The Colorado Wickiup Project (CWP) has been conducting a program of context development, data assessment, and comprehensive field documentation of aboriginal wooden feature sites in the state since 2003. The project has been supported by History Colorado State Historical Fund (SHF) grants, with matching funds from the Bureau of Land Management, the USDA Forest Service, the National Park Service, and private contributions. These funds support the long-range effort to record, compile, and disseminate comprehensive documentation of Numic (Ute and Shoshone) wickiups and other aboriginal wooden features in the state.
In addition to the scientific reports generated by DARG research, and the ever-growing database produced by the investigations of the CWP, Principal Investigator Curtis Martin and Project Archaeologist Holly Shelton continue a public and professional outreach program to disseminate the results of the research regarding the last chapter of the state's sovereign Ute inhabitants. Along with Project Coordinator Rich Ott and DARG Director Carl Conner, they have produced and delivered numerous lectures, television and radio interviews, and slideshow presentations regarding the findins of the CWP to both the professional archaeological community and the public at large.
Wickiups and other aboriginal wooden features such as tree platforms and brush fences, although now rare, were once commonplace in Colorado. A majority of the surviving features can be associated with Ute culture and consequently represent the only surviving ephemeral architecture of the state's living indigenous peoples.
As of 2017, DARG has successfully completed seven phases of the CWP as competitive SHF grants and nine additional Archaeological Assessment Grants with matching funds from the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Forest Service, the National Parks Service, and private contributors. As a result of that work, the CWP has documented 464 wooden features on 99 sites to the comprehensive standards established by the project for preservation of the information contained in the features. Of these, 254 are wickiups or other forms of shelter, including possible tipi frames (8), one-sided lean-tos (5), flat-roofed ramadas or sun shades (1), and canvas wall tents (3). In addition to the insights gained pertaining to these ephemeral structures themselves, the research has significantly broadened the understanding of the last decades of Numic (Ute and Shoshone) occupation in Colorado. The project investigations have addressed a number of critically-relevant research questions concerning the Protohistoric and early Historic Eras in Colorado, and the archaeology of the Ute, Shoshone, Comanche, Arapaho, and other Colorado tribes. Wooden feature sites hold important archaeological data that provide new insights not only regarding the relatively recent protohistoric and historic Native architects of these last remaining structures, but of the prehistoric peoples whose wooden shelters and other features have vanished from the archaeological landscape.
Through the use of dendrochronology, metal detection, and historic trade ware artifact seriation, previous studies by the CWP have dated wooden feature sites in western Colorado from 1795 to 1916CE. Only a fraction of these protohistoric/historic expedient wooden features remain on the landscape, and of these, only a portion have been identified or thoroughly documented. It is likely that numerous aboriginal wooden features and their locations remain undiscovered by the archaeological community, and are known only to the few individuals who have come across these structures fortuitously, if at all.
Archaeological records identify more than 330 "wickiup" sites in Colorado, reporting approximately 800 ephemeral shelters and other wooden features
Most of the sites are located in west central and northwestern Colorado, on the Uncompahgre Plateau and along the Colorado River and White River drainages
Most of the sites are considered to be historic Ute (Nuche) seasonal camps dating from the mid- to late-nineteenth century
Many White River and Uncompahgre Utes living today on reservation lands in Utah remain culturally and spiritually connected to their ancestral Colorado homelands where these sites are located
Wickiup sites provide important archaeological information regarding a number of research questions about not only the Protohistoric and Early Historic Eras, but also about the Prehistoric peoples who came before. The tree-ring dating of these wooden features, and the associated artifacts, have provided unprecedented information about the last chapter of the sovereign Utes in western Colorado, with off-reservation sites dating well into the Twentieth Century.
A majority of the sites recorded by the CWP have been recommended as eligible for placement on the National Register of Historic Place (NRHP) due to the fragile and ephemeral nature of the structures, the relative lack of detailed documentation and study of such resources, and their significant potential to yield valuable information regarding the prehistory and early history of Colorado’s aboriginal cultures. Documentation, protection, and preservation of these resources is paramount.
