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Fremont Culture

Although it is on the eastern fringe of the area occupied by a people known to archaeology as the Fremont, Colorado is nevertheless important in the Fremont story, since clues to their origins and end are found there. Additionally, the presence of…

Mantle's Cave

Mantle’s Cave is the most important Fremont period archaeological site excavated in northwestern Colorado. Artifacts recovered from the cave were instrumental in defining the Fremont culture. Because the cave is dry, artifacts that are not usually seen…

Texas Creek Overlook Archaeological Site

The Texas Creek Overlook Archaeological Site is a picturesque Fremont masonry structure located on a sandstone pinnacle in the rugged canyons south of Rangely. In 1983 the overlook was excavated by Steven D. Creasman of Western Wyoming College in…

The Formative Period in Prehistory

The Formative is the last of several periods in a sequence of cultural development that traces the overall progression from stone-tool-using, hunter- gatherer societies to fully developed agricultural societies. The process that occurred is analogous to…

The Gateway Tradition

The Gateway tradition refers to a set of archaeological sites within western Montrose and San Miguel Counties, Colorado, that appear similar to Pueblo II–period (AD 900–1150) sites to the south in the core homeland of the Ancestral Puebloans (Figs. 1 and…