Utah Statewide Archaeological Society Newsletter, Volume 21, Number 1, March 1975

·OrutA~flAEOLOC!l A !WSL~1TE1t VOLUME 21

NO. 1

MARCH 1975

Hawaiian Petroglyph Bird-men Kukui Point, Lanai, Hawaii

Utah Archa.oloQ 1s diBtributed quarter17 to all lIIIUllbere of the Utah Statewide .lrchaeological Soo1eV •

.All correspoDdance hould be c1iz-.cted to the Bd1torl l10d Chapun, P. O. BCD: 47, w•• t Jol"dan, Utah 84084

NFW5LETTER UTAH STATEWIDE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

1974-75 President • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Jeff Herrick Vice President • • •

• • • • • • • • william Thompson

Recording Secretary.

. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . Mary Sewall

Treasurer ••

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Ruby Bowers

Chairman Rod Chapman RuJean Brunson Guida Herrick Ella Mae Loll Mary Sewall

Publications Committee •

EDITOR'S NOTE Having received no correspondence from those who receive this newsletter probably indicates that all is well and everyone is satisfied ••• I refuse to entertain the thought that the silence could be attributed to indifference.

I would like to thank the following for their willingness to contribute material for this issue: Alan R. Schroedl of the University of Utah Department of IInthropology; James H. Madsen, Jr. of the University of Utah Department of Geology; Donald Hague, Director of the University of Utah Museum of Natural History; and last, but not least, Dean Caldwell of the Lahontan Chapter.

Ploase toke a moment and drop your editor a nice not e on any field trips you have taken, great spots you found for surface hunts, or maybe even that secret spot where the wind continually bores perfect points. I promise not to tell a single soul, aside from our membership. • • Your Editor, Rod Chapman

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E XCAVAT !Ol\!

OF COWBOY CAVE

By Alan R. Schroedl Department of Anthropology, University of Utah . Between J~ne 7th and July 26th, 1975, tho Univers{ty of Utah Archaeological Field School, under the direction of Jesse D. Jennings, excavated Cowboy C<lve in southeastern Utah. This small sandstone cave is situated on an unnamed tributary of Horseshoo Can~on near the Maze Distririt of Canyo~lands National Park.

The ~ultural accumulation, ranging from 30 cm to more than one and a half meters thick, overlies a pink sterile sand which seals 0 30 to 60 cm thick layer of dung, tentativoly identified ~s bisdn dung. Tho dung is radiocarbon dated at 11,810 140 BP (UGa636)~ with the ba~al date of human occupation being 6830 ~ BP (UGa637) •

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The cultural dopcisits, consisting of as~, charcoal, fibe~6. can readily bo segregatod iMto throe componehts by ~aletivoly sterile pink windblown sand.

Component A,

grass chaff and matted sepatated from earih other the earliest, is composed of two ridges of midden deposits running parallel with tho cave walls. Those ridges resulted from the scooping of ash and debris from the habitation ~reas ne~t to the cave walls on both sides. The most distin~tive ortifacts from this component include twined or coarse warp-faced sandals of yucca and painted and incised pieces of sandstone, which suggest an affiliation with th~ Desha Complex, a pre-Basket~ maker Archaic adaption, found in the area around Navajo Mountain, Utah.

Component B is separated from A by a relatively ,thick layer of pink s~nd which may indicate a hiatus of an unknown time span. This component is also mostly trash and midden fill with the habita'tion area occurring in the more central aroa of the cave, rather than near tho walls. Sandals continUo ' to be found in this unit, as well as highly unusual split twig figurines. Praviously, these split twig figurines have been reported fro~ several cave sites, but most are without clear cultural context. The artifacts from Components nand B seem to suggest that t~ese two cultural units are associated with the Archaic of the ColQrodo Plateau. However, within Component B a cache of two skin bags containing about 5 kilograms of shelled corn wos recovered under excellent control. ' Component C also 'consists of ash, charcoal and midden material Lvi·th the imporaddition of a~ a r~nth seeds and a few corn cobs. This component is distinctly separated from Component B by another loyer of sterile pink sand. The artifact invento'ry including small projectile points, unfired clay objocts, cache pits, basketry, etc. mark this component as representative of a full-blown Basketmaker II complex. t ~ nt

It appears that this site will have some important implic ation for the Archaic tradition of the Colorado Plateau area.

