

Inventory Program projects:

Archeological Overview and
Assessment

Each park in the cluster has an archeological overview
and assessment, but it is necessary to consider that status
of the computerization of all available archeological site
information and the development of a cross-link to the
Automated National Catalog System (ANCS), if this
latter becomes appropriate. All appropriate data will be
incorporated into the park's geographic information
system. The park overview and assessment also includes
documentation of the location of various collections held
by repositorics both inside and outside the Service. Base


Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 23

areas within the Southern Rocky Mountain province
(Calabrese 1979; Dawson and Stanford 1975; Emery and
Stanford 1982; Hurst 1941).

Plano. Examples of Plano points found in the
Southern Rocky Mountain province include Eden,
Meserve, Cody, Agate Basin, and Jimmy Allen along the
Front Range and in the vicinity of Rocky Mountain
National Park (Husted 1965:494) (Fig. 11). A Jimmy
Allen point was recovered during the excavation of the
Tola Site in Curecanti, and other diagnostic Plano surface
finds have also been recovered in that park (Jones 1982;
Stiger 1981:62). Charcoal from a possible post mold at
Curecanti dated to 72724110 years B.P., indicating Late
Paleoindian/Early Archaic occupation. To the west of
Cimmarron, also in the Gunnison River Basin, structural
remains associated with other cultural artifacts indicate a
well-developed stone tool industry that date to 8,300
years ago.

Archaic

Archaic Period dates between 5500 B.C. and A.D. 500
coincide with the terminal Pleistocene environmental
change (Altithermal) that resulted in an environment
similar to what exists today. This period is characterized
by the exploitation of small game animals and an
increased reliance on the gathering of wild plants.
Specifically, pollen and macrofloral studies indicate the

possible exploitation of pinyon nuts, wild grasses, cactus,
and sagebrush leaves (Euler and Stiger 1981; Stiger
1981).

The Archaic, then, is generally characterized by a shift
to a more diversified subsistence pattern that is mani-
fested in the archeological record by the increasing
occurrence of ground stone tools, a greater variety of
projectile point styles, and a wide array of other tools
within Archaic assemblages. Other diagnostic features
include large stone boiling pits, possible hunting blinds,
structures defined by patterned post molds, and stone
circles. This Archaic adaptation is thought to originate in
the Desert West, and more precisely within the Great
Basin. The Archaic Period is well represented throughout
the Southern Rocky Mountain province and can be
divided into Early, Middle, and Late periods.

The utilization of the mountains’ rich biotic and
abiotic resources coupled with small-band mobility
served their populations well and promoted a continua-
tion of Archaic lifestyles until European contact periods.
A synthesis of Archaic hunter-gatherer lifeway adaptive
strategies has been developed by Black (1982:165-168,
1991).

Early Archaic Period, The Early Archaic presence in
the Southern Rocky Mountain province is identified by
diagnostic projectile points, including Blackwater,
Pahaska, and Southsider Side-notched points, Hawken,

Figure 11. Paleoindian point fragments from site 5RL6. Rocky Mountain National Park.



60 _ References Cited

sources Affected by the Red Bench Fire, Glacier
National Park. Report prepared by the National Park
Service, Midwest Archaeological Center, Lincoln for
the Rocky Mountain office, Denver.

Scott, Douglas D. and Richard A. Fox, Jr. 1987.
Archaeological Insights into the Custer Battle: An
Assessment of the 1984 Field Season. University of
Oklahoma Press. Norman.

Scott, G.R. 1975. Reconnaissance Geologic Map of the
Buena Vista Quadrangle, Chaffee and Park Counties,
Colorado. United States Geological Survey, Miscella-
neous Studies Map MF-657.

Scott, G.R., RE. Van Alstine, and W.N. Sharp. 1975.
Geologic Map of the Poncha Springs Quadrangle,
Chaffee County, Colorado. United States Geological
Survey, Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-658.

Stanford, Dennis. 1979. The Selby and Dutton Sites:
Evidence for a Possible Pre-Clovis Occupation on the
High Plains. In Pre-Llano Cultures of the Americas:
Paradoxes and Possibilities. R.L. Humphrey and D.
Stanford, editors. Anthropological Society of Wash-
ington, D.C.

1983. Pre-Clovis Occupation North of the Ice
Sheets. Chapter 5 in Early Man in the New World,
Richard Shutler, Jr., editor, Sage Publications, Beverly
Hills/London/New Delhi.

Stanford, Dennis, W. Wedel, and Glen Scott. 1981.
Archaeological Investigations of the Lamb Spring
Site. Southwestern Lore 47:14-27.

Steward, Julian H. 1967. The Great Basin Shoshonean
Indians. In The North American Indians.

Stiger, Mark A. 1981. 1979 Investigation at Seven
Archaeological Sites in the Curecanti National
Recreation Area. Manuscript on file, Midwest
Archeological Center, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Thornbury, William D. 1965. Regional Geomorphology
of the United States. John Wiley and Sons, inc., New
York.

Truesdale, James A., Skylar S. Scott, and Karin Guern-
sey. 1987. Results of a Class Il Cultural Resource
Survey and Inventory Woming Project PREB-020-
2(24) Muddy Gap-Lander Road, Fremont County.
Wyoming. Report prepared for the Wyoming Highway
Department by the Office of the Wyoming.

Ward-Williams, Linda and Michacl Foster. 1977, Final
Report of Cultural Resource Inventories, Routt
National Forest, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Fiscal
Years 1975 and 1976. Manuscript on file, Office of
the State Archaeologist, Denver, Colorado.

Wedel, W.R, 1959, An Introduction to Kansas
Archaeology. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin
174, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.

___. 1964. The Great Plains. Pages 193-222 in
Prehistoric Man in the New World, J. D. Jennings and
E. Norbeck, editors. University of Chicago Press.
Chicago.

Willey, Gordon R. 1966. An Introduction ta American
Archaeology: Volume One. Prentice Hall, Inc., New
Jersey.

Wood, J.J. 1967. Archaeological Investigations in
Northeastern Colorado. Unpublished Dissertation,
University of Colorado, Boulder.

Wood, W. Raymond. 1971. Pottery Sites Near Limon,
Colorado. Southwestern Lore 37(3):53-85.

____. 1990. Upper Republican Archaeology in
Colorado, Southwestern Lore 56(3):3-6.

Zier, Christian. 1977. Prehistoric Utilization of the
House Creek Drainage, San Juan National Forest,
Colorado. Southwestern Lore 43(2):1-10.

Zier, Christian J., Denise Fallon, Michael D. Metcalf, and
KP. Sweigert. 1983. Cultural Resource Technical
Report for the Riley Ridge Environmental Impact
Statement, Bureau of Land Management. Denver,
Colorado




14 Regional Overview

II:3) These periods represent ca. 10,000 years, until the
late 1700s, when the impact of the horse and technology
of European manufacture radically changed American
Indian culture and land use. The Transitional Period
bridges that period between pre-contact time and the
confinement of the American Indian peoples to the
reservations.

In the following discussion, there is a reliance upon
cultures defined by distinctive projectile points. Identifi-
cation often relies upon a knowledgeable individual and
identifications can vary between archeologists. Thus,
culture history remains an important topic.

Paleoindian and Early Archaic Periods

The earliest occupations (ca. 10,500 B.P.) of the
Northern Rocky Mountains were by peoples recognized
as the Clovis Culture (Table II:3). An isolated Clovis and
an obsidian Alberta point are recorded in Glacier National
Park as well as an obsidian Alberta Point. A second early
tradition in the Glacier region is represented by artifacts
associated with the “Old Cordilleran” cultural tradition of
the Columbia and Fraser Plateaus, of the Northwest
Plateau Culture Area. The earliest excavated evidence of
occupation from Glacier represents a horizon known as
the Stemmed Point Tradition. Additional Early Period
complexes in the Glacier region include Cody and Plains
Mountain (Reeves 1978). Two phases (Red Rock
Canyon and Valley Entrance) of the Plains/Mountain
Complex are defined in the Waterton Valley north of
Glacier. The Plains/Mountain Complex appears to have
been developed out of the earlier Plains Agate Basin
complex that appeared on the plains ca. 10,550 B.P,
(Frison 1991). Climate change around 9,500 B.P.
resulted in the expansion of a bison hunting culture. The
Cody complex from the Central High Plains apparently
displaced the earlier Agate Basin culture to the moun-
tains, where it, in turn it is hypothesized, displaced the
old Cordilleran Culture which persisted in the mountains
as the Plains/Mountain Complex until ca. 8,750 B_P.
Only 12 sites in Northern Rocky Mountain parks have

occupations in the ca. 10,000 to 8,750 B.P. year range.
The majority of these sites appear to date to ca. 8,000
B.P,, possibly because the associated land forms were not
stable until then.

Many of these early occupations are mixed with later
occupations. It appears that the basic land and resource
use pattern and seasonal! scheduling of activities was
established ca. 8,000 B.P. and concentrated on bison
hunting. The seasonal round was characterized by
overwintering camps in the main valley and spring-to-fall
hunting camps in the tributary valleys and higher life
zones.

The Early Archaic is characterized by large side
notched points (Fig. 5) and this period is thought to have
been hot and dry, especially in comparison with
Paleoindian environmental conditions. The Early
Archaic is poorly understood in the Rocky Mountains but
is present at the Mummy Cave and Lookingbill sites.

Middle Archaic Period

Mummy Cave Complex. The Middle Period is
characterized by dart points used with the atlatl. A
number of phases and complexes date to the Middle
Period. The Mummy Cave Complex (Reeves 1969,
1972, 1973) is characterized by large side-notched
projectile points, On the plains, the Mummy Cave
peoples were well-adapted bison hunters. In the moun-
tains they were hunters and fishermen. The environment
at this time was considerably different than today.
Slightly warmer, drier conditions prevailed. Chinook
winds were more frequent in winter, temperatures more.
moderate with less snowfall and standing snow-depths,
and summers were drier. The result was the expansion of
valley grasslands both up-valley and upslope. In Glacier,
human occupations are more frequent and “intensive”
than in later times, suggesting more repeated utilization,
and perhaps by large residential groups.

About 4,800 B.P,, the regional climate dramatically
changed with the onset of the first of the Neoglaciations.
Conditions were cooler and wetter, grasslands and open

Table 1:2, Park units containing materials of recognizable prehistoric groups.