Colorado Wickiup Project Series Publications
The Colorado Wickiup Project Volume I: Context, Data Assessment, and Strategic Planning. Prepared by Curtis Martin, Richard Ott, and Nicole Darnell, 2005.
Abstract: In 2004, Dominquez Archaeological Research Group, Inc. (DARG) began conducting a comprehensive documentation and information sharing project for all known Protohistoric/Historic aboriginal wooden structures in the state of Colorado. Called the Colorado Wickiup Project, the initial goals of the study were to: 1) compile and synthesize existing archaeological records for wickiup sites and locales, 2) assess data quality and identify research and data gaps, 3) recommend best practices for recording ephemeral wooden features, and 4) recommend future research directions and preservation strategies for aboriginal wooden structure sites. DARG began the first phase of the Colorado Wickiup Project (CWP) funded by a grant from the Colorado Historical Society's State Historical Fund and matching support from the Bureau of Land Management and private sponsors. The scope of the project included context development, data compilation and assessment, field tests of a documentation model, and future research planning. Work was conducted from spring 2004 to spring 2005.
Volume I, edited for general release, is available here:
The Colorado Wickiup Project Volume II: Cultural Resources Class II Reconnaissance Inventory for the Gunnison Gulch Area of Mesa County, Colorado. Prepared by Curtis Martin, Carl E. Conner, and Nicole Darnell, 2005.
Abstract: Dominquez Archaeological Research Group (DARG) was awarded a grant in 2004 from the Colorado State Historical Fund with matching funds from the Bureau of Land Management to begin the first phase of a comprehensive, long-range project to document ephemeral and endangered aboriginal wooden structures and features throughout Colorado. The purposes of this work are to conduct a series of field reconnaissance and documentation projects involving known, but insufficiently recorded Protohistoric/Historic aboriginal wickiup locales, and to establish, implement, and field test a hypothetical model for the mitigation documentation of wickiups and other wooden structures. The Gunnison Gulch Cultural Resources Class II Reconnaissance Inventory is the first of these field projects.
Volume II, edited for general release, is available here:
The Colorado Wickiup Project Volume III: Recordation and Re-evaluation of Twelve Aboriginal Wooden Structure Sites in Eagle, Garfield, Mesa, and Rio Blanco Counties, Colorado. Prepared by Curtis Martin, Richard Ott, and Nicole Darnell, 2006.
Abstract: The Colorado Wickiup Project (CWP) is a comprehensive effort to document aboriginal wooden structures and features known to exist in significant numbers in Colorado. In 2005 and 2006, Phase III of the project recorded and compiled data from twelve sites in Eagle, Garfield, Mesa, and Rio Blanco Counties. The scope of these sites ranged from single wickiups and tree platforms to a village containing 43 wooden features. A total of 81 wooden structures and other wooden features were recorded. Several new types of wooden features were identified among these sites, as were some newly recognized patterns within known structure types, including: low tree platforms, axe-split/shaped "boards", a storage "shelf", and a number of wickiups with integrated "utility" poles. In response to these findings, recording protocols were refined during the course of field work and the Aboriginal Wooden Feature Component Form was adapted to facilitate recording of these new data types. Partial funding for this project was provided by the Colorado Historical Society State Historical Fund (Project #2006-M1-013) and the Bureau of Land Management.
Volume III, edited for general release, is available here:
The Colorado Wickiup Project Volume IV Part I: Recordation and Re-evaluation of Twenty-seven Aboriginal Wooden Feature Sites in Garfield, Mesa, Moffat and Rio Blanco Counties, Colorado. Prepared by Curtis Martin Part II: Ute Culture History and an Assessment of NRHP Eligibility for the Yellow Creek Archaeological District. Prepared by Richard Ott, 2009.