~1arch

1975

USI\S NEWSLETTER

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UNIVERSITY OF

UT~H

COOPERATIVE DINOSAUR PROJECT

A' PROGRESS REPORT James H. Madson, Jr. ; and William Lee Stokes University of Utah TheUnivorsity of Utah Coop~rative Dinosaur Project was designod and implemontin the spring of 1960 by the authors. Fieldwork in the summers of 1960-65 rEl",:,,· sultod in a colloction of moro than 10,000 dinosaur bones, half of which were used _. to make up mounted skeletons for the 33 institutions contributing financial support ' . . _ to the project over a 12-year period. Of 49 spElcimens supplied, 27 are now mounted and on exhibit worldwide. Tho second or resoarch phase of the project . is now under way with the propbration and systematic arrangoment of the remaining 5,000 bones that comprise the Cloveland-LloYd research collection at the University of Utah.

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Background Based on tho premise that a continuing field operation could be financed more eaSily by a large number of institutions ~ather than ono or two in partnership, the authoTs organized and implemented the University of Utah Cooperative Dinosaur Project 1n ·t.,he spring 6f 1960. ~ '. ,

Fioldwork under tho direction of Professor Stokes was conducted during the summors of 1960 to 1965 in the Brushy Basiri Member of the UpPElr Jurassic Morrison For- . motion in, an area of extensive outcrop eight miles east of the town of Cleveland, Emory County, Utah. Tho p~ojoct's effort resulted in a total collection of bonos from tho site in excess of 10,000.

Since the Clo~e-Lloyd Qu~rry's designation as Q a Unitod States Notional Landmark in 1967 and tho construction of a visitor ce~tor by tho Unitod Statos Bureau of Land Managemont, no furthor excavations have b~en made. However, written agrcemEmt exists between tho ;UniV'ers,tty of Utah and the Buroau of Land Management .regarding future oxcavations at tho quarry and tontpt~ve plans have been discussod for ovontual devol'opment, of an in situ exhibit ,to, E1ugment tho displays in the visitor center.

The original concept of the project envisioned two successivo phasos: First, tho fiold and laboratory work roquired to meet commitments in tho form of mountElbl.o skeletons for tho 33 institutions which made financial contributions to tho project. and second~ J pra~aration and systematic arrangement of tho col~ection which would allow in-dop~h r ?soarch. Tho final conmitment for original material waS met in 1971~ A current census

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specimens ' supplied by the project is as follows: U. S. and Gonada

Specimons, in p8rt original .

Specimens, cast

24 7

Foreign 7

11 Total

Totcil 31 . ' 18 ,49 >,

Tho above figures do not include 9 specimens planned for future exhibition in the dinosaur group of the Utah Museum of Natural History on the University of Utah campus.

Of the total number of specimens prepared for shipment 27 are now mounted and on exhibit in museums around the world, and the remaining 22 are being considElred for futurEl exhibit or study. Approximately one half or more than 5,000 bones of the tot a l collection still remain at the University of Utah whore they are available Page 2

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MARCH 1975

COOPERATIVE DINOSAUR PROJECT (Continued) for study and research by students and faculty as well os scientists from other institutions now engaged in research on dinosaurs.

Research Collection Because of incomplete pteparation of part of the research collection, a comprehensive census of species ,is not possible at this writing. A tentative list of the vertebrate fauna by ordors is as follows: Saurischia Apatosaurus (Brontosaurus)?

Caniarasaurus sp.

Diplodocus?

Allosaurus fragilis (Antrodemus volens Ceratosaurus sp.

Coelurus (n. sp.?)

Ornithischi8 Stegos8urus stonops Stegos8urus sp.?

Camptosaul'us sp.

Unkhown sp. (probabiy assignable ,to Acanthopholidae) Crocodilia Goniopholis sp.

Chelonia GlyptoRs sp.

An app!'ais81 of the Sauropod bonos, propared and unprepared, ostablished the presElnco in the quarry of at loast five individuals of which only one genus, ÂŁillD.9ÂŁ-asaurus, is positivoly identified. Isolated CJnd fragmentod elements of SaUl'opods'. , can bo assigned to almost any of tho athol' described gell81'O known from tho Morrison Formation (ie., l\mphicoelias, Apatosaurus (Sront.oS<llll'IIS), Baros ~lurus~ 81'achiosmJrus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, and HaplocF.lntflosClul'us) ~ The obvious dilemma is that there appoar to bo fewer individuals than namos.