Most Recognizable

Prehistoric Groups Number Park Units

Paleoindian 6 BICA, GLAC, GRTE, GRSA, ROMO, YELL

Archaic 8 BICA, BEOL, CURE, GLAC, GRTE, GRSA, ROMO, YELL
Late Prehistoric 5 BICA, GLAC, GRTE, ROMO, YELL

Intermountain Tradition 3 CURE, GRSA, GRTE, ROMO, YELL



cs VI: Summary of =>
Archeological Resources

and Needs

The parks within the Rocky Mountain Cluster include
a wide range of archeological resources, which represent
thousands of years of use by Native and historic peoples,
and contain valuable and irreplaceable information about
our nation’s prehistory and history. Following is a
summary of the archeological needs and inventory in
each park:

a. Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site (BEOL) is best
ki

nown for its historic associations with fur trade along
the Santa Fe Trail, but the park also includes four small
archaic sites that predate its trail days by scvcral thousand
years. Bent’s Old Fort has the most complete and current
archeological inventory in the cluster, The park's
prehistory has been 100 percent inventoried, and all sites
have been recorded to standard guidelines. Recent
sensing and archcological projects on the fort’s cemetery
and racetrack have also revealed new information on the
historic uses of BEOL.

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area (BICA)
contains the only Native American cribbed log structures
within the Rocky Mountain Cluster. Built in the late 18th
and early 19th century, these rare forms of log cabins
were used by Northern Plains Indians (probably Crow)
for hunting, winter houses, and as fortifications for war
and raiding activities. Bighorn Canyon National Recre-
ation Area also includes significant examples of vision
quest structures and rock art made by the Crow Indians,
However, the park inventory is 25 years out of date, and
less than 10 sites have been evaluated for the National
Register. Although impacts to the park’s archeological
sites are assumed to be low, the full extent remains

inknown.

The South Rim of Black Canyon National Monument
(BLCA) was inventoried in the late 1970s. Nearly all of

in the Parks

the identified sites were lithic scatters, most of which
were not eligible to the National Register. Recently, land
was added to the park’s North Rim, where a small
inventory project located additional similar lithic
scatters, few of which were eligible to the National
Register. Although BLCA needs additional inventory
work, it is a relatively low priority within the cluster, due
to the expected low importance of the sites.

Curecanti National Recreation Area (CURE) encom-
passes a large nationally-significant archeological district
that contains 3,000- to 5,000-ycar-old houses. These
mud-and-stick houses dramatically changed our view of
the early hunter-gatherer peoples who lived in this area.
Although an 18-year-long archeological project has
recently been completed at CURE, much of park remains
unsurveyed. In addition, hundreds of hearths and
roasting pits along the banks of the reservoir are threat-
ened by erosion and vandalism. The National Register
nomination for CURE should be revised to include sites
identified since 1982.

Devil's Tower National Monument (DETO) has 100
percent inventory (1997). Cataloging analysis, National
Register evaluation, and report preparation will be funded
in FY98. Most of the park’s recorded sites were lithic
scatters with limited information content because few
contain the diagnostic tools that allow interpretations of
activities and identification of time and culture. In
addition, many of these sites have been significantly
impacted by erosion. A small number of prehistoric sites
within DETO may be cligible for the National Register.
For most of the others, testing is required before eligibil-
ity can be determined and a nomination prepared. The
tower and its talus slopes are sacred to over 10 modern
tribes.



58__ References Cited _

Eakin, Daniel H., John P. Albanese, Jane Beiswenger,
Alan Darlington, Keith Dueholm, David Eckles,
William Latady, William Litzinger, Michael McFaul,
Steven Sutter, and Bill Doering. 1987. Final Report of
Salvage Investigations at the Split Rock Ranch Site
(48FR1484), Highway Project SCPF-020-2(19),
Fremont County, Woming. Prepared for the Wyo-
ming Highway Department by the Office of the
Wyoming State Archaeologist.

Eighmy, Jeffrey L. 1984. Colorado Plains Prehistoric
Context. Office of Archaeology and Historic Preser-
vation, Colorado Historical Society, Denver, Colorado.

Emery, Sloan and Dennis Stanford. 1982. Preliminary
Report on Archaeological Investigations at the
Cattleguard Site, Alamosa County, Colorado. South-
western Lore 48(1):10-20.

Euler, Robert Thomas. 1979. Archaeological Investiga-
tions at Curecanti National Recreation Area:
Intermountains Colorado. Manuscript on file, Mesa
Verde Archaeological Research Center, Dove Creck,
Colorado.

Euler, Robert T. and Mark Stiger. 1981. 1979 Test
Excavations at Five Archaeological Sites in Curecanti
National Recreation Area: Intermountain Colorado.
Manuscript on file, Midwest Archaeological Center,
Lincoln, Nebraska.

Fladmark, Knut R. 1983. Times and Places: Environ-
mental Correlates of Mid-to-Late Wisconsinan Human
Population Expansion in North America. Chapter 2 in
Early Man in the New World, Richard Shutler, Jr.,
editor, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills/London/
Tucson.

Frison, George C. 1978. Prehistoric Hunters of the High
Plains. Academic Press, New York.

1991. Prehistoric Hunters of the High Plains.
Second Edition. Academic Press, Inc., New York.

Graham, Russell W. 1981. Preliminary Report on Late
Pleistocene Vertebrates from the Selby and Dutton
Archaeological/paleontological Sites, Yuma County,
Colorado. University of Wyoming Contributions to
Geology 20:33-56.

Gunnerson, Dolores. 1974. The Jicarilla Apaches: A
Study in Survival. Northern Illinois University Press,
DeKalb.

Gunnerson, James H. 1960. An Introduction to Plains
Apache Archeology—The Dismal River Aspect.
Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 173,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.

____. 1968. Plains Apache Archaeology: A Review.

Plains Anthropologist 13:167-189.

____. 1969. The Fremont Culture: A Study in Cultural
Dynamics on the Northern Anasazi Frontier. Papers
of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnol-
ogy Vol. 59, No. 2. Harvard University, Cambridge.

___. 1987. Archaeology of the High Plains. Colorado
Bureau of Land Management, Cultural Resources
Series No. 19. Denver.

Guthrie, Mark R., Powys Gadd, Renee Johnson, and
Joseph J. Lishka. 1984. Colorado Mountains
Prehistoric Context. Office of Archaeology and
Historic Preservation, Colorado Historical Society,
Denver, Colorado.

Hagar, Ivol K. 1976. SCR1-1 Draper Cave Excavation
and Research Report. Southwestern Lore 42(3): 1-13.

Harrell, Lynn L. and Scott McKern. 1986. The Maxon
Ranch Site. Western Wyoming College Cultural
Resource Management Report No. 18.

Humphrey, Robert L. and Dennis Stanford, editors.

1979, Pre-Llano Cultures of the Americas: Paradoxes
and Possibilities. The Anthropological society of
Washington.

Hunt, Charles B. 1967. Natural Regions of the United
States and Canada. §.H.Freeman and Co., San
Francisco.

Hurst, C.T. 1941. A Folsom Location in the San Luis
Valley, Colorado. Southwestern Lore 7(2):31-33

_____. 1943. A Folsom Site in a Mountain Valley of
Colorado. American Antiquity 8:250-253.

Husted, Wilfred M. 1962. A Proposed Archaeological
Chronology for Rocky Mountain National Park Based
on Projectile Points and Pottery. Master’s Thesis,
University of Colorado, Boulder.

. 1965 Early Occupation of the Colorado Front
Range. American Antiquity 30(4):494-498.

Husted, Wilfred M. and Robert Edgar. n.d. The Archae-
ology of Mummy Cave Wyoming: An Introduction To
Shoshonean Prehistory. An unpublished manuscript on
file at the University of Wyoming, Department of
Anthropology.

Irwin, Henry. 1971. Developments in Early Man Studies
in Western North America, 1960-1970. Arctic
Anthropology 8(2):42-67.

Irwin, Henry J. and Cynthia C. Irwin. 1959. Excavations
at the LoDaisKa Site in the Denver, Colorado Area.
Denver Museum of Natural History Proceedings, No.
8.

Irwin-Williams, Cynthia C. and Henry J. Irwin. 1966.
Excavations at Magic Mountain: A Diachronic Study



Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 31

’ om )
Oy Sees a Ss

ri
\ if af) Tail
~ Ne ote ““Colee
me Sez Fond

XK UO
Ye

Medicine

Figure 16. Interpretation of the movements along the Custer Ridge Extension. Little Bighorn
Battlefield National Monument. (Bold lines show cavalry movements.)

Ceramic Stage/Late Prehistoric

The Ceramic Stage is characterized by the appearance
of the bow and arrow, ceramics, and horticulture. Each
of these technologies appeared first during the Plains
Woodland Period. Neither ceramics nor horticurre were
ever dominant traits in the cultures of the Great Plains
Province. In southeastern Colorado, three distinct
periods are assigned to the Ceramic Stage: Plains
Woodland, 1,700 to 900 B-P., Late Prehistoric 1,100 to
900 B.P., and Protohistoric/Historic, 400 to 150 B.P. An
increase in artifact assemblage variability has permitted
the identification of several locally diverse groups for
each period.

Plains Woodland/Early Ceramic Period. Around
1,800 B.P., mountain glaciation resumed and major
alluviation occurred on the plains. Although an archaic

hunter-forager) lifestyle persisted throughout the region,
distinctive traits developed and were adopted from other
cultural groups that mark the appearance of the Plains

Woodland or Early Ceramic Period (Eighmy 1984; Wood
1967). Traits associated with the Plains Woodland period
includes the appearance of cord-marked pottery and small
corer-notched arrow points, the widespread appearance
of architecture, and perhaps some incipient agriculture. A
marked increase in the number of sites dating to this time
period occurs, suggesting a significant population
increase or greater site visibility due to the presence of
architectural remains. Woodland sites area are well
documented in the Northern and Southern Plains prov-
inces. Rocky Mountain National Park contains Plains
Woodland materials.

In the Southern Plains, little is known of the Plains
Woodland tradition, at least in an unadulterated and
relatively early form. Later phases, such as the Washita
or Antelope Creek, exhibit Plains Woodland elements
such as cord-roughened pottery. However, the total
make-up of these phases is such that they are more easily


32 Regional Overview

telated in content, as well as in chronological equiva-
lence, to the Plains Village tradition. An exception is the
presence of early cord-roughened pottery that appears on
the Southern Plains in northeastern New Mexico and
southeastern Colorado.

Late Prehistoric Period. The Late Prehistoric Period
includes those peoples who were living on the plains ina
hunter-gatherer lifeway. In the Southern Plains particu-
larly, they are not well known as the emphasis has been
on the Plains Villagers, their neighbors.