Abstract: In 2007, as Phase IV of the Colorado Wickiup Project (CWP), Dominquez Archaeological Research Group (DARG) recorded and compiled data from 27 sites in Garfield, Mesa, Moffat and Rio Blanco Counties. A total of 92 wooden structures and other wooden features were recorded. A primary goal of the project was to evaluate selected sites in the Yellow Creek drainage in Rio Blanco County to aid in the assessment of the area's potential eligibility for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places as an archaeological district, multiple property, or other designation. Fourteen sites in the Yellow Creek Study Area were re-visited and 70 aboriginal wooden features were recorded. Project findings included several newly recognized wooden feature types, a variety of historic trade goods, and newly recognized patterns in feature inter-relationships. This report includes an overview of the Colorado Wickiup Project results to date, descriptions and evaluations of all aboriginal wooden feature sites recorded in 2007, a discussion of National Register potential for the Yellow Creek study area, and recommendations for future research and management of aboriginal wooden feature sites. Funding for the project was provided by the Colorado Historical Society State Historical Fund and by the Bureau of Land Management.
Volume IV, edited for general release, is available here:
The Colorado Wickiup Project Volume V: Test Excavation of The Ute Hunters' Camp (5RB563) and the Documentation of Five Additional Aboriginal Wooden Feature Sites in Rio Blanco County, Colorado. Prepared by Curtis Martin, Michael Brown and Carl E. Conner, 2010.
Abstract: In 2008 and 2009, as Phase V of the Colorado Wickiup Project, Dominquez Archaeological Research Group, Inc (DARG) recorded and compiled data from six sites on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in Rio Blanco County, Colorado. The scope of the recorded sites ranged from a single one-pole utility rack (5RB64) to a village consisting of 12 wooden features (5RB4543). A total of 21 structures and other wooden features were documented. This report includes descriptions and evaluations of all aboriginal wooden feature sites recorded during Phase V, an overview of the Colorado Wickiup Project results to date, and recommendations for future research and management of aboriginal wooden feature sites throughout the state. A discussion of the National Register potential for the Yellow Creek Study Area as a whole was presented as Part II of the Phase IV report, and additional data in support of this assessment is presented in this volume. Pertinent results from independent off-project work at three sites are also discussed in this report, including 5ME974; 5ME16097, the Horsethief Creek Structural Clearing site; and 5RB509, the Perforated Can Site. Data from these sites are included in the summary data for the project. Partial funding for this project was provided by the Colorado Historical Society State Historical Fund. Additional funding was provided by the Bureau of Land Management.
Volume V, edited for general release, is available here:
The Colorado Wickiup Project Volume VI: Test Excavation of The Black Canyon Ramada (5DT222) and the Documentation of Four Additional Premier Aboriginal Wooden Feature Sites in Colorado. Prepared by Curtis Martin, Michael J. Brown and John E. Lindstrom, 2011.
Abstract: The Colorado Wickiup Project (CWP) is a comprehensive effort to document aboriginal wooden shelters and other features in Colorado. In 2009 and 2010, as Phase VI of the project, Dominquez Archaeological Research Group, Inc (DARG) recorded and compiled data from five sites in Colorado on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in Delta, Eagle, Mesa, and Moffat Counties, and on United States Forest Service (USFS) lands in Saguache County. The sites ranged from a habitation site with a single wooden ramada (5DT222) to a wickiup village consisting of 28 wooden features (5EA2740). A total of 53 wickiups, tipis, and other wooden features were documented. In addition to several types of wooden features that had not been previously documented by the CWP, new categories of trade goods were also encountered and significant advances were made regarding our ability to date wooden feature sites within a very few decades based on artifact assemblages alone (even without the verification of tree-ring dates).
Volume VI, edited for general release, is available here:
The Colorado Wickiup Project Volume VII: Documentation of Selected Ephemeral Wooden Feature Sites in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Prepared by Curtis Martin, John E. Lindstrom and Holly Shelton, DARG. 2012 (165 pages).