An interpretation of material assignablo to the order Ornithischia "must also await additional preparation and comparison with described specimens. Even so, specific determin utions will be guardod in view of the rathor confused state of t~e literaturo which includes five diffGrent species under the genus Stegosaurus alld flO: less than ten in the genus Camptosaurus.

The tAxonomical problem relevant to the Sauropods and Ornithischians may be attributed to soveral causes, including 0 paucity of comparativo mr.Jtorial, too litl;le ~Qg a rd of tho importance of sexual dimorphism and ontogenetic change, subtle distortion of elements attributed to geological activity following lithification, and most important, tho role of individual variation.

NOTE: Digging operations at tho Cloveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry were renewed during the summer of 1975. A six week Field School in Paleontology was conducted with 29 students participating from two schools--Utah State University (Logan) and University of Utah (Salt Lake City). Preparations weI'S mode and survey pegs wore laid for the construction of a coverod building which will shade the site for future digging operations and will mako digging possible over a longer number of months eoch yeoI'. Construction will begin in 1976. Visitors will then be able to watch the actual excavation of dinosaur bones. ~1(\RCH

1975

USflS NEWSLETTER

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MAN L IVED ~'1ERE 30,000 YEARS AGO

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(Reprinted from Salt Lake "Tribune" via New York :times Service)

All major land areas surrounding the Pacific, apart from South America and Antarctica, were settled by roon as early as 30,000 years agO--fsr eeHier than , many archaeologists had supposed--accordlng to reports to the Pacific Science Congress in Vancouver, British Columbia, last week. Even in Australia, isolated by the ' sea fdr the last 15 million years, man apparently was building fires as early as 40,00 y8arS ago. A de~~de ago, the oldest accepted dates for human settlement there were 8,700 years ago 8y J ' ,son years ago, according to the new reports, human beings had reached Patagonir. 'lear the southern tip of Sout,h America. ,They had thus compldted a slow l2,000-rni :, ' pr.nyression from Beringia--the region now largely submerged beneath the 8ering Sec ';~hat was above sea level during the ice ages. New datos were also reported for early mm in California, extending oven further into tho past the possible arrival of man there.

Last year Dr. Jeffrey L. Bada and his colleagues at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in LaJolla, California, reported establishing an ago of 48,000 years for one human specimen in a Los Angeles museum.

Last week Bada presented ages for 10 specimens that had bean found, at one timo or another~ in California from LaJolla, a suburb of San Diogo, north to Sunnyvale, just south of San Francisco Bay. The age of a specimen from the last-named site was put at 65,000 years. One from Los Angeles Mesa was 50,000 years old, throe others were in excoss of 44~OnO YAars mnd three IIor.El, morothan 30,000 years old. These ages are far groa~er th':Jn tllOSO of from IS,ooo ,fd 25,000 years traditionally given for man's first perietration eO'~th~vard from 8EJringia~ it was then, according to the established view, thg '; an ico·-freo corridor opened along what is now the valley of the Mackenzio Rival'.

J\t tho Vancouver meeting it was claar that a ,number of the archaeologists were uneasy about the older datos, although Bada detailed tho efforts mode by his group to narrow down tiny mlOlrgins ,of orror. The agoe ware obtainod by tht;;! so-called racomization moth ad. This records tho oxtent to which molecules of aspartic acid in a speciman havo altered thoir configurotion from tho form , that occurs in living bone . to its mirror image. Tho ' rate at ~hich this processocpurs is slow enough for it to bo used as a stop-watch in dotermining bone ages reckonod in tons of thousands of yoars.

It is therefore po~sible to calculate agos far groater than thoso obtained by the widely usSd measuremonts of radioactive carbon decoy. However, the rate of the r8cemization "clocl'=" is affoctod by such factors as temperat ure, and soma conferonco p€lrtid,pants questioned whether Bade had boen able adequately to corroct for thesa variables • .S o ~l et ar chaoologi sts , wh o s ubmitt ed papers but did not attend, reported evidence tha t t he Oiuktai peop l e of Siboria, with bifacial knives (stone blades workod on both, s ides ), and spoar and. dart points , moved into Beringia during a cooling )period between 30,000 and 35 ,000 yoars a go , in pursuit of mammoths.