In the Northern Plains, these people are identified by a
series of side-notched projectile points (Fig. 17). Their
economy was based upon the buffalo and they used the
skin tipi. Some made ceramics (Fig. 10).

Plains Village Period

Plains Village Tradition. The Late
Prehistoric Period, 900 B.P., follows the
Plains Woodland period. The Plains Village
pattern developed predominantly on the
prairie-plains of eastern North Dakota
through central Oklahoma and into the Texas
Panhandle and is sometimes termed the
Middle Ceramic Period. The classic Plains
Village culture is characterized by a more
sedentary life pattern than the earlier Plains
Woodland. Sites tend to consist of villages
composed of one room wattle-and-daub, square or
rectangular four-post houses with a central fire pit and
eastward-extended entrances. The villages are located in
defensible locations adjacent to river bottoms, where the
people grew corn, beans, and squash to supplement their
hunting and gathering subsistence base. Diagnostic
artifacts include globular cord-marked pottery, diamond-
shaped beveled knives, small side-notched and unnotched
arrow points, various bone and stone tools, beads, and
stone elbow pipes.

The classic Plains Village pattern never fully devel-
oped on the plains of eastern Colorado; the core area is to
the east. Numerous non-architectural sites in eastern
Colorado are thought to represent seasonal hunting camps
from the more sedentary villages further east (Wood
1971). Several Plains Village cultures (Upper Republican
phase, Smoky Hill aspect, Mid-Arkansas focus, Custer
phase, Washita phase, and Antelope Creek phase) may
have influenced local southeastern Colorado cultures.

Apishapa Phase. The Apishapa Phase is primarily
derived from the Plains Village influences/groups,
whereas the Upper Purgatoire (Sopris phase) is derived

from southwestern influences. The earlier local Plains
Woodland may have been absorbed into the Apishapa
Phase. The Apishapa Phase on the Chaquaqua Plateau in
southeastern Colorado appears as stone-enclosed sites.
This phase is similar to those found in Oklahoma and
Texas panhandles,

Upper Republican Aspect. The Upper Republican
Aspect, 850 to 650 B.P,, follows the Plains Woodland
period in northern Colorado and along the Front Range,
in eastern Wyoming, and western Nebraska (Wood 1971,
1990). Upper Republican is a variant of the Plains
Village pattern prevalent elsewhere on the plains. Upper
Republican villagers resided in central Nebraska and

north central Kans

s, Where they grew corn, beans,
squash, and sunflowers and made large round
ceramic jars with cord-roughencd exteriors and
vertical or collared rims.

No park units in the cluster have recorded
Upper Republican or Apishapa Phase materi-
als, although sites for these peoples are in
areas neighboring park units.

Figure 17. Late
Prehistoric point
from Bighorn
Canyon NRA
(actual size),

Protohistoric Period

The Protohistoric Period, 400 to 150 B.P.,
spans from the initial contact between the
Spaniards and the Plains Indians in 1540, when
the Spaniards claimed the Purgatoire River and
surrounding territory, to the initiation of regular contact
between the Indians of the Arkansas Valley and the
Spanish colonies in New Mexico ca. 1750. This
the Late Ceramic Period.

Dismal River Aspect. Several protohistoric archeo-

also

logical complexes have been identified in the region. ‘The
Dismal River Aspect sites, located in the Northern Plains
province, date between A.D. 1675 and 1725 (Gunnerson
1960:144; 1968:167, 1987:238). The Dismal River
economy was based primarily on bison, decr, and beaver
hunting and secondarily on the cultivation of corn and
squash (Gunnerson 1960:245, 1987:238). Settlements
consist of small clusters or scattered houses, which have
an unprepared floor and a pole-and-earth roof supported
by five center posts. Dismal River ceramics are thin,
sand tempered, gray-black plain ware. Additional
diagnostic artifacts of the Dismal River Aspect include
triangular unnotched arrow points, plano-convex scrap-
ers, and a variety of bone implements including scapula
hoes. Euro-American trade goods include iron, brass and
glass beads, iron axes and scrapers, and copper and brass
conical tubular objects (Gunnerson 1969:251; Wedel



Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 47

Table V:2, Standards of the Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program for archeological activities conducted

in National Park Service units.

Standard Description

1 Archeological inventory projects meet the requirements of the NPS policies, guidelines, and standards.

2 Archcological inventory projects are conducted in accordance with a written, fully professional research design,
approved by the regional office.

3 Archeojogical inventory projects are conducted using efficient and effective advanced technologics.

4 Archeological inventory projects are developed and implemented in cooperation with the appropriate State
Historic Preservation Officers.

5 Archeological inventory projects are developed and implemented in consultation with appropriate Indian tribes
and other contemporary native groups and ethnic populations.

6 Since evidence of past cultural systems extend beyond the boundaries of federally-owned or controlled lands
and waters in NPS areas, whenever possible, archeological inventory projects collect and consider data from
non-Federal lands and waters with park areas as well as from adjoining lands and waters.

7 Development and implementation of archeological inventory projects involve non-NPS archeologists and other

specialists who have a demonstrated competence in a particular culture, geographic region, park area, or

advanced technology.

Data collected during archeological inventory projects are provided to park planners for incorporation, as
appropriate, into park planning documents, and to park managers for resource management, law enforcement,
interpretation, maintenance, and other park operational purposes.

Archeological data collected during inventory projects are incorporated into Servicewide inventories, lists,

catalogs, and databases.

The results of archeological inventory projects are made available, as appropriate, to the professional

community and to the public.

Mountain Cluster does not uniformly meet these stan-
dards.

Research Domains and Information Gaps

Past archeological inventories have delineated

research domains and information gaps in the archeologi-
cal information base. Specific geographical, cultural, and

period gaps exist. The following general research areas
apply at the local and regional levels:

ANWRwWN

|

. Paleoenvironment

. Cultural chronologies, point topology and chronology
. Expanding populations

. Subsistence

. Seasons of site use and settlement patterns

. Technology

Structures, their function and architectural attributes.
The following list of research topics should be

considered in virtually all archeological inventory
surveys:

1.

Chronometric dates are needed to answer questions
about all research questions

. Cultural, projectile point, and ceramic taxonomies

may be investigated by stratigraphic or single compo-
nent excavations, taxonomic studies, archeological
context studies

. Demographic trends and variation
. Lithic source identification, utilization, and distribu-

tion

. Settlement, subsistence, and seasonality of sites and

differences within each period or culture

. Site formation, transformation, and abandonment and

destruction

. Paleocnvironment, and climatic conditions may be

studied by environmental reconstruction



20 Regional Overview

ing the use of red ocher, were being practiced (Metcalf et
al. 1981; Millar 1981).

Late Archaic. Recent dating efforts show the Yonkee
point is Late Archaic (Bump 1987). This point is most
often found associated with bison kills. The subsistence
strategies during the Late Archaic, dating between 2,500
to 1,500 B.P., are similar to those in the Middle Archaic.
Although the Late Archaic is characterized by the
introduction of medium-sized points such as Pelican
Lake, Besant (Frison 1991), and Elko series points, the
transition from Middle Archaic to Late Archaic is not
clearly defined. Cultural materials of the Middle Archaic
McKean Complex were replaced by later manifestations.
These later cultural manifestations included the Pelican
Lake and Besant Phases. Large to small corner-notched
projectile points are diagnostic of Pelican Lake, while
Besant Culture is characterized by large side-notched

points. Both phases are associated with large scale bison
procurement. In the Wyoming Basin, it has been argued
that the Middle and Late Archaic periods represent phases
in the post-Altithermal cultural development in south-
western Wyoming rather than distinct cultural periods
(Zier ct al. 1983). Late Archaic cultural materials have
been recorded in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation
Area, Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone
National Park.

Late Prehistoric

The Late Prehistoric Period begins about 1,800 B.P.
and continues until about 400 B.P. Communal bison
procurement reached its greatest prehistoric expression in
terms of numbers of animals killed during this time
(Frison 1978:223). The Late Prehistoric Period is
recognized by a change in projectile point types and sizes
resulting from the introduction of the bow and arrow.

The earliest arrowpoints in the Northwestern Plains are
identified as Avonlea (Frison 1978:62). Avonlea points
are characterized by true side-notches placed close to the
base and extremely fine flint knapping technology. Both
small corner and side-notched bow and arrow projectile
points occur at the same time, reflecting a number of
different cultural groups. Side-notching and base-
notching together on small points appeared toward the
end of the Late Prehistoric Period and were common in
protohistoric times.

Ceramics also appeared in the Middle Rocky Moun-
tains and throughout the Wyoming Basin at this time.
Although found in relatively small amounts, they are a
valuable cultural marker. Several pottery traditions are
represented. Intermountain Ceramic Tradition (Fig. 9),
Uncompahgre Brown, Plains Woodland, Dismal River,
Promontory, and Fremont pottery are present. In the
northern portion of the Middle Rocky Mountain province,

Snake

River

Oxbow

Lagoon

Jackson
Lake

Beach 1

Feature
GN 9 Excavation unit
— —Beach ridges
® Depressions that
ry 40m. hold water

Lagoon

Figure 8. Site map, 48TE1067. Grand Teton National Park.



50 Proposed Projects and Cluster Management Priorities

Research Methods and Technology

The Systemwide Archcological Inventory Program's
Standard 3 states “Archeological inventory projects are
conducted using efficient and effective advanced tech-
nologies” (Aubry et al. 1992:9). These approaches
include shovel testing, soil analysis, aerial photography,
ground-penctrating radar, remotely operated vehicles,
global positioning systems, geographic information

sical prospecting as viable archeo-
The projects from early archcologi-

systems, and geophy:
logical technologies.
cal inventories did not utilize the same methodologies or

tools, As stated above, the archcological inventory
reports written before 1975 do not meet current require-
ments and lack important information,



Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 59

of Plains-Southwest Relations. Denver Museum of
Natural History Proceedings, No. 12.

Jones, Bruce A. 1982. The Curecanti Archeological
Project: 1980 Investigations in Curecanti National
Recreation Area, Colorado. Midwest Archeological
Center Occasional Studies in Anthropology 8.

Lintz, Christopher and Jane L. Anderson, editors. 1989.
Temporal Assessment of Diagnostic Materials from the
Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site: Towards the Develop-
ment of a Cultural Chronology for Southeastern
Colorado. Memoirs of the Colorado Archaeological
Society No. 4, Colorado Archaeological Society.