Abstract: The Colorado Wickiup Project (CWP) is a comprehensive effort to document wickiups and other ephemeral aboriginal wooden features in Colorado, which are primarily attributable to the Ute. The CWP has documented 406 wooden features (wickiups, tree platforms, etc.) on 78 sites. The findings have provided new insights into the final decades of the state’s Native American occupants, including extensive evidence of post-1880s off-reservation occupation. In 2010 and 2011, as Phase VII of the project, Dominquez Archaeological Research Group, Inc. (DARG) compiled data from 22 sites in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) in Larimer County, Colorado. Fifteen of these consist of revisits to previously recorded sites and seven are newly discovered sites found during searches for previously known resources. Eight additional previously recorded wooden feature sites were searched for but not located. A total of 36 wooden features were recorded on 20 of the documented sites that are considered of, or potentially of, Native American construction including 13 wickiups, ten cultural pole caches, five utility poles and racks, two lean-to shelters, two culturally modified trees, two firewood caches, a brush animal trap, and a windbreak. Two of the previously recorded sites were located but did not contain wooden features. In addition, four newly discovered structures consist of ephemeral wooden features of obvious historic or modern construction that have been chronicled herein merely for comparative and narrative purposes.
Volume VII, edited for general release, is available here:
Summary of Assessment Grants and Related Research
2003 - Colorado Wickiup Project: Archaeological Assessment of Rifle Wickiup Village (5GF308) in Garfield County, Colorado Prepared by Brian O'Neil, Carl E. Conner, Barbara J. Davenport, and Richard Ott
Abstract: The goals of this project were to organize, synthesize, and summarize the known data from the site, assess its present condition, and evaluate its potential to contribute additional significant scientific information. The results of the site assessment indicate that the Rifle Wickiup Village (5GF308) is a multi-component fall/early winter hunting camp or residential locality composed of the remnants of 80 structural features, possible remnants of habitations, or pole features used in other activity sets. Test excavations were conducted in 1982, 1986, and 1996 and produced a substantial quantity of large mammal bone fragments, many with green breaks from breaking the long bones for marrow. At present, the assemblage indicates a focus on hunting and food preparation, along with hide preparation and tool maintenance, but very little tool manufacture and few indications of plant processing. The primary cultural affiliations appear to be in the Protohistoric Era Canalla Phase (A.D. 1100 - 1650), and Historic Ute, Antero Phase (A.D. 1650 - 1881).
2007 - Sand Wash Wickiup Survey: Phase I: A Class III Cultural Resources Inventory in Moffat County, Colorado. Prepared by Curtis Martin, Principal Investigator, Richard Ott, Project Coordinator, and Nicole Darnell, GIS Specialist for the Bureau of Land Management Little Snake Field Office.
Abstract: During the past three years (2004-2007) the BLM Little Snake Field Office (LSFO) has worked to revise their Resource Management Plan (RMP). As part of this process the South Sand Wash OHV area was identified under Alternative C (the preferred alternative). This action would effectively concentrate OHV users in the South Sand Wash area, possibly placing known and potential cultural resources at risk, including archaeology site, 5MF2631, an open architecture (wickiups) site previously determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). A Class III cultural resource inventory totaling 670 acres in the South Sand Wash OHV area was conducted during Spring 2007, including re-evaluation of 5MF2631. Project inventory areas were selected for favorable potential for aboriginal wooden structure sites. The inventory was conducted by Dominquez Archaeological Research Group, Inc. (DARG), which has expertise in wickiup site survey and recording developed through its on-going Colorado Wickiup Project. Nine sites and 28 isolated finds were newly recorded during the project, and are described in this report. Three of the newly identified sites were field evaluated as eligible for NRHP nomination, notably including 5MF6404.1 and 5MF6408, both of which may have significant research potential from possible historic Ute animal control features (bush drift fence sections, and brush and wire corral). Current impacts to cultural surface features and subsurface deposits from OHV activities were documented during the inventory, and management recommendations for mitigating potential future impacts on eligible sites are described in this report.
2010 - A Further Assessment of 5EA2740, The Pisgah Mountain Wickiup Village (5EA2740), Eagle County, Colorado. Prepared by Curtis Martin, Principal Investigator, and Michael J. Brown with contributions by Nicole Darnell, GIS Specialist, and John E. Lindstrom for the History Colorado State Historical Fund (Project No. 2010-AS-04).
