Ephemeral archaeology on the Mountain of the Sorrel Deer, Delta County, Colorado

302 Pages·1991·20.2 MB·English

BLM LIBRARY
United States Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
Colorado
EPHEMERAL ARCHAEOLOGY ON THE
MOUNTAIN OF THE SORREL DEER
Steven G. Baker
CULTURAL RESOURCE SERIES NUMBER 32
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EPHEMERAL ARCHAEOLOGY ON
THE MOUNTAIN OF THE SORREL DEER,
DELTA COUNTY, COLORADO
by
Steven G. Baker
Colorado State Office
Bureau of Land Management
U.S. Department of the Interior
Denver, Colorado
1991
BLM Library
Denver Federal Center
Bldg. 50, OC-521
RO. Box 25047
Denver, CO 80225
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EPHEMERAL ARCHAEOLOGY ON
THE MOUNTAIN OF THE SORREL DEER,
DELTA COUNTY, COLORADO
by
Steven G. Baker
Principal Investigator
CENTURIES RESEARCH, INC.
Montrose, Colorado
Originally Prepared for:
Colorado Westmoreland, Inc.
Paonia, Colorado
September 1, 1987
For Submission to:
Uncompahgre Resource Area
Bureau of Land Management
Montrose, Colorado
Colorado BLM Antiquities Permit
C-40159C (December 31, 1986)
CRI Project No. 382
CWI Contract No. CE-86-258
COPIES OF THIS DOCUMENT ARE AVAILABLE FROM:
Colorado State Office
Bureau of Land Management
2850 Youngfield Street
Lakewood, Colorado 80215-7076
or
Montrose District Office
Bureau of Land Management
2465 South Townsend Avenue
Montrose, Colorado 81401
THIS DOCUMENT IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND MAY BE QUOTED. IF PORTIONS OF
THIS WORK ARE USED, PLEASE CREDIT EITHER THE AUTHOR(S) AND/OR THE BUREAU
OF LAND MANAGEMENT.
Cover Photo: The Grand Mesa looking north across the Gunnison River
Bottoms, near Delta, Colorado. The Spanish explorers of the 18th
Century referred to Grand Mesa as La Sierra del Venado Alazan or The
Mountain of the Sorrel Deer or Elk. Photo courtesy of Ben Walker,
Delta, Colorado.
Series Production: Frederic J. Athearn
FOREWORD
Small, nondescript, ephemeral archaeological sites are often ignored, surficially examined,
and judged insignificant based upon a paucity of surface evidence. "Ephemeral Archaeology
on the Mountain of the Sorrel Deer, Delta County, Colorado", authored by Steven G. Baker,
clearly demonstrates how such sites, if appropriately addressed, can be important in
providing crucial information to regional prehistory.
In recent years the professional community has come to realize that the so-called proverbial
"lithic scatter" can be extremely important and upon closer scrutiny can often provide
valuable cultural and chronological information. These sites should not be just written off.
The Bureau of Land Management operates under a policy of avoiding all sites when possible,
even those sites perceived as insignificant.
This monograph is the culmination of ten years of study and cooperative teamwork between
Colorado Westmoreland Inc. and their affiliated Orchard Valley Coal Mine, the Bureau of
Land Management, and State Historic Preservation Office. This study culminated in the
excavation of two sites. The Ridge Site (5DT771), a presumed game drive and kill locality,
is considered a late Archaic or early Formative Stage site and is notable for the lithic
assemblage associated with butchering. Excavations at The Roatcap Game Trail site
(5DT271) included a Ute component consisting of a hearth and butchering area, a Formative
Stage brush structure and hearth, and a possible transitional Archaic/Formative Stage
component consisting of a use area with milling stones and hearth.
This monograph should prove to be a valuable resource in further studies in the region and
Baker is commended for recognizing the value of the seemingly unimportant lithic scatter.
Richard E. Fike
Bureau of Land Management
Montrose District
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Dedication
This volume is very humbly dedicated to the memories of my friends J. S. (Steve)
Sigstad (1939-1989) and Ronald J. (Ron) Schmitt (1937-1981) of the U.S. Forest Service.
Steve served as Regional Archaeologist for the Rocky Mountain Region of the USDA
Forest Service from 1976 until his death in 1989. Ron was Recreation Staff Officer on the
Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests from 1974 to 1977 and was in
charge of managing cultural resources prior to the time when the forests obtained their
own professional archaeological staff. My own early archaeological work in Western
Colorado brought me into a close working relationship with these two men and my first
local commercial efforts were conducted under their sponsorship. Although these
gentlemen both crossed over the Great Divide on an early and untimely schedule, they left
behind them a legacy of congeniality, professionalism and dedication in promoting the
conservation of Western Colorado's archaeological resources, including those of the Grand
Mesa. Together, these two men did much to shape the cultural resource management
profession in Colorado and with it, the livelihoods of many of today s practicing
archaeologists. This was not always a comfortable or popular mission for these gentlemen.
We should all be grateful to them.
Steve Baker
Montrose, Colorado
July, 1991
Ron Schmitt
Steve Sigstad
(1937-1981)
(1939-1989)
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