The pos~ibility that a~ : ea~li9r human form, more akin to ' thaNoanderth Bl Man of Euro'pe, reached tho AmoricQs earlier was discussed but classed as uncertain. I '-' Kamchaika, Soviet archaoolo~ists have found sitos 10,000 and 14~000 years ~ld inhabited, they beliove, by the anc9sto~s of tho modern "Eskimos and Aleuts. (Continued) Page 4

USAS NEWSLETTER

MARCH 1975

MAN LIVED HERE 30,000 YEARS AGO (Continued) That hunters may have reached tho northw8st extremity of Canada as long as 31,000 years ago was proposed by Robson Bonnichsen of the U~iversity of Maino. In a paper read for him by 8 colleaguo, ho told of scroening some 14,000 Ice Age bonos recovered from Old Crow Basin, many of .hich he believed had ~een shaped into teols or weapons.

One, for fleshing hidos, was clearly of human workmanship, with symmetrically carved teoth. Skeptics proposed, howevor, that some of tho other apparent artifacts of great antiquity had beon ~roken, shapod or polished by natural events, The finds in Los Toldoat~vo, Patagonia, wore reported by Aug0stb Cardich of ~h8 National Univorsity of La Plata. Some ~er8 mode early this year. The oldes! level' wos 12,600 yoars, with horse bones at the 11,000 year levol.

Jose Luis Loronzo of the ~ational Institute. of History in Mexicp,reViewin~ tho evidonce from many sourcos, termod man's arrival in the Amoricas by at least 30,pOO ye~rs ago as woll-established. In an intdrviow, he said artifacts in Pikimachay~ the "Cave of tho Floas ll in Peru, clearly showed its occupation 14,000 years ago, IIprobablyll 16,000 ¡ymlrs ago and IIpossible ll 19,000 years ago.

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_,Across tho continent in Minas Gorais Provinco, Brazil, a French-Brazilian team has b"eori excavating a deposit under a rock sholtor that is 40 feot thick and larded with relics of occupation. Tho deepost level reached to da~o, DS yet undated, is seven foet below 8 lovel attributed to 9,500 years ago.

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UTAH MUSEUM OF NATURAL

HISTU~Y

UNCOVERS MAMMOTH _REMAINS

IN SANDY, UTAH ,

The remoins of a hugo mammoth worD discovered in late October of lost year in ,~r)uth Salt Lnkci County.

Tho skeleton was found when Ronald Griffin, an apnrtment !TI::lnager in 8s1t Lake, was digging betwoon two nportmD'nt buildings to install somo drainago pipes. Mr. Griffin rBcognizod tho significance of his find and reportod nis discovery to tho.stoto nrchaoologist, Dr. Davi~ B. Mndsen.

Mr. Goldon Muir, ownor of tho complox, gavo his permission for tho "dig" which was supervised by Dr. Madsen; who controlled the oxcavation until ho was cortain -- thnt thoro were no hu~an artifacts connoctod with tho find. Tho project was thon turnod ovor to Jarnos A. M~ds~nt Jr~, from tho Univ~rsity of Utah Department of Gcology and an adjunct curator of Palqontology for tho Utah Musoum of Natural History.

Tho'rosoarch twam from th~ Stato Antiquities soction, tho University of Utah, and tho Utah Mus~um ~f Natural History,'nlong with Voluntoors, spont ton day~~at the sito nnd colloctod botwoen 9n~-third and ono-half of tho animal's remains. Tho digging attractod 10,000 spoctotors during tho'ton dnys.

Romoins of prehistoric elephants hewe boon found¡ in all of Utah's 29 counties.

Those found havo boen eithor Columbian or Imperial Mammoths. Identified romains of the Woolly Mammoth and its dist~nt cous~n,-ih~ Mastodon, hsvo not beon confirmod in Utah to this data. Tho Sandy find mny provide evidenco for the presence of tho Woolly Mammoth in Utah. ' r The bones found at tho sita in Sandy, Utah are now nt the Utah Museum of Natural History wherD cleBning, inspoction and restoration is taking plsce. Bill Thompson, vice-prosidont of tho Utah Archeologicnl Socioty has boen assisting in this work on a volunteor basis.

The work has noLV roached the point whore the musoum staff is considoring a temporsry display for tho fall of 1975 according to Museum Director Donald Haguo. It will probsbly bo sovoral years beforo a pormamont display can be complotod providing, of course, that funds can bo obtained for such work.

Using stratigraphy as a guidelino, it has boon roughly estimated that tho mammoth is at 10nst 10,000 years old. Estimates sre that tho animal woighod about fivo tons and was botwoon oight and nine foot tall. Bits of bono and pollen analysis will help dotormino moro exactly when the beast lived. According to Mr. Hague, Carbon 14 tosts cnn determine within 200 yonrs either way tho ago of the bonos.

Tho Musoum is gratoful to Ronald Griffin for roporting his find and to Golden Muir for his cooperation in allowing tho excavation to tako placo on his proporty.

It is unfortunato that parts of tho skeleton were damaged from provious excavations.

This is sad because finds liko those are pricoloss and cannot bo replocod. Mr. Hngue advisos that porsons who encounter fossils or bonos should report th~ir discovery to tho Musoum or other authorities.

A number of finds in caves around tho Groat Salt Lako indicate that man lived hore at least 10,000 years, at the somo time ss tho mammoth that was oxcavntod in Sandy, Utah. Naturally tho Stato Archaoo10gist and his assistants were hopeful that somo evidencos of man's activity would bo found in connection with the mammoth bonos.

Thero was always tho possibility that the Clnimnl might havo mot his desth at tho hands of 0 prehistoric hunting pnrty. HowevGr, no such evidonco was discoverod.

A hugo mammoth tooth was on display at the Minoralogical Society of UtClh Gem 2nd Mineral Show in May, and at tho Wasotch Gem Socioty Gem and Minoral show in Septombor.

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USAS NEWSLETTER

Mf\RCH 1975

CHAPTf-R

N E' \A!5

JOINT CHAPTER FIELD TRIP A joint chapter field trip to Milford, Utah, waS ,hold on Juno 7, 8, 9, 1975 by the Utah Statewide Archaoological Socioty~ .Momber~ from tho Lahontan Chapter and tho Salt Lako-Davis Chapt~r wero roprosentod.

Evoryone met at 9 a.m. oach morning at tho dosignatod locality nODr Milford.

Tho weather was boautiful, BS woro tho artifacts found, ospocially by tho young poopla who woro finding thoir first arrowhoads.

Tom Mahonoy and his wifo Karon wero thoro with thoir four children--M~rgo, Miko, Susan and Dan--and all found artifacts. Doan Caldwell was thoro with his two boys-Randy and Jeff--and a young friond of thoirs, David Clifford. Also prosent wore Jay and Virginia Gustaveson frem Milford, and Jaff and Guida Herrick.

Tho finds of tho trip ran god from an 1890 V nickel found by Joff Horrick and a 1900 V nickol found by David Clifford to a boautiful 25 by 18 inch Fremont motate found by Tom Mahoney and a 5-inch ton quartzite blade found by Joy Gustavoeon o

Evoryone hod a groat time ond ovoryono found something. One of tho highlights of tho trip was a tour of the Gustaveson Museum at Milford, Utah, always on interosting experienco. Tho fiold trip Was a complote success. I wish evoryono could have boen thero. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions on whero wo con have anothor field trip, please lot your prosidont know.

Reportod by

CHAPTER

OFFICERS

Salt Lako-Davis Chapt~r Sopt 1974-Sopt 1975 Presidont Vice Presidont Treasurer Secrotary Historian

Lahontan Chapt~r Jan.1975 to Jon. 1976

Orvis Bowors Rod Chapman Anthony Moon RuJoan Brunson Gwon LBgergren

President

Dole Andreason

Socrotary-TreBsurer

Boverly Andreason

\(OU R OPII"JtON WA,NTED ON CLUB EMBLEMS Mary Sowall, who has charge of tho project, announces that the embloms for tho Utah Archaeological Society are being mode up.

They oro small round cloth ombloms which aro solf-sticking and may be takon off one article of clothing and used on another whenever desired. Cost is 75¢ per omblem.

Round Docals to be used on automobiles will cost $2.90 each and aro fairly largo. Aro you intorostod? If enough peoplo want thom at that prico, wo will go shoad snd order thom. Ploaso lot your officors know how you foel about this, ~lARCH

1975

USAS NEWSLETTER

Pago 7

NEWSlETT I:.R UTAH STATEWIDE A~GH_AEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Editor:

Rod Chapman

P. O. Box 47 . , ' ·:West ·~ordEln.., .Utah 84084 ,

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