Abstract: The Colorado Wickiup Project (CWP) is a comprehensive project to document aboriginal wooden shelters and other wooden features known to exist in significant numbers in Colorado. In 2009 and 2010, as Phase VI of the project (SHF Grant #2010-MI-041), Dominquez Archaeological Research Group, Inc (DARG) recorded and compiled data from five sites in Colorado on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U. S Forest Service lands. One of these sites was 5EA2740, the Pisgah Mountain Wickiup Village—a wickiup village consisting of 28 wooden features and sub-features. Due to the number and complexity of such features at Pisgah, and the large number of metal artifacts encountered during the initial documentation of the site, further funds were sought, and granted, in the form of State Historical Fund Archaeological Assessment Grant No. 2010-AS-04. Additional funding was provided by the Bureau of Land Management (Assistance Agreement No. LO9AC15861-0013).
In addition to the features, numerous individual portable artifacts, were recorded. Although lithic debitage and tools, groundstone, a wooden artifact, and glass seed beads were found, a majority of the recovered specimens were metal. A total of 116 individual field specimens (FSs) were collected and analyzed including 21 dendrochronological dating samples from metal ax-cut feature elements and ax-cut tree stumps. A number of types of both wooden features and portable trade-ware artifacts not previously documented by the CWP were encountered at Pisgah. However, what distinguishes 5EA2740 as an exceptional Protohistoric site is the undisturbed nature and integrity of the cultural resources.
The project report, edited for general release, is available here:
2012 - An Archaeological Assessment of the Colorow Gulch Wickiups (5RB2968), in Rio Blanco County, Colorado. Prepared by Curtis Martin, Principal Investigator, and Holly Shelton and John E. Lindstrom, Project Archaeologists for History Colorado State Historical Fund Project (2013-AS-002) and the Bureau of Land Management White River Field Office
Abstract: Dominguez Archaeological Research Group and the Colorado Wickiup Project, by means of a research grant from History Colorado State Historical Fund (Project #2013-AS-002) and contributions from Grand River Institute, conducted an archaeological assessment and archival level documentation of the Colorow Gulch Wickiups site (5RB2968). The site is a historic Numic village located north of the White River about midway between Meeker and Rangely, in Rio Blanco County, Colorado. It was first recorded by the Bureau of Land Management in 1975, and was fenced for protection from livestock in 1976. The site contains the remains of nine expedient aboriginal wooden features clustered in two loci. Diagnostic artifacts were mapped and collected that appear to indicate an occupation roughly between the 1830s and the 1860s.
2013 - An Archaeological Assessment of Selected Aboriginal Wooden Feature Sites Known to George Decker. Prepared by Curtis Martin, Principal Investigator, Holly Shelton, Project Archaeologist, and George Decker, Project Lead for the History Colorado State Historical Fund (Project No. 2012-AS-013), the Bureau of Land Management Colorado State Office and the White river National Forest
Abstract: The Colorado Wickiup Project (CWP) is a comprehensive effort to document aboriginal wooden shelters and other features in Colorado. In 2012, as a State Historical Fund Archaeological Assessment Grant, Dominquez Archaeological Research Group, Inc. (DARG) accompanied Grand Junction resident George Decker to the location of five wooden feature sites in west central Colorado in an effort to compile fundamental documentation of the sites and individual features for the purpose of ascertaining the resources’ current condition, eligibility, and potential for future research. The project recorded and compiled data from five sites on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and United States Forest Service (USFS) lands in Delta and Mesa Counties. The sites ranged from a timber windbreak, to three isolated wickiups, to a habitation site consisting of a cluster of three wickiups. Additionally, a semi-circular rock alignment was recorded that possibly indicates the former location of a second wickiup. All of the sites are newly recorded with the exception of 5ME15003, the Little Alkali Creek Wickiups.
2016 - Documentation of Selected Ephemeral Wooden Features in Colorado National Monument, Mesa County, Colorado Prepared for National Park Service, Colorado National Monument and the Colorado National Monument Association. Prepared by Carl Conner (Archaeologist), Masha Conner (Photographer and Graphic Artist), Barbara Davenport, (Archaeologist) and Nicole Inman (Historian) in association with the Ute Trails of Colorado Project for the National Park Serivce Colorado National Monument Resources Division and the Colorado National Monument Association.