Lishka, Joseph J. and Kevin D. Black. 1979, Final
Report on a Cultural Resource Inventory and Testing
Program of Archaeological Sites in the Right-of-Way
of the Gore Pass-Windy Gap Transmission Line.
Manuscript on file, Bureau of Anthropological
Research, University of Colorado, Boulder.

Loveseth, Beatrice A. 1980. The Crowsnest Lake
Dancehall site (DjPp-3). M.A.Thesis, University of
Calgary.

Lutz, Bruce and William J. Hunt, Jr. 1979. Models for
Patterns and Change in Prehistoric Settlement-
Subsistence Systems of the Purgatoire and Apishapa
Highlands. Report on file, Interagency Archeological
Services, U.S. Department of the Interior, Denver.

McCracken, Harold, Waldo R. Wedel, Robert Edgar, John
H. Moss, H.E. Wright, Jr., Wilfred M. Husted, and
William Mulloy. 1978. The Mummy Cave Project In
Northwestern Wyoming. Buffalo Bill Historical
Center, Cody, Wyoming.

Metcalf, Michael D., Christian J. Zier, Anne H. Zier,
Susan B. Shock, William E. Davis, and Jana Vosika-
Pastor. 1981. Archaeological Investigations at the
Proposed South Haystack Mine, Uinta County,
Wyoming: 1976-1977-1978. Zier Archaeological
Consultants, Inc., Eagle.

Millar, J.F.V. 1981. Mortuary Practices of the Oxbow
Complex. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 5:103-
117.

Miller, Mark E. 1984. Early Archaic Occupation in the
Hanna Basin. Paper presented at the 49th. Annual
Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology,
Portland.

National Park Service. 1987. History and Prehistory in
the National Park System and the National Historic
Landmarks Program. National Park Service, Wash-
ington, D.C.

Nelson, Charles E. 1981. Cherry Gulch Site (5JF63): A

Projectile Point Study. Southwestern Lore 47(2): 1-27.

Parker, Patricia L. and Thomas F. King. n.d. Guidelines
for Evaluating and Documenting Traditional Cultural
Properties, National Register Bulletin No. 38,
Interagency Resources Division, National Park
Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Reeves, Brian O.K. 1969. The Southern Alberta Paleo-
Cultural-Paleoenvironmental Sequence. Pages 6-46 in
Post-Pleistocene Man and His Environments on the
Northern Plains, edited by Richard G. Forbis, Leslie
B. Davis, Ole A. Christensen, and Gloria Fedirchuk.
University of Calgary, Archaeological Association,
Calgary.

____. 1972. The Prehistory of Pass Creek Valley,
Waterton Lakes National Park. National Historic Sites
Survey, Manuscript Report Series No. 61, Ottawa.

—___. 1973. The Concept of an Altithermal Cultural
Hiatus in Northern Plains Prehistory. American
Anthropologist 75(5):1221-1253.

____. 1978. Men, Mountains and Mammals: A View
from the Canadian Alpine. Paper presented at the
Plains Conference, Denver.

———. 1980. DgPI-10, A Winter Base Campsite in
Waterton Lakes National Park. Manuscript on file,
Archaeological Research Unit, environment Canada -
Parks, Calgary.

——_. 1983. Culture Change on the Northern Plains:
100 B.C.-A.D.1000. Archaeological Survey of
Alberta, Occasional Paper No. 20, Edmonton.

_—___. 1993. Glacier National Park Precontact Native
American Archaeological Research Design. Prepared
for the National Park Service, Midwest Archaeological
Center, Lincoln.

Roberts, F.H.H., Jr. 1937. The Material Culture of
Folsom Man as Revealed at the Lindenmeier Site.
Southwestern Lore 2(4):67-73.

Roll, Tom E. 1982. Kootenai Canyon Archaeology, The
LAURD Project Final Mitigation Report. Montana
State University, Bozeman.

Ruppert, David. 1994. Rocky Mountain American
Indian Consultation Guidelines and Directory.
Prepared by the Rocky Mountain al Office, Ethno-
graphic Program, Division of Cultural Resources,
Denver, Colorado

Schroedl, Alan. 1985. Archaic and Late Prehistoric
Adaptation in Southwestern Wyoming: The Frontier
Pipeline Excavations. Bureau of Land Management
Wyoming Cultural Resource Series No.3.

Scott, Douglas D. 1989. Evaluation of Cultural Re-


How to cite this document: Truesdale, James, A. 1998. The U.S. Department of Interior National Park
Service’s Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program: Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan. Yellowstone Center
for Resources, National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, YCR-CR-98-1. @

Front Cover: Rare wickiup structure or conical timbered lodge, 1955 (24YE301), Yellowstone National Park.


39

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Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 37

Tabie HI:1. Percentage surveyed of park units.

Percent of

Park Surveyed Number — Park Units

100 3 BEOL, DETO, LIBI

50-94 3 BICA, BLCA, GRKO
40-49 1 FOLA

6-7 2 CURE, GRTE

34 1 GRSA

2 1 ROMO

Less than | 4 FLFO, GLAC, JODR, YELL

historic preservation legislation of the 1960s and 1970s.
For the most part, surveys undertaken after 1975 meet
current management needs. Only 3 of the 15 park units
have been completely surveyed to modern standards.
Three parks have estimated survey coverage of between
50 and 94 percent, two park units have coverage of
between 25 and 49 percent, and eight have survey
coverage estimated at 11 percent or less. Survey cover-
age becomes a crucial issue when establishing
regionwide survey strategies and priorities, as discussed
later in this plan.

Archeological Sites Recorded and
Condition of Site Records

Archeological sites are documented in every park in
the Rocky Mountain Cluster. There are more than 2,382
documented sites, which make up 4 percent of the total
60,000 known for the entire National Park Service. The
state of the site records is quite variable and our best
guess is that only 25 percent of the sites have records that
meet modern standards of recording—after 1975 or
thereabouts.

Many of the sites were recorded during earlier
reconnaissance surveys. During these projects, research-
ers were more apt to look where they believed sites to be
located than they were to cover 100 percent of the terrain.
There are often only a few lines of description and often
there are no topographic map plots of site locations.
Nevertheless, the number of sites known is quite impres-
sive. Relocating and rerecording sites with poor records
is incorporated into systematic surveys undertaken under

oe Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program. It has

been shown that systematic surveys of areas previously
covered by reconnaissance survey lead to the discovery

of new sites which may have been overlooked by earlier
surveyors focused on locating large and impressive sites.
Table 111:2 lists the number of sites recorded in each

park unit and the condition of the site records. If known,
it is noted whether in-house National Park Service forms
or official state forms are known to exist. In the states of
Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming, the State Historic
Preservation Office requires specific state site forms that
must accompany any compliance-related correspondence.

Base Maps

The status of sites plotted on topographic base maps is
given for each park unit in Table IIJ:2. Overall, the base
maps at each park unit correspond with those at the
Midwest Archeological Center and are in good order.

Site Data Bases

Each park unit has its own site data base, and copies
reside at the Midwest Archcological Center and Rocky
Mountain Support Office. The status of each unit in thesc
data bases is shown in Table III:2. Archeological data
from only a few parks arc officially in the Archeological
Sites Management Information System (ASMIS) data
base.

Artifact Locations and Storage
Conditions

Whether artifacts are conserved and stored for each
RMC unit is tallied in Table III:2. The storage location of
artifacts collected by archeological projects is listed for
each park unit in its Cultural Sites Inventory. The
majority of the park units in Rocky Mountain Cluster
retain their own collections and these materials may or
may not be catalogued in Automated National Catalog
System at the present time. Some collections are curated
at the Midwest Archcological Center and non-National
Park Service facilities and their conditions relative to the
Automated National Catalog System are unknown.

National Register of Historic Places

National Register properties are listed for each of the
park units in the Rocky Mountain Cluster. Of the 15 park
units, 4 are listed on the National Register in their
entirety: Bent’s Old Fort, Fort Laramie, Grant Kohrs, and



62 Appendices

1985 36 CFR 2.5G Curation of Natural History Specimens (relevant to archeologically collected natural materials, such
as faunal remains).

1986 Automated National Catalogue System Handbook.

1986 Special Directive 80-1; Collections Storage and Exhibition.

1987 National Park Service Native American Relationships Management Policy.

1987 Special Directive 87-3; Conservation of Archeological Resources.

1988 Advisory Council on Historic Preservation “Policy Statement Regarding the Treatment of Human Remains and
Grave Goods.”

1988 Amendments to Archeological Resources Protection Act.

1990 Curation of Federally Owned and Administered Archeological Collections, (36 CFR Part 79).

1990 Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Structures.

1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (PL 101-601).

1992 Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

1992 Department of the Interior Museum Property Handbooks, Vols. I (revised) and I (draft).

1992 Amendments (PL 102-575), to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

1994 Government-to-Government Relations with Native American Tribal Governments. Presidential Documents Title 3.
Memorandum of April 29, 1994.

1996 Indian Sacred Sites. Executive Order 13007. May 24, 1996.

' Sites are in the Rocky Mountain Region Archeological Resource Inventory computerized database.



ee Part I: cs
Description of Park Lands

Number of Park Areas

There are [5 National Park Service areas in the Rocky
Mountain Cluster. They are located throughout Colo-
rado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.

Park Sizes

The Rocky Mountain Cluster park units cover more
than 4 million acres and range in size from 765 acres to
more than two million acres (see Table 1:1).

Park Type and Archeological Values
Identified in the Enabling
Legislation

The type of National Park Service units in the Rocky
Mountain Region are grouped as follows:
+ 4 National Parks
* 5 National Monuments
* 3 National Historic Sites
+ 2 National Recreation Areas
* | Memorial Parkway

The enabling Icgislation for cach park was examined
for references of significant archeological values. Also,
the fegislation for boundary changes was examined when
available.

Wilderness

All of the park units in the Rocky Mountain Cluster
are considered to be in rural settings. Archeological
surveying requires walking over an area. Problems that
complicate surveys include steep slopes, remoteness,
dense vegetation, and sensitive faunal and floral re-
sources, Therefore, access to the survey area can be a
logistical problem. Often special transportation is
required: raft, boat, helicopter, 4-wheel drive vehicle, and
horse. Wilderness or proposed wilderness designations of
large parcels of land may restrict access to foot travel.

Conditions of accessibility vary considerably from
park to park (see Table 1:2). Seven units have consider-
able access problems. Access through private lands may
be negotiated for several park units.

Table I:1. Park unit acreage (see Appendix B for acronym interpretation).

Acreage Number Park Units

765-833 3 BEOL, LIBI, FOLA
1,346-5,998 3 DETO, FLFO, GRKO
20,755-41,972 4 BLCA, CURE, GRSA, JODR
120,296-309,994 3 BICA, GRTE, ROMO
1,013,572~2,219,791 2 GLAC, YELL



Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 49

Table V:3. Native American groups/tribes with affiliations with Rocky Mountain

Cluster Park units.

Native American

Group/Tribe Number Park Units

Ute/Paiute 6 BEOL, BLCA, CURE, FLFO, GRSA, ROMO.
Gros Ventres 1 GLAC

Flathead 3 DETO, GLAC, GRKO

Shoshone 6 BICA, DETO, FOLA, GRTE, ROMO, YELL
Nez Perce 1 YELL

Crow 6 BICA, DETO, FOLA, GRTE, LIBI, YELL
Northern Cheyenne 6 BICA, DETO, FOLA, GRTE, LIBI, YELL
Blackfeet 3 DETO, GLAC, YELL

Kootenai 3 DETO, GLAC, GRKO

Kiowa 1 DETO

Sioux 3 DETO, FOLA, LIBI

Northern Arapaho 6 BICA, DETO, FOLA, GRTE, ROMO, YELL
Southern Cheyenne 1 BEOL

Cree I GLAC

Chippewa 2 DETO, GLAC

Assiniboine 1 GLAC

Canadian Groups 2 DETO, GLAC

(Cree, Blood, Piegan,
Tobacco Valley
Kootenai, Probably
Others)

the sites or districts should also be researched exhaus-
tively. Refer to National Register Bulletin 38: Guide-
lines for Evaluating and Documenting Traditional
Cultural Properties (Parker and King n.d.) for step-by-
step instructions.

Although not necessarily required for all archeological
inventories, the potential through consultation for
additional information, insight, and understanding of
archeological phenomena is good. The Native American
groups and tribes which have specific interest in park
units may be found in Table V:3.

Cross-Consultation

Standard 7 of the Systemwide Archeological Inventory
Program states: “development and implementation of
archeological inventory projects involve non-NPS
archeologists and other specialists who have a demon-
strated competence in a particular culture, geographic
egion, park area, or advanced technology” (Aubry et al.
1992: 10). The Systemwide Archeological Inventory
Program promotes such interaction for its benefits,

including validation of field strategies/research priorities
and the acquisition of new approaches, methods, and the
utilization of equipment towards research questions/
problems. This approach allows for a more complete,
cost-effective archeological product.

National Register of Historic Places

Federal agencies are required to inventory evaluation
and nominate eligible properties to the National Register
of Historic Places (Systemwide Archeological Inventory
Program Priority Factor 4) and project classification
(Classification Description XI). The National Register of
Historic Places is a management tool for the identifica-
tion of important properties, their documentation, and
statements about why they are important. Information
may be gained by reviewing documentation for sites
placed on the National Register. The National Register of
Historic Places’ forms should be examined and utilized as
a starting point for research of proposed sites or of the
same site types.



cs2 VII; The Five-Year Plan: =>
A Prioritized List of Rocky Mountain Cluster
Archeology Projects

On August 20-21, 1996, a clusterwide team met in
Denver to review the Rocky Mountain Cluster’s Archeo-
logical Inventory Program, and to prepare a prioritized
list of inventory projects. The team was composed of
Gregory Kendrick (Program Leader), Ann Johnson
(Archeologist, duty stationed at YELL), Steve De Vore
(RMSSO archeologist), Bill Butler (ROMO archeolo-

eo": and William Wellman (Superintendent, GRSA).

The committee members class

ied the parks into three
groups: 1) parks without adequate inventory and National
Register evaluations; 2) parks that have had considerable
inventory but need National Register evaluations and
current data on the status of their sites; and 3) parks that
have 100 percent or near-100 percent current inventory
(BEOL, GRKO, LIBI). Based on these classifications,
and taking additional issues such as impacts and threats
to resources into consideration, the team then prioritized
the parks according to their needs for archeological
projects. The projects were prioritized over a 10-year
period, including an estimate of funding needs. Outyear
funding will not meet the levels projected in Table
VI:1, but we thought it was important to indicate what a
reasonable cluster inventory program would be. In five
years, the prioritized list will be revisited. The invento-
ries and evaluations can also be accomplished through the
Cultural Resource Preservation Program base.

Glacier was the first SAIP project of the old Rocky
Mountain Region and now the Rocky Mountain cluster.
This project has completed all the fieldwork and is in the
final writing stages. ROMO received FY97 funding to
begin their SAIP project.

e@ As can be seen in the Table VII:1 below, Rocky

Mountain National Park was selected as the cluster’s
highest priority for SAIP special funding because of 1)
the absence of information on the park’s archeological
resources; as well as 2) the existing out-of-date informa-
tion; 3) resources that are threatened by growing visita-
tion and vandalism; and 4) the lack of National Register
nominations for ROMO’s archaeological sites.

Yellowstone National Park, which is second in the
priority list, has many of the same problems as ROMO.
However, some inventory and evaluation activity has
occurred in recent years due to Federal Highway project
funding. The extreme size of Yellowstone shaped the
prioritized program projections. The YELL inventory
projected in Table VII:1 will not meet all of YELL’s
needs. However, it is believed that this will 1) allow
inventory of developed areas; 2) provide the necessary
data to identify gaps, and clarify research questions and
the remaining highest priority areas/needs; and 3) allow
other parks an opportunity to share in the SAIP funding.

Great Sand Dunes, the third park in the priority list, is
similar to ROMO and YELL in terms of absent and/or
poor quality information, not much inventory, and threats
to the resources, Because GRSA’s archeological re-
sources are thought to be of local and regional signifi-
cance (lesser significance than ROMO and YELL;
admittedly, this perception has been formed with limited
data), the park has been ranked third.

BICA is prioritized higher than GRTE because there
has been very little work in BICA since 1974 and
multiple small projects and a large project (Jackson Lake
Archeological Project) were done in GRTE during the
1980s and 1990s.



Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 9

Table I:4. Physiographic units in which park units reside.

Physiographic

Areas Number Park Units!

Northern Rocky Mountains 3 GLAC, GRKO, YELL

Middle Rocky Mountains 3 BICA, GRTE, JODR, YELL
Southern Rocky Mountains 5 BLCA, CURE, FLFO, GRSA, ROMO
Western Plains 4 BEOL, DETO, FOLA, LIBI

' YELL falls into two physiographic units.

conditions and snow covering the ground and may
present poor conditions for archeological survey (Hunt
1967). It is important to note that modification of park
lands can alter ground surfaces making surface survey
difficult, if not impossible, without remote sensing and/or
testing.

The park units are within a number of natural regions
or provinces that may cross state lines. In addition, many
park units are on the border of two natural regions. The
natural regions described below are taken from two
references (Hunt 1967; Thornbury 1965). These natural
regions are very broad categories but it is possible to
generally characterize each and to give a brief description
of the archeological survey conditions found in each
province.

Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains are the backbone of North
America and form the Continental Divide that separates
the Atlantic and Pacific drainages. The Northern,
Middle, and Southern Rocky Mountain geological
provinces and the Wyoming Basin lie in the center of the
Rocky Mountain Region. The Northern Rocky Mountain
province is situated along the Idaho and Montana border.
The Middle Rocky Mountain province is predominately
in the northwestern portion of Wyoming and extends
along a narrow corridor through northwestern Utah. The
Southern Rocky Mountain province is in southeastern
Wyoming, central Colorado and north-central New
Mexico. These Rocky Mountain provinces are adjacent
to the Great Plains province to the east and the Basin and
Range province and the Colorado Platcau to the west and
south,

The Rocky Mountains are made of igneous, metamor-
phic, and sedimentary origins in diverse kinds of volcanic
and structural uplifts and basins. The Rockies contain,
for the most part, shallow sediments and soils with
extensive areas of bare rock. Rain and snowmelt from
the mountains is the principal source of water for a
quarter of the United States, including the semiarid Great
Plains to the east and the deserts to the west. Vegetation
is dominated by conifer forests.

Wyoming Basin

The Wyoming Basin is situated between the Middle
and Southern Rocky Mountain provinces and is in
Wyoming and northern Colorado, The Wyoming Basin
contains several intermountain basins and the Great
Divide Basin which has internal drainage. The Wyoming
Basin borders the Middle Rocky Mountains and people
living there also utilized at times Grand Teton National
Park.

Great Plains

The Great Plains province slopes eastward from about
5,500 feet, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, to about
2,000 feet above mean sea level at the eastern boundary.
This province covers eastern Montana, North and South
Dakota, and western portions of Nebraska, Kansas, and
Oklahoma. Drainages on the plains generally run
parallel, and the streams flow eastward from the Rocky
Mountains to the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Trees
are largely confined to the valleys, and warm-season
grasses grow in the uplands.



The U.S.
Department of Interior
National Park Service’s

Systemwide Archeological
Inventory Program:
Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan

by
James A. Truesdale
Department of Anthropology
University of Wyoming

with contributions by
Adrienne Anderson and Ann Johnson

Yellowstone Center for Resources, National Park Service,
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
YCR-CR-98-1
1998



30 Regional Overview

titual practices (red ocher in burials) appears.

Folsom. The Folsom Period, 11,000 to 10,200 B.P.,
expericnced a warming climate associated with the early
Holocene. One consequence of the change in climate
was the disappearance of the immediately post-glacial
megafauna. Folsom sites are characterized by distinc-
tively fluted points in association with extinct bison
species. Excavated Folsom sites within the region that
are associated with extinct bison include the Lindenmeier
site, a campsite on the extreme northern Colorado plains
(Roberts 1937), and the Linger site, a probable dune kill
site in the San Luis Vailey. Although no Folsom sites
have been recorded in southeastern Colorado, numerous
isolated projectile points have been recorded in this area.

Plano. The Plano Period, 10,200 to 7,500 B.P.,
includes several complexes characterized by different
fancelot projectile-point styles. It is thought to reflect a
cultural continuum with adaptive modifications in tool
variability based on the sequences at the Hell Gap site in
eastern Wyoming (Irwin 1971:48, 52-54). An increas-
ingly complex lifestyle is documented during this time
period, as indicated by the presence of a tool kit that
includes a variety of stone and bone tools, and more types
of kill, processing, and camp sites. Evidence of Plano
occupation in the Southern and Northern Plains provinces
is plentiful though few intact sites are known. There are
Paleoindian materials in Bighorn Canyon National
Recreation Arca.

Archaic Period

The onset of the Altithermal marks the beginning of
the Archaic Stage during which a significant reorientation
of lifestyle occurred (Benedict 1979:1-12). As a result of
the changing climate conditions and a decrease in the
large game populations, the people turned to hunting
smaller game and relying more on gathering wild plants.
Based on changes in projectile point morphology, the
Archaic is divided into three periods: Early, Middle, and
Late. Archaic projectile points are most often stemmed
and are not as delicately flaked as the earlier Paleoindian
points. Considerable regional differentiation can be
found, but few Archaic Stage complexes are well-
defined. This is a result of a highly mobile lifestyle
coupled with the specialized and diversified nature of
Archaic Stage tool kits used in different site settings.
Bent’s Old Fort contains Archaic sites.

Early Archaic Period. The Altithermal, a climatic
episode of hotter and dricr conditions, marks the start of
the Early Archaic, 7,500 to 5,000 B.P. (Frison 1991). In
response to this climatic shift, the plains may have been

partially depopulated (Wedel 1964:200) with some
groups possibly relocating to the relatively cooler and
wetter conditions of the higher foothills and mountains
(Benedict 1979; Benedict and Olson 1978). The Early
Archaic is characterized by large, shallow side-notched
and some corner-notched projectile points. Early Archaic
sites present in the region include Magic Mountain,
LoDaiska, and Cherry Gulch in the Colorado foothills
and the Mount Albion, Fourth of July, and Albion
Boardinghouse sites in the high mountains in and/near
Rocky Mountain National Park. (Benedict 1975, 1981;
Benedict and Olson 1978; Irwin and Irwin 1959; Irwin-
Williams and Irwin 1966; Nelson 1981). In southeastern
Colorado, Early Archaic points have been reported from
nine sites in the Apishapa Highlands (Lutz and Hunt
1979:133).

Middle Archaic Period. The Middle Archaic, 5,000 to
3,000 B.P., represents continued changes with groups
moving onto the plains and the interior montane basins.
Frison (1991) suggests that these groups followed a
carefully calculated schedule of seasonal food exploita-
tion. Characteristic artifacts of this period include points
such as McKean, Duncan, Hanna, and Mallory types and
formalized manos and grinding slabs along with various
retouched flaked tools, Features include large hearths
and possibly lined floors. The distinctive McKean
culture of the Middle Archaic have been identified at
many rock shelters in the Colorado Front Range. In the
Northern Plains province Middle Archaic matcrials have
been recovered from Little Bighorn Battlefield National
Monument (Fig. 16) and Bighorn Canyon National
Recreation Area. In southcastern Colorado only one site,
Draper Cave (Hagar 1976), has been excavated. This site
contained McKean, Duncan, and Hanna style projectile
points. Additional surface projectile points, diagnostic of
the Middle Archaic, have been recovered in the region.

In the eastern Southern Plains, Middle Archaic
influences are quite definite. Phases such as the Grove
and pre-ceramic Fourche Maline of Oklahoma and the
Carrollton and Elam of north-central Texas occupy a
border position between the eastern Woodlands and the
Great Plains.

Late Archaic Period, The Late Archaic Period dates
between 3,000 and 1,700 years ago, although the archaic
lifestyle persisted much late. Diagnostic projectile points
are large and exhibit comer notches. Sites are found in
canyons on the Chaquaqua Platcau and in Colorado Front
Range rock shelters. An increase in the amount of
ground and pecked stone is noticed.



18 Regional Overview

between 6,000 and 8,000 feet. The dominant geological
feature within the Wyoming Basin is the Great Divide
Basin that straddles the Continental Divide. The Wyo-
ming Basin is a high desert and contains a sagebrush and
short grass vegetation. All of the major mountain ranges
in these provinces were glaciated during the Pleistocene.

Cultural Chronology

The cultural influences by prehistoric groups sur-
rounding the Middle Rocky Mountains and Wyoming
Basin created a fairly complex chronology (see Table
1:4), Mummy Cave is a deeply stratified, dry site about
15 miles east of Yellowstone National Park. The chronol-
ogy from Mummy Cave, Wyoming (Husted and Edgar
n.d.; McCracken et al. 1978), has been accepted as the
most representative of the Middle Rocky Mountain
province. Although Mummy Cave is in the Rocky
Mountains, the archeological materials represent signifi-
cant relationships with the northwestern Plains, the Great
Basin, and Columbia Plateau. A brief Wyoming Basin
chronology discussed by Schroedl (1985) takes into
account influences from other regions and will be used
here. In addition, Frison’s (1991) chronology for the
Northwestern Plains was also used for the Middle Rocky
Mountain and Wyoming Basin provinces. Although
Frison’s (1991) use of the term “Northwestern Plains” is
not correct in the physiographic sense, it covers most of
the cultural/geographical area discussed here (Table II:4).

The native cultural history, prior to the coming of the
Europeans, has been divided into three periods: the
Paleoindian, Archaic, and Late Prehistoric. These are
associated with American Indian material culture and
land use history from ca. 11,000 B.P. until the late 1700s
when the impact of the horse and artifacts of European
manufacture radically changed American Indian culture
and land use.

In the following discussion, John D. Rockefeller
National Parkway is lumped with Grand Teton National
Park. Yellowstone, Grand Teton and John D. Rockefeller
received influences from the Columbia Plateau, Great
Basin, Western Plains as well as containing local moun-
tain-adapted peoples. Much of the Northern Rocky
Mountain culture history is applicable particularly to
Yellowstone. The archeology of Bighorn Canyon
represents both plains and mountain-adapted peoples.

Paleoindian Period
Paleoindian occupation of the Middle Rocky Moun-
tain and Wyoming Basin province is well represented. In

Table 11:4. Cultural chronology of the Middle Rocky
Mountain and the Wyoming Basin Province.

Complex/
Period Phase Age (Yrs Ago)
Paleoindian Clovis 11,500-10,800
Folsom 10,800-10,500
Agate Basin 10,500- 10,000,
Hellgap 10,300-9,500
Cody Complex 10,000-8,500,
Late Paleo 8,000-7,000
Archaic Early 7,000-5,000
Middle 5,000-2,500
Late 2,500-1,500
Late Prehistoric 1,700-200
Historic 200-50

general, Paleoindians are characterized as big-game
hunters and seem to be the earliest inhabitants of the
Middle Rocky Mountains and the Wyoming basin. These e@
big game hunters of the Late Pleistocene hunted now-
extinct species of mammoth, bison, horse, and camel, and
date to approximately 12,000 to 10,000 years B.P. Plants
were also used as roasting pit features at the Barton
Gulch site west of Yellowstone National Park date back
almost 9,000 years B.P. (Armstrong 1993). Cultural
materials (radiocarbon-dated cultural levels, diagnostic
projectile points) representing the complete Paleoindian
Period from Clovis to Late Paleoindian are found in the
Middle Rocky Mountains and the Wyoming Basin
(Frison 1991; Husted and Edgar n.d.). A complete
sequence of Paleoindian materials has been recovered
from Grand Teton National Park. Although no Folsom
sites have been discovered in Yellowstone National Park,
an obsidian Folsom projectile point was recovered south
of Grand Teton and sourced to Obsidian Cliff (48YE344)
in Yellowstone National Park (Davis et al. 1995). Cody
Complex and Late Paleoindian materials are documented
in Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National
Park, and Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
(Fig. 7).

Archaic Period

Early Archaic. The Early Archaic Period dates from e@
7,000 to 5,000 years ago. Prior to the Archaic Period a
geologic episode, the Altithermal is thought to coincide





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Strategies for Archeological Survey and Highest Priority Projects



26 _ Regional Overview

Figure 13. Salvage
excavation of 3500-year-
old house being eroded by
Blue Mesa Reservoir.
Curecanti National
Recreation Area.

Black’s ideas about the Mountain Tradition remain to be
fully tested.

Middle Archaic materials have been located in Rocky
Mountain National Park. Additional information pertain-
ing to the Middle Archaic in the Southern Rocky Moun-
tain province can be found in Guthrie et al. (1984).

Late Archaic Period. The Late Archaic Period, 2,000
to 1,400 B.P., exhibits a continuing trend of increasing
ground-stone frequencies and decreasing projectile point
size (Fig. 14). Among Late Archaic styles are Pelican
Lake points, the Magic Mountain site’s Apex Complex
types, Roubideau Phase and Ironstone Phase points of the
Uncompagre Complex, some complexes at LoDaisKa,
Besant points, and En Medio points of the Oshara
Tradition. Additional specific information pertaining to
the Late Archaic in the Southern Rocky Mountain
province can be found in Guthrie et al. (1984).

Late Prehistoric

The Late Prehistoric Period appears to continue a
hunting and gathering adaptation “Archaic lifestyle.”
Guthrie et al. (1984:49) indicates that the distribution of
sites seems to be dictated primarily by horizontal and
vertical distances to water and by advantageous views of
faunal resources. Multiple-activity base camps appear to
be located at lower elevations and nearer to water than
peripheral special, or limited activity sites (Baker et al.
1980:191). This time period in the Colorado Plateau is
recognized as the Formative Stage, represented by
Anasazi and Fremont cultures. The Formative Stage is

defined by the presence of agriculture (corn, beans, and
squash) and the integration of agricultural and horticul-
tural subsistence lifeways into a well-established,

sedentary village life. Guthrie et al. (1984) doubt that “®@

Southern Rocky Mountain province exhibited a Forma-
tive lifestyle, although Formative populations may have
utilized particular regions. The proximity of the Southern
Rocky Mountain area to a variety of cultural areas is
represented by the number of influences exhibited in the
mountains by external Formative groups. These groups
include the Anasazi to the southwest, the Fremont to the
northwest and west, and the Plains Woodland and Upper
Republican to the east.

Anasazi. The Anasazi Culture of the southwest, 1050
B.P. to 650 B.P,, is represented sparsely in the Southern
Rocky Mountains. There is evidence of the Anasazi
contact in the Rio Grande National Forest, but most
comes from the San Luis Valley. The presence of
southwestern pottery and some definitive projectile point
styles may suggest trade with or utilization of the area.
Zier (1977) suggests the possibility of Anasazi hunting
forays venturing into the mountains north of the Dolores
area. However, no evidence for horticulture has been
recovered from the Southern Rocky Mountain area.
Horticulture marks Formative culture development.

Fremont. Fremont influences from Utah and the
Great Basin (A.D. 100-1250) are characterized by a
semi-agricultural lifestyle with pithouses and masonry
structures, storage features, distinctive ceramics, and rocl
art styles. Evidence in the Southern Rocky Mountain



cows Part IT; >
Archeological
Database for the Cluster

This chapter presents the status of archeological
overviews and resource management plans as well as the
summary of the types of major archeological projects
conducted at cach park unit. The number of acres
surveyed for cultural resources and the percent of park
lands surveyed are listed. Information about number of
sites recorded and whether or not the site records meet
modern standards are presented, along with information

@e:. base maps and computerized site data bases. The
location and status of collections are summarized.
National Register properties are listed along with the
titles of the proposed survey projects.

Overviews-

Archeological overviews are available for al] parks in
the Rocky Mountain Cluster, although they need to be
updated for Glacier and Yellowstone. Until very recently,
little was known about the archeology of Fort Laramie.
Although overview is essential for understanding the
archeology of a park area, there often are other docu-
ments or reports available that can substitute for the
overview. An example would be a report summarizing a
complete survey of a small park unit, for example, the
report by Scott and Fox (1987) available for Little
Bighorn Battlefield. Overviews prepared for other
agencies can also serve in this capacity if no formal
National Park Service overview exists; The Prehistory of
the Custer National Forest (Beckes and Keyser 1983) is
relevant to Devils Tower National Monument and
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. Few project

@ siemens in the Rocky Mountain Cluster resource
management plans call for overviews because these have
already been completed. With limited baseline data
available for many parks, the priority in this region is

archeological inventory, with documentation and evalua-
tion of archeological sites, in order to better understand
the parks’ archeological histories and resources.

Resource Management Plans

The current emphasis on updating resource manage-
ment plans has been a bonus for the Rocky Mountain
Clasier Inventory Plan. There are 14 plans in final form.
Grand Teton and John D. Rockefeller are combined in
one plan,

Previous Archeological Projects

Archeological projects have been conducted at every
park unit in the cluster (Table I1I:1). These vary from
intensive, systematic surveys to small clearance surveys,
reconnaissance projects with unknown survey coverage,
to mitigation to recover information that would otherwise
be lost (Figs. 15 and 18).

Projects range from Section 106 inventory surveys to
testing, excavation, and mitigation projects; surface
collection; submerged surveys (Fig. 14); monitoring
projects; remote sensing (Fig. 20); and additional
research orientated projects. Table III:1 gives a general
idea of the level of archeological activity in each park
unit.

Acres and Percent of Park
Surveyed

Reconnaissance surveys have been conducted through-
out the cluster from as early as the 1880s. Intensive
archeological inventory survey in the modern sense
became the norm after the environmental legislation and



Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 21

Crow Indian movements are thought to be identifiable by
ceramics (Prison 1978:67). Others are unidentified at this
time (Fig. 10). Plains Woodland pottery is found on the
eastern edge of the Middle Rocky Mountain and Wyo-
ming Basin along river drainages. The Intermountain
Tradition and Uncompahgre wares in southwestern
Wyoming and in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national
parks. These wares are considered to be associated with
Shoshone and Ute movements (Fig. 9). Fremont wares
can also be located in southwestern Wyoming and
suggest some influences or movements of these
horticulturalists into the Wyoming Basin region. Pueblo
pottery, both corrugated and painted sherds, have been
found along the southern border of Wyoming west of the
North Platte River. These sherds have not yet occurred in
datable contexts or in association with diagnostic
materials. The occurrence of Dismal River and Promon-
tory pottery in Wyoming is still questionable, although
occasional recording of these types does occur.

Protohistoric/Historic Period
In general, American Indian sites from this period are
oorly known, particularly in Grand Teton National Park.
are examples of wickiups (see front cover), or conical
Gimbered lodges can still be found in Yellowstone. These
provided temporary shelter for travelers and raiding
parties. Protohistoric/Historic Period American Indian
sites in Bighorn Canyon are associated with the Crow
Indians and include rock art, vision quest sites, and
campsites.
Most historic archeology relates to the military and

Figure 9. Reconstructed Intermountain vessel from
Yellowstone National Park (twelve inches tall).

park administration in Yellowstone and homesteading in
Grand Teton.

Southern Rocky Mountain Province

Environment

The Southern Rocky Mountain province forms a broad
north-south band running through the center of the state
of Colorado. This band consists of two parallel ranges
separated by a number of valleys and parks. The eastern

Figure 10. Late Prehistoric ceramics from Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area (actual size).


Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 5

Antiquities Act (1906)

The development of the Rocky Mountain Cluster
Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program will aid in
complying with section 5(c) of the Antiquities Act (1906)
and the submittal of annual SAIP reports indicating the
scope and effectiveness of the programs initiated in the
Rocky Mountain Cluster.

Historic Sites Act (1935)

The RMC’s Systemwide Archeological Inventory
Program will fulfiil responsibilities under the Historic
Sites Act (1935) section 2(c). It will make those neces-
sary investigations and researches relating to particular
sites, buildings, or objects to obtain true and accurate
historical and archeological facts and information. The
Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program addresses
issues of cooperative agreements, use of historic proper-
ties, and operation and management of historic properties
discussed under sections 2 (e),(f), and (h) of the Historic
Sites Act.

American Indian Religious Freedom Act

(1978)

The American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA)
int resolution by the 95th Congress that recognizes
the constitutionally guaranteed right of all United States
citizens, including American Indians, to practice their
religions. The RMC’s Systemwide Archeological
Inventory Program enables the cluster and its park units

to recognize, inventory, and evaluate traditional religious

uses and practices related to sites or resources on park

lands. NPS management policy under AIRFA prioritizes:

1. Physical protection and appropriate private uses of
these sites.

2. Allowing reasonable and prudent access to sites and
provisions for the collecting, taking, or receiving of
natural resources used in the exercise of Native
American religious practices.

3. Identification and protection of those sites and
resources within parks that are associated with
American Indian cultural and religious heritage (Fig.
3).

4. Development of adequate baseline data necessary to
formulate general and management decision.

@ srcheotogicat Resources Protection Act

(1979)
The RMC’s Systemwide Archeological Inventory

Program fulfills Archeological Resources Protection Act
(ARPA) guidelines that govern the disposition of archeo-
logical resources removed from public and Indian lands.
In addition, the Archeological Resources Protection Act
requires each federal land manager to establish a program
to increase public awareness of the significance of the
archeological resources located on public and Indian
lands, and the need to protect such resources. Each land
manager is to submit an annual report to the Committee
on the Interior and Insular Affairs of the US House of
Representatives regarding the actions taken under such
programs. Under 16 U.S.C. 470, the Rocky Mountain
Cluster’s Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program
fulfills its obligation to develop plans for surveying lands
within the control of the Rocky Mountain Cluster. It
determines the nature and extent of archeological
resources on those lands and it prepares a schedule for
inventorying lands that are likely to contain the most
scientifically valuable archeological resources.

Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (1990)

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatria-
tion Act (NAGPRA) sets requirements for Federal
agencies and museums to conduct the following activi-
ties:

1. Document certain Native American cultural items in
their collections. Cultural items include human
remains, associated funerary objects, unassociated
funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural
patrimony.

2. Notify all Indian Tribes that are, or are likely to be,
culturally affiliated with these objects or are recog-
nized as aboriginally occupying the area in which the
objects were discovered.

3. Provide an opportunity for the repatriation of cultur-
ally identifiable human remains and/or cultural
objects.

Federal agencies are responsible for ensuring that
archeological coliections from their lands are properly
stored and cared for, whether the collections are held by a
federal agency or by a nonfederal institution.

The National Park Service anticipates increased
contact with American Indian communities due to the
enactment of NAGPRA. The Systemwide Archeological
Inventory Program of the Rocky Mountain Cluster is
designed to direct the RMC parks in contemporary
archeological analyses that will be helpful in determining
biological and cultural continuity to the archeological



Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 57

References Cited

Antevs, Ernst. 1948, Climatic Change and Pre-White
Man. Bulletin of the University of Utah 38:168-191.

__—_- 1955. Geological-climatic Dating in the West.
American Antiquity 20:317-355.

Armatage, C. Lawrence, Janice C. Newberry-Creasman,
James C. Mackey, Charles M. Love, Douglas
Heffington, Kathleen Harvey, Jill E. Sall, Keith
Ducholm and Steven D. Creasman. 1982. The
Deadman Wash Site. Western Wyoming Cultural
Resource Management Report No. 6. Archaeological
Services-Western Wyoming College, Rock Springs.

Aubry, Michele C., Dana C. Linck, Mark J. Lynott,
Robert R. Mierendorf and Kenneth M. Schoenberg.
1992. National Park Service's Systemwide Archeo-
logical Inventory Program. Produced by the Anthro-

Counties, Colorado. Manuscript on file, Metcalf-Zier
Archaeologist Inc. Eagle, Colorado.

1991. Archaic Continuity in the Colorado

Rockies: The Mountain Tradition. Plains Anthro-
pologist 36(133):1-29.

Brumley, John H. 1975. The Cactus Flower Site in

Southeastern Alberta, 1972-1974 Excavations.
National Museum of Man Mercury Series, Archaeo-
logical Survey of Canada Paper No. 28, Ottawa.

Bryson, R.A., D.A. Baerreis, and W.M. Wendland. 1970.

The Character of Late-Glacial and Post-Glacial
Climatic Changes. Pages 53-74 in Pleistocene and
Recent Environments of the Central Great Plains, W.
Dort, Jr., and J.K. Jones, Jr., editors, University Press
of Kansas, Lawrence.

pology Division, National Park Service, United States
Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.

Baker, Steven G., Kevin D. Black, Steven M. Horvath,
Kenneth L. Kvamme, William N. Mode, Alan
Schroedl, and Martha Sullenberger. 1980. Baseline

e@ Cultural Resource Surveys and Evaluations in
Primary Impact Areas of the Mount Emmons Project
of Amax, Inc., Gunnison County, Colorado, Volume 1,
S. Baker, editor. Manuscript on file, Centuries
Research, Montrose.

Beckes, Michael R. and James D. Keyser. 1983. The
Prehistory of the Custer National Forest: An Over-
view. On file, USDA Forest Service, Custer District,
Ashland, Montana.

Benedict, James B. 1975. Prehistoric Man and Climates:
The View of Timberline. Quarterly Studies, T.P.
Suggate and N.M. Cresswell, eds. The Royal Society
of New Zealand, Wellington.

____. 1979. Getting Away From It All: A Study of
Man, Mountains, and the Two-Drought Altithermal.
Southwestern Lore 45(3):1-12.

— _. 1981. The Fourth of July Valley. Center for
Mountain Archaeology Research Report No. 2., Ward.

Benedict, James B. and Byron L. Olson. 1978. The

Byrne, WJ. 1973. The Archaeology and Prehistory of
Southern Alberta as Reflected by Ceramics, National
Museum of Man Mercury Series, Archaeological
Survey of Canada Paper No. 14. National Museums
of Canada, Ottawa.

Bump, Robert J. 1987. The Powers-Yonkee Bison ‘Trap:
A New Look at an Old (or not so old) Site.
Archaeology in Montana 28(1):27-37.

Burgess, Robert J., Kenneth Kvamme, Paul Nickens,
Alan Reed, and Gordon Tucker, Jr. 1980. Class IT
Cultural Resources Inventory of the Glenwood Springs
Resource Area, Grand Junction District, Colorado.
Manuscript on file, Nickens and Associates, Montrose,
Colorado.

Calabrese, Francis A. 1979. Rocky Mountain Region
Inventory of Archaeological Sites Program. Midwest
Archaeological Center, National Park Service.
Lincoln, Nebraska.

Carpenter, Scott L., M. Donaldson, and P. Williams.

1976. Archeological Inventory of the Fruitland Mesa
Project. Manuscript on file, Department of Anthropol-
ogy, University of Colorado, Boulder.

Cassels, E. Steve. 1983. The Archaeology of Colorado.
Johnson Publishing Company, Boulder, Colorado.
Mount Albion Complex: A Study of Prehistoric Man Dawson, Jerry and Dennis Stanford. 1975. The Linger
and the Altithermal. Center for Mountain Archaeol- Sitc: A Re-Investigation. Southwestern Lore 41(4):11-
ogy Research Report Number 1. Ward, Colorado. 16.

Binford, Lewis R. 1983. Working at Archaeology. Eakin, Daniel H. 1984, The Split Rock Ranch Site: A

e@ Academic Press, New York. Possible Early Plains Archaic Pithouse Site from
Black, Kevin D. 1982. Final Report of Archaeological

Fremont County, Wyoming. Paper presented at the
Investigations Along Colorado Forest Highway 59 in

42nd, Annual Plains Anthropological Society confer-
the Cottonwoed Pass Area, Chaffee and Gunnison ence, Lincoln, Nebraska.



Rocky Mountain Cluster Plan 43

Table IV:2. Ordered cluster project priorities.

Park Projects Justification for Priority
GLAC Archeological inventory; site evaluation; Scant resource information; pending major
National Register nominations General Management Plan effort; ongoing traditional use
ROMO Archeological inventory; site evaluation, Scant information; pending General
National Register nominations Management Plan update; resource impacts; vandalism;
developed areas do not have inventory; outside threats
YELL Archeological inventory; site evaluation; Scant information for much of park; multiple planning
National Register nominations projects; visitor impacts and natural degradation; archeological
National Historic Landmarks; most developed areas do not
have inventory
GRSA Archeological inventory; site evaluation; Scant informaion about much of the park;
National Register nominations resource impacts and outside threats; vandalism
BICA _ Site documentation; National Register Database out of date; few National Register evaluations,
evaluation and nominations nominations needed; impacts unknown
FOLA Remote sensing/inventory; National Little information about subsurface resources
Register evaluation and nominations
GRTE _ Site documentation; National Register Database out of date and not to standard;

evaluation and nominations

few National Register evaluations, nominations needed;
impacts unknown

maps will be updated showing site sizes and locations,
the areas surveyed, and reliability of the survey data.
This information will be designed to be compatible with
whatever format(s) the park uses and wishes to have
available.

Archeological Inventory and Site
Evaluation

Depending upon the reliability, quality, and quantity of

archeological data available for each park, SAIP projects
will be designed to address area inventory, National
Register evaluation, and documentation needs before
getting into special studies. As an aid in developing
research designs for these efforts, the Rocky Mountain

Cluster has been grouped into several distinct cultural and

environmental areas (as described above). These areas
each have several park units that contain similar cultural
resources which can complement each other in both
research designs and methodological approaches. Each
park has an archeological overview and assessment
available to provide data for development of a research
design. These, especially those incorporated into park
geographic information systems, form the basis for

development of sampling strategies and investigation into
appropriate testing needs.

Ideally, all areas of all park units should be surveyed.
However, 100 percent survey coverage for all parks
within the cluster in the near future is not feasible
logistically or economically. This is not to say that it is
not unrealistic in the decades or centuries to come.
However, the impracticality of such a task is recognized.
Lack of good baseline data for a park might be solved
simply by the development and implementation of a
sample survey. The resultant data would then be used to
develop a predictive model that can then be tested to
evaluate the need for additional surveys in the park. The
percentage of survey coverage for each park unit will be
guided by a number of factors and is expected to change
through time due to research goals and funding initia-
tives. Two of the most important factors are the signifi-
cance of the archeological resources in the park unit and
management considerations as developed in each park
unit’s resource management plan. Visitor use and natural
threats to the sites also play a role in the amount of
survey needed.

Documentation of site significance and listing in the
National Register of Historic Places are vital to long term
site preservation as well as to acquisition of money to



css Part Vi eo
Proposed Projects
and Cluster Management Priorities

Cluster Inventory Goals

The overall survey goals in the cluster are to: 1)
inventory small (less than 10,000 acres) parks at 100
percent; 2) survey development areas in all parks at 100
percent; and 3) sample cnough of large parks to be able to

@ cin: the time periods and cultural groups relative to

he different environmental zones in each of these parks.
These goals are influenced by management priority
setting.

Management Priority Factors

Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program Priority
Factors are neither weighted nor listed in a particular
priority order. The seven management priority factors
are:

1. Schedules for inventory are coordinated with sched-
ules for development or revision of park planning
documents (General Management Plan, Management
Plan, Development Concept Plan, Interpretive
Prospectus). The inventory should precede the
planning effort by enough time so that the archeologi-
cal data and reports are available for the planners.

2. Park areas that have suffered from, or are likely to be
threatened by, the destructive effects of natural
processes or human activities are assigned a high
priority for archeological inventory.

3. Development zones and special use zones within a
park should be assigned a high priority for archeologi-

r cal inventory.
4. Historic zones within parks and entire park units that

by statute are automatically listed in the National
Register of Historic Places, are National Historic

Landmarks, or have World Heritage listing because of
their archeological or historical importance, should be.
signed a high priority for archeological inventory.

5. Archeological inventory projects that address research

questions, problems, topics, priorities of state, re-

gional, or national importance should be assigned a

high priority.

6. Park areas lacking virtually any information about
presence or absence of archeological resources should
be assigned a high priority for preparation of informed
Archeological Overview and Assessment.

7. The priority of an archeological inventory project
should include the potential presence of archeological
resources and the likelihood of being able to locate or
discover archeological resources.

In addition to these priority factors, it is of utmost
important that ance a National Archeological Systemwide
Inventory project has been initiated that funding be
provided for its successful completion. A second special
consideration would be projects that are politically or
strategically sensitive.

Classifying the Rocky Mountain
Cluster Projects

Priority sctting for the next five years (1997-2001) of
project funding in the Rocky Mountain Cluster is based
on a number of factors related to both archeological and
management issues (see Table 4:1). The top projects for
funding focused upon seven parks that have minimal
databases, and impacts and/or pending planning efforts,



8 Description of Park Lands

Ease of Access Number Park Units

Limited Accessibility Problems 8 BEOL, CURE, DETO, FLFO, FOLA, GRKO, GRSA,
LIBI

Wilderness Designation or Proposed Wilderness 4 GLAC, GRTE, ROMO, YELL

Remote, Special Transport Required for Some Areas 7
Access Through Private Land

BICA, BLCA, GLAC, GRTE, JODR, ROMO, YELL
BICA, ROMO

Land Ownership within the Parks

Land ownership of lands within park unit legislated
boundaries varies widely in the Rocky Mountain Cluster
(sce Table 1:3). Fewer than one-third of the park areas
are entirely National Park Service owned. Lands may be
owned by National Park Service with the original owners
reserving the right of use for a number of years or for
their lifetime. Other {federal landholders within desig-
nated park units and within the Department of Interior
include the Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of
Reclamation. State, city, and county governments and
local utilities hold titles to some Jands within NPS
boundaries. Private lands and patented mining claims
exist within some designated NPS units.

Neighboring Government
Landholdings

The list of federal landholders includes the Depart-
ment of Agriculture (U.S.D.A. Forest Service), the
Department of Interior (United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of
Reclamation), and the Department of Defense.
Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks have
common boundaries, and the John D. Rockefeller
Memorial Parkway resides in the interior of the Grand
Teton National Park. Yellowstone National Park is
predominately in Wyoming with small portions in
Montana and Sdaho, while Bighorn Canyon is in Montana
and Wyoming.

Table 1:2. Ease of accessibility of park units.
|

American Indian reservations are found in the vicinity
of a number of park units. The Crow Reservation abuts
Bighorm Canyon, and Glacicr shares a common boundary
with the Blackfeet Reservation. Other reservations are
near park units. County and city governments also
manage lands near park units. Many of the NPS park
units are bounded by privately owned lands or have
privately owned inholdings.

Nature of Physical Environment

The physical environment of the park units in the
Rocky Mountain Cluster is highly variable (see Table

_ 1:4). Park units range from the high plains to mountain

tops (Fig. 3), as well as intermountain basins and plains
on either side of the Continental Divide. Many of the
park units were established to protect unique cnviron-
mental and ecological zones and geological features.
Physical features such as slope, ground cover, and
vegetation density have dircct implications for archeo-
logical investigations and interpretation. Steep terrain in
canyons, river valleys, and mountainous areas makes
access to these areas dangerous and survey challenging.
Dense ground cover in plains grasslands and conifer and
tropical forests compromise ground visibility and the
success of discovering inventory. Springtime runoff can
create hazardous conditions when attempting to access
survey areas. Summer snows as well as extreme sum-
mertime heat cannot be overlooked. In addition, high-
altitude mountainous areas may have extremely cold

Table 1:3. Land ownership in park units.

Land Ownership Category Number

Park Units

| All NPS Land/Property 6
More Than 90% NPS 5
Some NPS, Some Other 4

CURE, DETO, FLFO, JODR, LIBI, YELL
BLCA, FOLA, GLAC, GRSA, ROMO
BEOL, BICA, GRTE, GRKO