Abstract: At the request of Colorado National Monument archaeologist Matthew Marques, Dominquez Archaeological Research Group, Inc. conducted supplemental documentation of previously recorded wooden features found at four sites in the Colorado National Monument. These structures are located in sites: 5ME60, 5ME13174, 5ME20741 and 5ME20779. Field work consisted of a review of the sites’ attributes, detailed mapping of the wooden structural features, and photographing those features with a high quality digital camera. For two of the revisited sites where conical features were recorded (5ME60 and 5ME20741), 3D reconstructions were made of the collapsed wooden features.
The project report, edited for general release, is available here:
2016 - Archaeological Assessment of the Grand Lodge (5MN1519) and 5MN10514 Wickiup Sites in Montrose County, Colorado. Prepared by Curtis Martin, Principal Investigator and Holly Shelton, Project Archaeologist for the History Colorado State Historical Fund (Project No. 2014-AS-005) and the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forest
Abstract: Dominquez Archaeological Research Group and the Colorado Wickiup Project, by means of a research grant from History Colorado State Historical Fund (Project #2014-AS-005) conducted an archaeological assessment and archival level documentation of the Grand Lodge site (5MN1519), a Protohistoric/early Historic Ute village located on the Uncompahgre Plateau, in Montrose County, Colorado. The site was first recorded by the U. S. Forest Service and the San Juan Basin Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society in 1982. The site contains the remains of 11 to 13 expedient aboriginal wooden features. Metal detection and an intensive search for ax cut feature poles were unproductive. At the advice of Forest Service archaeologists, Scott Keene and Leigh-Ann Hunt, an additional isolated wickiup to the north of 5MN1519 was also documented and assigned resource number 5MN10514.
2016 - An Archaeological Assessment of the Windger Flats Drift Fence (5ME14198), in Mesa County, Colorado. Prepared by Curtis Martin, Principal Investigator, and Holly Shelton, Project Archaeologist for the History Colorado State Historical Fund (Project No. 2015-AS-004) and the Bureau of Land Management White River Field Office
Abstract: Dominquez Archaeological Research Group and the Colorado Wickiup Project, by means of a research grant from History Colorado State Historical Fund (Project #2015-AS004) conducted an archaeological assessment of the Windger Flats Drift Fence site (5ME14198). The site consists of an animal control timber drift fence located to the south of the rim of Plateau Creek Canyon, in Mesa County, Colorado. The extreme southern end of the resource was initially recorded by Kae McDonald in 2004 as a part of a cultural resource inventory for the Bureau of Land Management. The current project, documenting only those segments of the fence located on BLM and Nichols’ properties, has extended the fence significantly to the north and northwest to a total length of 3.05km.
Although chipped stone artifacts were noted along the length of the fence, no diagnostic artifacts were found other than a possible associated hole-in-top can fragment. Tree-ring dates from a portion of the fence on private property appear to indicate that the feature was constructed during the winter of 1896/1897 at a time when both Euro-Americans and Utes were present in the area. Ute wickiups have been tree-ring dated to the period from the late eighteenth century to the first two decades of the twentieth century; however, at this late date in west central Colorado it appears unlikely that the Utes would have been maintaining large herds of horses. Conversely, the site’s apparent association with wickiup site 5ME6674 suggests that the fence is of protohistoric to historic Ute construction for the purpose of controlling horse herds. Consequently, neither of these cultural groups can be excluded as potential creators of the animal control feature.
2016 - Archaeological Assessment of Wickiup Sites 5ME470 and 5ME6674 in Mesa County, Colorado. Prepared by Holly Shelton, Project Archaeologist and Curtis Martin, Principal Investigator, March 2016. Completed for Colorado Historical Society State Historical Fund (Project No. 2015-AS-001)
Abstract: Dominquez Archaeological Research Group and the Colorado Wickiup Project, by means of a research grant from History Colorado State Historical Fund (Project #2015-AS-001) conducted an archaeological assessment of 5ME470, the Big Wash Site, a Late Prehistoric to early Historic era Ute habitation site and of 5ME6674, the Windger Flats Wickiup Site, a Protohistoric/early Historic Ute habitation site; both located on the Grand Mesa, in Mesa County, Colorado. Field work was conducted between April 22 and November 2, 2015. Site 5ME470, the Big Wash Wickiup Site, was first recorded in 1974 by Archaeological Associates, Inc., for the Bureau of Land Management Grand Junction Field Office. Site 5ME6674, the Windger Flats Wickiup Site, was first recorded for the Bureau of Land Management Grand Junction Field Office by Alpine Archaeological Consultants, Inc. in 1991. The Big Wash Wickiup Site contains the remains of seven expedient aboriginal wooden features and the Windger Flats Wickiup site consists of three expedient aboriginal wooden features, two modern wooden features, and two historic rock alignments. A culturally modified tree and associated stone chiseled wooden planks were present at 5ME470 and ax- cut feature poles and metal fragments were present at 5ME6674. No artifacts or specimens were collected.
2017 - Archaeological Assessment of 5MN41, The Lee Ranch Wickiup Village, in Montrose County, Colorado. Prepared by Curtis Martin, Principal Investigator and Holly Shelton, December 2017. Completed for the Colorado Historical Society State Historical Fund (Project No. 2017-AS-002).
Abstract: The Colorado Wickiup Project (CWP) and Dominguez Archaeological Research Group, by means of a grant from the History Colorado State Historical Fund (Project #2017-AS-002) conducted an archaeological assessment of site 5MN41 in west central Colorado that was initially documented by William Buckles in 1962 as a part of the University of Colorado’s Ute Prehistory Project. This is the third of three SHF assessment grants established in order to revisit and assess protohistoric Ute wickiup sites originally documented by Buckles in the 1960s. Only the remnants of two highly disturbed aboriginal wooden features were found on the site by the current project, and it remains unclear as to which of the eight to 15 wickiups mentioned by Buckles are represented by these features. The remainder of the wickiups are no longer in evidence as a result of their deterioration over the past 5½ decades and extensive modern tree-felling throughout the site area. Aboriginal Wooden Feature Component forms have been completed for three of the now missing wickiups—based on descriptions, photographs, and illustrations provided in Buckles’ Ph.D. thesis (1971). Metal detection resulted in the discovery of a deformed lead bullet that is possibly associated with the Ute occupation at the site. Also collected were tree-ring samples from the rediscovered features, which failed to produce dates.
2017 - Archaeological Assessment of the Monitor Mesa Wickiup Site, 5MN42, in Montrose County, Colorado. Prepared by Curtis Martin, Principal Investigator, and Holly Shelton for the History Colorado State Historical Fund (Project No. 2016-AS-010) and the Bureau of Land Management Uncompahgre Field Office
Abstract:The Colorado Wickiup Project (CWP) and Dominguez Archaeological Research Group, by means of a grant from the History Colorado State Historical Fund (Project #2016- AS-010) conducted an archaeological assessment of site 5MN42 in west central Colorado that was initially documented by William Buckles in 1962 as a part of the University of Colorado’s Ute Prehistory Project. This is one of three SHF assessment grants established in order to revisit and assess wickiup sites originally documented by Buckles in the 1960s. The site consists of a temporary Ute campsite. Although neither of the two wickiups recorded by Buckles could be located by the current project—as a result of their deterioration over the past 5½ decades—two previously unrecorded aboriginal wooden features were encountered and documented. Aboriginal Wooden Feature Component forms have been completed not only for the newly-recorded features, but for Buckles’ two wickiups as well—based on descriptions, photographs, maps, and illustrations provided in his Ph.D. thesis (1971). Metal detection resulted in the discovery of a .40 caliber bullet lead possibly associated with the Ute occupation of the site. Also collected were tree-ring samples from the newly recorded features, which failed to produce dates. Studies by the CWP suggest that the wooden features at the site are of protohistoric to historic Ute construction.
2018 - An Archaeological Assessment of William Buckles; Wickiup Sites 5MN44 and 5MN65 in Montrose County, Colorado. Prepared by Curtis Martin, Principal Investigator, Holly Shelton, Geoff Peterson, and Robbyn Ferris for the History Colorado State Historical Fund (Project No. 2017-AS-001) and the Bureau of Land Management Uncompahgre Field Office
Abstract: The Colorado Wickiup Project and Dominquez Archaeological Research Group, by means of a grant from the History Colorado State Historical Fund (Project #2017-AS001) conducted an archaeological assessment of sites 5MN44 and 5MN65, located on Bureau of Land Management Uncompahgre Field Office managed lands in west central Colorado, that were initially documented by William Buckles in 1962 and 1963 as a part of the University of Colorado’s Ute Prehistory Project. This is one of three SHF assessment grants established in order to revisit and assess wickiup sites originally documented by Buckles in the 1960s. The sites consist of temporary Ute campsites. Although the wickiup recorded by Buckles on site 5NM44 could not be located by the current project—as a result of its deterioration over the past 5½ decades—5MN65 was located and extensively documented. An Aboriginal Wooden Feature Component form was completed not only for the still-standing feature at 5MN65, but for the missing wickiup at 5MN44 as well—based on the description, photograph, map, and illustrations provided in Buckles’ Ph.D. thesis (1971). Additionally, due to its uniqueness and remarkable state of preservation, Feature 1 at 5MN65—which we have named the William Buckles Wickiup—was thoroughly recorded using what has become known by the Wickiup Project as a “Full Tea House” level of documentation, including color-coded plan and elevation views and a pole-by-pole table of wooden element attributes.
2020 - Data Retrieval from Sites 5RB4558 and 5RB8902 for the Proposed Strawberry Creek and Grand Hogback Land Sale in Garfield and Rio Blanco Counties, Colorado. Prepared by Carl E. Conner, Principal Investigator, Barbara Davenport, Nicole Inman, and Courtney Groff for the Bureau of Land Management White River Field Office and White River Lodge
Abstract:This project was undertaken to mitigate the adverse effects of a proposed land sale on two prehistoric camp sites (5RB4558 and 5RB8902) located in the Strawberry Creek area of Northwest Colorado. These sites were determined eligible as part of a 2018 inventory. A research design for the mitigation of the sites was prepared by Lukas W. Trout, Archaeologist for the Bureau of Land Management’s White River Field Office. The research emphasis and the objectives outlined in that design were two-fold: (1) archaeological and environmental data recovery and description, and (2) the synthesis and interpretation of the recovered archaeological materials.
Fieldwork for the data recovery occurred between May 1st and June 15th 2020. Thermal features were excavated at each site, and provided radiocarbon data of the their occupation during the same period about 1700 years ago. Macrobotanical samples gathered from the hearth features provided information about the season of occupation and the plants being used. Pollen samples indicated plants growing in the surrounding landscape and implied conditions of a wet environment present during that period. Fire-altered rocks recovered from the feature at 5RB4558 were subjected to protein analyses and indicated the cooking of lean meat.
Excavation of the required 2x2-meter units around the thermal feature in 5RB8902 revealed post impressions of a surface habitation structure. Expansion of the excavation area into a 3x3-meter square revealed impressions of eight posts situated in a circular pattern twometers in diameter with an apparent doorway facing east – characteristics of a small, conical, post-framed lodge. It was apparently assembled just after or during a storm that softened the clayey surface soil so that post and other impressions were formed. Namely, the additional excavations also revealed several moccasin prints and a deer track preserved in the hardened clay of the structure’s floor.
This study has presented information that can be used to better identify cultural components of single- or several-component open camps. As well, it has provided evidence that radiocarbon dating of the small camps (and not comparative diagnostic analysis) is the only way to accurately determine the regional distribution of various cultural groups’ activities and thus glean some idea of their purpose.
The report, edited for general release, is available here:
