Utah Statewide Archaeological Society Newsletter, Volume 22, Number 1, April 1982

UtA1t A~-nI\EOJ.«ll A

VOLUME 22

.N£WSL~r.rEJt

APRIL 1962

NO. 1

I Utah Archaeology is distributed qOlrterly te all members of the Utah State.ide Archaeological Society.

All correepondence should be directed to the Editors RuJean R. Brunson, 1180 Elgin Avenue, Salt Lake City, Utah 84106.

W5LETT . . . R UTAH STATEWIDE

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Nu..mber 1

Vo\u.TY\(2 ZZ APRI L 19BZ

DAVID K. CLARK

PRESIDENT

IRMGARD UCHTDORF

VICE HlESIDEBT

SECRETARY

RUJEAN R. BRUNSON

TREASURER

JEFF HERRICK

NEItISLE'l'TER

RUJEAN R. BRUNSON DAVID K. CLARK CONT~TS

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3

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26

Lealand L. Clark, M. D. and Reuben L. Bullock

Mark E. Stuart Mark E. Stuart .

Mark E. Stuart

Atypical Stone Tools at Red Rock Predating Lake Bonneville's 19,000 Year-Old High Stand Beach--Geology About the Authors The Uintah Heights Site--Weber County, Utah The Long Fark Sitesl An Archaeological Survey An Unusual Surface Find From Weber County, Utah

•

ATYPICAL STONE TOOL5 AT RED ROCK PREDATING LAKE BONNEVILLE's 19,000 YEAR OLD HIGH STAND BEACH- GEOLOGY Lealand L. Clark, M,D. and Reuben L. Bullock The Red Rock site occurs on the northeast flank of the Traverse Mountains.

These mountains are considered a fault block spur resulting from Basin and Range faults which locally were most pronounced during late Pliocene to recent time, Most of the relief of the present topography was developed prior to Wisconsin time.

The spur is bounded on the north and east by the Wasatch fault which lo-

cally expresses possibly 1524 meters (5,000 feet) of throw; minor faults transect and flank the spur; internal minor adjustments are numerous.

(1)

Pleistocene glaciation was initiated, in this area, in the higher elevations of the Cottonwood intrusive to the east by a colder and more moist climate.

At

least two periods of glaciation are recorded by terminal and lateral moraines in the mouth of Alpine Canyon to the northeast. records four periods

The stratigraphy of Lake Bonneville

of alternate cycles of moist and dry climate.

The tool-bearing stratum east of Red Rock lies beneath an ancient erosional surface which has been uplifted, and erosion has cut sharp "V" drainage through the north flank fault scarp.

This uplift, erosion and subsequent undisturbed

deposition of the Bonneville high stand beach provide

a minimum age for the tools.

The north flank fault scarp has been referred to by Gilbert (2) as a great sea cliff cut by Lake Bonneville currents and wave action which developed maximum force while traveling the full length of the lake.

The material derived from this

area was transported to the Jordan Narrows arsa where large spits were developed.

Marsell (3) followed the influence of Gilbert and called Steep Mountain scarp a sea cliff, but recent work done in the area by Dolan (4) reflecting the current concept of Marsell, shows the north face of Steep Mountain as. scarp.

~n

inferred fault

Large slump fans occurring along the base of the scarp and the linear

occurrence of Potato Hill and Red Rock Hill, located east and on strike with the north face of Steep Mountain, also strongly suggest faulting. which supports this conclusion is as follows:

other evidence

(1) a sudden drop in the drainage

profile which has developed sharp "V" gullies, thus dissecting the ancient erosional surface,

(2) intense brecciation and silicification occurring along the trend of

the scarp, APRIL 1982

(3) two highly brecciated ortho-quartzite deposits occur on strike USAS NEWSLETTER

Fage

3

ATYPICAL STONE TOOLS AT RED ROCK (continued) east of Potato Hill; these breccias may be reduced to a rock flour with light pressure between the fingers, and (4) zones of silicification and kaolinization occur along the scarp.

North

of the Steep Mountain scarp near the (1219 meters) 4800 foot contour,

there occurs a fault line scarp 15 to 20 feet high.

Coarse volcanic boulders

occur above and below the scarp which has since been covered by undisturbed Lake Bonneville sediments.

In the main wash, just north of the Red Rock site, that

drains the area between Red Rock to Potato Hill, the scarp is exposed, showing an abrupt ledge which has been silicified and highly stained with iron-bearing solutions.

Patches of andesite flow rocks are exposed above and along the strike

of this scarp. other scarps may be present along the north flank of the East Traverse Mountains, but they are covered by Pleistocene lake sediments. (1) Curry has defined the Bonneville high stand beach as follows: "Water bodies in the Bonneville basin during the earliest Bonnevile cycle were limited in size on the perimeter of the basin and had an altitude of about

1550 meters (5085 feet) (5).

The geomorphic features that developed along the

shores of the largest water bodies comprise the Bonneville shoreline which in the vicinity of the Traverse Mountains is really a zone containing several individual ~horelines.

In the vicinity of Great Salt Lake, the upper limit of the Bonneville

shoreline zone now ranges in altitude from about 1573 to 1623 meters (5160 to

5325 feet), or up to 73 meters (240 feet) above the original

threshold~controlled

altitude, because of isostatic rebound due to subsequent decreases in water load.

Many interpretations regarding the number and age of the lake stands in ... the Bonneville shoreline zone have been proposed by previous workers and have been summarized by Morrison

(6).

Ongoing studies uti~izing available radio-carbon dates

place the ages of an earlier set of Bonneville shorelines and of a separate later Bonneville shor.eline between 19,000 and 13,000¡ years ago."

This establishes a minimum age for the Red Rock artifacts. (7)

, /"'\" " ;:] 'K A-r-'IUKJ-\t-'n Y ~ -r- 1""""\

r"""\ I ' " ,

240 meters (787 feet) east of Red Rock Hill, the stone tools have been found underlying

the ancient erosional surface.

The sudden drop in the drainage profile

due to vertical displacement of the north flank fault gullies dissecting the erosional surface (ref.

these

gullies dissect a flat surface.

1,627 meters (5341 feet).

Page

.4

2).

has developed sharp "V" The southern extremities of

This is at an altitude of approximately

The flat area forms an oval about 260 meters (853 feet) USAS NEWSLETrER

AlRIL 1982

ATYJICAL STONE TOOLS AT RED ROCK (continued) in length and 90 meters in width, the long axis of which runs east and west.

At

the southwestern extremity of the oval lies a small spring which drains seasonally through a sharp "V" drainage through the north flank fault scarp approximately 180 meters (590 feet) east northeast of Red Rock.

Three two-meter test trenches (Figs. A, B, C) were dug, beginning at a datum point (Figure A) 36 meters (118 feet) south southeast of the spring, at the base of a l3-meter (42 feet) linear escarpment which runs roughly east southeast.

They are approximately 12 meters (39 feet) apart.

Each of these trenches has

yielded stone tools from an alluvial sand, gravel and cobblerock stratum (Level 3) from 1.22 meters (4 feet) to 2.3 meters (7 feet) beneath the surface (Figures A, B, C). the spring.

The depth of the productive stratum increases with the distance from This productive stratum is overlain by topsoil and well-defined

strata of gravel mixed with sand and clay. millimeter and larger) consist of gray-black andesite.

The coarser sand grain sizes (1.00

of ortho-quartzite fragments with minor amounts

The medium and fine grain sizes have a similar composition.

Sand makes up approximately 2Z}6 of the stratum excluding the cobblerock.

The

gravel varies from five to thirty millimeters in size and is exclusively of ortho-quartzite.

Gravel makes up approximately 4Z}6 of the stratum.

stratum is a fine light brown clay. from 6 to 26 centimeters in size.

3~

of the

The remainder is made up of cobbles varying These are of andesite varying from red to

gray in color, ortho-quartzite, and pebbledike breccia.

ARTf FACTS The tools consist of hammerstones, (Figure D) of both orthoquartzite and andesite, abrader or fleshing stones, (Figures E and F) flakes, (Figure G) cores, (Figure H) all of andesite as well. no grinding stones or sherds.

No bones'occur with the tools.

There are

2-6 millimeter flecks of carbon staining occur in

association with some of the tools.

There is no integral carbon present.

Three rocks have been grooved, incised, or notched. worked specimens are from Square 1 South 1 East, Level 3.

All three of these The first (Figure

I)

is an ovoid gray andesite pebble, approximately 6 by 4 by 3-1/2 centimeters.

At right angles to the long axis, on a flattened side of this pebble, are five discontinuous incisions. meters in length.

These vary from approximately 1 centimeter to 3 centi-

They vary from 1-2 millimeters in width and from 1 to

millimeters in depth.

They are approximately parallel.

It

The total width of the

incised area is approximately 2.4 centimeters.

AffiIL 1982

USAS NEWSLETTER

Jage

5

ATYJICAL STONE TOOLS

AT RED ROCK (continued)

The second worked specimen (Figure J) is a roughly ovoid pebble measuring 6.2 by 4.5 by 2.3 centimeters.

1.8 centimeters distal to the larger end of the

pebble is a notch 2 centimeters in length.

The long axis of the notch intersects the long axis of the pebble at about an 80 degree angle.

The distal wall of the notch is approximately 1/2 centimeter

in width and inclined to the base of the notch at about 20 degrees.

The proximal

wall is about .4 centimeters in width and inclined at 40 degrees.

The third specimen (Figure K) has the form of a rough obtuse triangle measuring approximately 13 by 6 by 5 centimeters.

The larger end of the specimen is

cut by a notch measuring about 3.4 centimeters in width, .8 centimeters in depth and 6 centimeters in length.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My sincere thanks to Mrs. Alice Feurer for her technical assistance, to Ms. Chris Woodruff the artist, and to Mr • Plato Fitzgerald, owner of the Red Rock property.

Lealand L. Clark, M.D.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Dr. Lealand L. Clark is a Salt Lake City dermatologist

who's principal pride is his archaeological training at Columbia University.

He has a strong belief that man has a greater anti-

quity in the New World than has been previously thought and much of his research effort has been directed toward finding fresh evidences of that antiquity.

Other work of Dr. Clark's has been

published in a previous issue of Utah Archaeology.

Reuben L. Bullock of Cody, Wyoming has fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Geology from the Brigham Young University at Provo, Utah.

His particular interest

and area of research has been Lake Bonneville and its geologic history, coupled with an interest in archaeology.

He is a well-

known rancher in Wyoming.

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APRIL 1982

ATYPICAL STONE TOOLS AT RED ROCK

REFERENCES 1.

Brigham Young University

2.

Gilbert, Grove Karl

1893 1928

3. Marsell, R. A. 1932

1953 4.

Dolan, W. M.

1957

Geology Traverse Mountains

Lake Bonneville: Monographs of the U. S. Geological Survey. Vol. 1. Washington, D. C. Studies of Basin and Range Structures. U. S. Geological Survey Professional Iaper No. 153. Washington, D. C. Geology of the Jordan Narrows Region, Traverse Mountains, Utah: Unpublished Master's Thesis.

Uni versi ty of Utah. Iage 88. Sal t Lake City, Utah.

Wasatch Front. Compass of Sigma Gamma Epsilon.

Vol. 31. p. 3-22. Salt Lake City, Utah.

Location of Geologic Features by Radio GroundJWave Measurements in Mountainous terrain. Unpublished Master's Thesis. Uni versi ty of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah.

5.

Crittenden, M., Sharp, B. J., and Calkins, F. C. Geology of the Wasatch 1952 Mountains East of Salt Lake City. Utah Geological Society Guidebook 8. p 1-37. Salt Lake City, Utah.

6.

Morrison, R. B.

1965

1966

Quaternary Geology of ·the Great Basin. In H. E. Wright Jr., and D. G. Frey, Editors, The Quaternary of the United States. IXinceton University Press. p. 265-285. Princeton, New Jersey.

Predecessors of Great Salt Lake.

Edi tor, The Great Salt Lake Lake:

Society Guidebook to the Geology p. 77-104. Salt Lake City, Utah.

7.

Surrey, D. R.

1977

AffiIL

1982

In W. L. Stokes, Utah Geological of Utah. No. 20.

Late Quaternary IB.ndforms of Great Salt Lake State lark and Vicinity, Davis County, Utah. Perceptions of Utah--A Field Guide: 1977 National Meetings of the Association of American Geographers, Salt Lake Lake City. p. 85-89. Salt Lake City, Utah.

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By Mark

Stuart

The Uintah Heights S1 te 1s a small portion of the larger 421;lbji. 8i te which is located at the mouth of ·weber Canyon in the N~,sec.26;11fl~i,sec.25 T.5N,R1W, less than 1/2 mile north of the Weber County-Davis County border (Fig,l).

The

site proper lies in the eastern portion of the town of Uintah, Weber County, Utah.

42Wb,54 is a large sand hill

whic~

is a remnant of an alluvial delta fan

created by the Weber River at the time of ancient Lake Bonneville. The site is in an excellent location with a commanding view of the surrounding terrain, ample fauna, flora and water resot~ces, and easy access to the t~ail system through Weber Canyon.

These conditions probably created a favorable camping area for

Prehistoric Man. The portion'of' 42#b,54 described in this paper overlooks Spring Creek, a origin~ting

perennial s'ource of wat,er

in Spring Creek Canyon some three miles

east of the site and j0~,ning t.he Heber River loss than a half mile away.

Three

good springs are a"Lsl) loc!3.tE'ld ¥1.thin a one-fourth mile radius of the site.

The fauna uf "the Uintah HG:'..ghts Site includes mule deer, jack-rabbit, gre und squirrel, barieer, a variety . of lil".ards and song birds.

Elk, bison and

mountain sheep were formerly in the area in prehistoric times.

The f10Ta of

the site proper includes June-grass, bunch grass, sagebrush 1 oak brush, and Rocky Nountain juniper. oak bru::h, riV31.

b~.rc~,

Flora alo7!g

'~he

co·t.tonw00(1 ar.·o.

nea.:r:by streCl.il1s lnc:LUda snake-grass,

EimaJ.a~ran

berry.

~rhe er,';.:L:t:e U:;_n·~J...'rt area co~t8.L1~ m;;.lT1G.:"O-..lS archaeclogical si tOG (see Stuart,

t_-:;~ ~E·~h~~o:!.{)g1 ('~d StF.·[2Y., vi' Heber ,g:,ur"'t~-):

ny.

The site

hn~;

but 42#b,54 is the bG:3t proserveri of

howeveT t suffered. great erosion in recent years due .to the

activities of 4-wheel drive vehicles and motorcycles.

Tho John Reeves Corporation and the Bank of Utah announced plans in the fa,ll of 1978 to build nine homes in the propoaod Uintah Heights subdivision.

The proposed Uintah Heights subdi "li.3ion occllpies two sand knolls and a sheltared pocket between theIr.. i11 the northu'3stern portion of 42#b,54.

Construction of the Uintah Heights slibdl.vlsion began on October 9, 1979 \d th bulldozer exca'rc,ticll of an access road up the sand knolls to the home sites

and the :filling iIi (;.f tho sheltored pocket.

19/9 alerted me

.

con~er.1ii1g

m8;ter.ials itay be unc.)ve:ce(l.

-slvo

Mr. C. E. Stuart, on October 10,

t.bese activities and suggested that some archaeol()g:t:::al On Octo-ber 11, 1979, the author conducted an inten-

surv8Y C'f the dist'..u'bccl const.!:'uction area and the bulldozer excavations • --~ ---... --- .

-- ._----- - -_ . -----.-USAS Nlio1fSLEI'TiliR

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P . i't

THi!: UIi'iTAH HillGH'rS SIT:cl1 (Cont.)

The bulldozer excavations extGnded from tn-ee motors noar the bottom of the sand knolls to ' one meter in depth at th~ top of , t~e,hill opposite the shelterod pocket. Near the top of the bulldozer cut (at a point lying in the sheltered pocket) a thin layer of dark stained sand was observed. Gleser examinations revealed th~s layer to be meters_below the pre~ent surface and approximately 15 meters in lel}gth along the cut. Bone fragments b~th in the cut and exposed in the disturbed'excavation~ show~d , the dark layer to be the source of origin.

A dark circular area about 1 meter in diameter (Fig. 2, Feature A) was also observed 48 cm. below the dark stained ~ayer _in the road cu~. Cqnstruc'iion was still very much in progress at this tim~ and these areas faced immediate destruction. therefore a decision was made by tho author to salvage what was left of the site through tOQt excavations • .&xcavations.

The bulldozor cut had already rovop.led the stra.t~aphy of tho sl tes in question. thurafore excavation simply consisted of cleaning off the overburden above the dark stained strata. Three test pits 1 meter square were excavated into the darkened layer with the hopes of recovering some artifactual remains. Excavation proved to be di:ffle1~lt because 9:£ loose sand from the surface would seep and blow lnto the excavation areas. At times the unstable ground would sluff off the cut burying the oxcayations in loose sand. Ex:cavation of the test pits reveal€:d that the construction activities had destroyed most of the. site. The da~kened area extended from the road cut only 24 to 36 Crl. into the b~.l;k. All i~J .l rt2..tn:·ial was screenGd and c711y idcmtifiatle ar~",ifaci::: ,-:'ere coll ~ c.·t ·.?·:L 1';i;m8Tu·.J.s bo··.~e fragme;lts uPQn expc-::.urQ. to the surface 'HoiJ:,-d CJ.: ,:::n'l:lle into £,;:·agmc;,; .j.. s~uo small for Eentlfi(,<1tiol1 purposes, therefore Gl~ly t ·:'le larger bOj1e f:rae;rr.enti:. Hw:e collected.

'Ihe dark stained st:ra ta eW.sisted mo ~;)tly of black stained sand, charcoal. bone fragments, and an occasional artifact of stone.

It

'

Stratigraphy a Four discerr~bie strata and one feature were exposed during the road construction and test excavations (Fig. 2).

Strata 11 Strata 1 was compoEed of 12 cm. of white blow sand most of which had been dopositod quite recently due to erosion caused by four-wheel-drive v':)hiclGs. Strata 2. Strata 2 was composed of tan sand 48 cm. thick which probably r ey~0sents the ra~ns of a stabilized sand dune which had formed against the higher gro~~d to the west of the sheltered pocket • -..

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----- - - -. - --- .-- ---- _-..

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'!'Hi!: UIlTTAH HllITGHTS SITE (Cont.) ~ .; ··.· ... Strata

Strata. 3 is composed of orange sand and gravel ext~nding down ' to

31

the present road. cut surface.

No effort was made to extend "the test pits ' below

the road surface to bedrock.

About halfway through Strata Toree, Strat Four

(the black layer) extends for

15

Strata 4- is composed of blaek ·stained sand,charcoal, bone f'rag-

:Strata 41

an

ments, arid

meters.

occasional -stone artifact.

Strata ·Four is 4 to 12 cm. in thickness

and extendS ibto Strata Three for 1.5 meters • . Host · of the 'cultUral materiai came from this strata-.

' . , .

Fea ture A is ' a. circular area 'less than ' one meter in diameter

Fea-tura A I

composed of dark stained -sand lying on the present road ··c ut surface • . 'this dark laYE!:I.' extends 4 to 6 cm. below the present sUrface and has some burnt split bone and burnt fire-cracked rock in its fill. Feature A probably represents the remains of a fire hearth area.

Three Sevier Gray ·potsherds were recovered near the sur-

face of Jeature A. Artifaots.

The artifact ;yield from the Uintah 'Heights 'Site ialim1ted in numbers and is composed of bone, stone and c'e ramic artifacts.

Ground Stone I of Strat Four.

A slab metato fragment was exposed in the excavated surface

The fragment was too small to surmise the size and shape of the

original artifact.

Ceramics I

It was not collected.

Strata Four yielded 26 shards of a crude brown ware during the

test excaWl-tions. This pottery is very sandy and d'ria;cle and tempered with l-arge chunks of

q'Ja~tz

n.nd limestone wi th

pottery is very undulating a.nd rOUGh ture.

q~Ttz whl~h

IF.edominatb.g. The surface of this indicate:3 a :paddle and anvil manufac-

The walls of this pottery are straight (Fig. 3d), with slightly outcurved

.rims (Fig. 3c). This potterY has been identified as Iaiute-Shoshone on the basis of construction and temper.

The surface of Feature A yielded three fragments of Sevier ,Gray pottery.

This pottery is a well made gray lfare tempered with black igneous rock. . tfthics I

' ~ne test excaVations pI-oduced three. ,obsidian illakes ri chert

flakes, and 2 quartz flakes.

. .

Two tools, a well-made steeply retouched end

scraper (Fig. Ja) and a small chert utilized flake (Fig. Jb) were recovered :from the test pit excavations.

Bone I

From the test oxcavations and surface of

fra.gnents were collected.

the ~ road

cut numerous bone

Hany of these boneif'ragments upon exposure to the sur-

face crumbled away into tiny fragments too small for ··~al:uative purposes.

TbJ.rty-one bonG fragmerlts were collected..

~

--

-All-bUt'~;Uttoo showed signs of burning

.~ .

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UINTAH

HEICHTS SITE (Cont',)

,

"

and a1:1-9:( ,t lw fragmen~s' ",were Bpli t, evidently ttl retrieve the bone marrow, .

. '.1

.

.

.

-

.

TwentY::~1aht ~bon~·.f);.ae;ments appear to be of some-,large ungUrate (probably .mule :- ..J ...... . ..:~

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deer), t~o are raQbit and one is of some un~dentified bird bone.

Summa;r and Conclusion.

The Uintah Heights is a small ,campsite . .. ' Site . ;,

.

activ1t.ies~ ·'

One

d.is~inct

a.r~

exposed through construction

occupation strata and one cultural feature were iden.

Strata. Fom;' contained stone tools,. numerous bone i):a.gments, and 26

tified.

.

shards of Shoshoni ware.

This stra.ta. :probably dates to post 1400 A.D. .

Feature A was a probably .fire hearth oxposed on the presen1! road cut surface.

Tentative cultural identification as Sevier of this he8.rth is based upon . three .

Sevier Gray potsh~ fOWld near the surfaoe of the heart~. 'Burnt 'b one, and burnt fire-cra.cked rock also were found in the fill, of

Fea~u:re

A.

If this fire hearth

is Sevier . i~ would probably date between .500 to 1400 A.D.

.'

The ·heaviest ocoupation of the Uintah Heights S1 te appears to have been at .

.

.

'",:

.

"

the bottom of the small shel tared pocket which £'rom thehar.Bh ca.riyon

l!lnds. At

~st

liO uld

have :t\irn1shed protection

the ,UUltah Heights 81 te was a temporary

hWlting and camping ·site occupied on at least two di.fr'erent occasions.

--------~--~~---~~~--~--------------------

If aX!)erimental research Hor:~ :10'1 being dene by two ~~ij1~1eseta .::;eelec;ists proves te be suecessf'ul J it may beeo!ilEl possiblete tell the ori.: .;inal source .:f any copper spoeimen Sil'lply by readinc its fin3 erprints. ' ,j]iler L. Henric:csol1 (If Garleton ColleGe i~1 ~.irL10sota, ai1u. Geor::;c ~-t. ~~apPJ Jr. of the University of i ~i:lncsota, are currently lfm":dl1t.; ea a Hay to ide.i1 tiiy tho oriGinal sources of llctal artifacts frer,l tho bronze at;e---8.J,id. the major eomponant eZ such artifacts if c.YDer.

Apc.o:t'd1PG to thQ14 lvpothe_~8.~, oopper ~ d1:rt~t resius sheUld a.a\a1n

different ,uant1ties a'\1d tYP'E's

et

tra.ee

elements. ~y analyzing the trace eloments L, any cep?er sample and. netine the traee-eleme~t pattern, tha resultil~ "finSer~in ts 1: should :i;I!'"viclc the clues necessary to llilk i t t . · its a.urea.

-----.-----------

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a..,d Henricksen ' she", that such traceelemc-.'1t "finserprints" do perird. t cliscrirni inatien between co,~er f'r.m differont reGions. Anu they say that sgmetimes even the specific mine can be identified If the result er this l!orl~ is der,>enclable, it will Give a oiz lift to archacolobists "The are wor:.:inc "ti th Jr.nze Ace artifacts. To." it ui11 shoN that the special insiGhts of eeolocists Crul aid archacCJloc1sts just as archaool C;iool ev1do~1cC ofton sh~d.s liGht on past se. 10Gical events alld environments. . .

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THE LONG PARI< 5JTE5: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL 5URVEY

By Mark E. Stuart The United States Forest Service in the March of 1975 made several inquiries to determine who had the responsibility for performing an archaeological evalu'ation of the proposed Long Bark Reservoir to be built on the north slope of the Uinta Mountains by the Utah Division of Water Resources.

In response

to these

inquiries several archaeological investigations were conducted by the Antiquities Section of the Utah State Division of State History and the U. S. Forest Service.

The following is a brief summary of these investigations.

Long lark is a long, narrow, well sheltered valley that lies on the north slope of the Uinta Mountains roughly 15 miles northwest of Flaming Gorge Reservoir on government lands now administered by the Ashley National Forest. climate of the Long !ark area is characterized by frequent created over the Uinta Mountains.

The

orographic storms

The temperature here may fluctuate daily to

either side of the freezing point with the range being from minus 20 degrees to 107 degrees Fahrenheit with a yearly average of 41.20 degrees Fahrenheit.

Over

13 inches of precipitation falls annually.

The Long Bark Sites lie within the mountain shrub formation.

The

area, with its low sage and mountain grasses surrounded by dense stands of lodge pole pine provides excellent hatitat for abundant game species. mule deer and elk as well as some moose and bear frequent the area.

Herds of Smaller

animals are abundant too with rabbit, rodents, porcupine, beaver and waterfowl.

Archaeological research of the Long lark area was initiated by E. B. Renaud (1938-1940) who conducted an intensive archaeological survey of the Black's Fork Drainage.

In 1958 with the construction of the Flaming Gorge Dam, archaeological

surveys were undertaken by the Uni versi ty of Utah of the reservoir area.

Suhun (1959)

DeAnn

investigated two sites being destroyed by dam construction.

Later

Day and Dibble (1962) made an intensive survey of the reservoir area which located numerous sites along the Green River and its various tributaries.

During

the field season of 1966 the University of Utah conducted an archaeological survey of the Bridger Basin and the north flank of the Uinta Mountains.

Sharrock (1966

as a result of this survey excavated an open stratified campsite at Fine Springs.

In summary, sites dating from the paleolithic to historic contact periods were located within the area of the Long lark Reservoir Sites from these previous studies.

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THE LONG EARK SITES (cont.)

The initial archaeological survey of the Long lark Reservoir was conducted by Michael S. Berry (1975) of the Antiquities Section of the Utah Division of State History at the request of the Utah Division of Water Resources. The result of his survey included the location of three archaeological sites labeled 42Da43, 42Da44 and 42Da45. Berry recommended that further work would be necessary before final construction of the proposed reservoir could be approved.

The U. S. Forest Service, following the recommendations of the Utah State Archaeologist, hired Howard Smith of the University of Utah to conduct test excavations.

The test excavations were carried out on November 13-14, 1975 with the aid of a backhoe.

Test excavations of the three sites revealed that 42Da43 and 42Da44 were limited to surface lithic scatters of debitage. Buried cultural remains were found only at 42Da45. The test trenching of this site also revealed that major damage to 42Da45 had occurred when an extensive embankment test pit was excavated earlier by the Division of Water Resources in testing for soil formations. The majority of the artifacts recovered from the Long lark sites were found in this excavated back dirt.

On August 10-11, 1976 the Long lark sites were once again revisited by Forest Service personnel from the Ogden Regional Office under the direction of Dr. Evan DeBloois, Regional Archaeologist. At this time additional artifacts were recovered from the surface of the 3 sites as well as from the excavated back dirt from the Water Users' pit. A radio carbon sample was also obtained from 42Da45.

which makes even out-of-context artifacts of some value. Current theories do not consider aboriginal dependence on microenvironments above the pinyon-juniper zone. Archaeological research by Ashley National Forest archaeologists during the past two seasons have located several sites ranging in elevation from 8,000 to 10,000 feet, however. The Long lark sites provide some valuable even if limited information on this long ignored aspect of prehistoric settlement patterns.

The 15 projectile points are all relatively crude and represent both notched and un-notched points. Several large triangular-lancelot projectile points (Figure la) recovered from the excavated back dirt of 42Da45 are similar to points regarded by Sharrock (1966), Day and Dibble (1962), and DeBloois (1976) as possible atlatl points. These points bear some resemblance to the .Great Basin Black Rock Cave Concave Base points. If these are atlatl points as believed, this may indicate a late Archaic use of the Long laxk area.

The corner notched points (Figure lc) and the stemmed points (Figure Ib) found at all three of the Long lark sites are associated with the Uncompahgre Complex of eastern Utah and western Colorado; Woodland occupation of the Plains; and Fremont occupation of northeastern Utah and southwestern 'Wyoming. These points (Berry, 1975) predate the introduction of side-notched arrow points in this area and suggest occupation 1500 and 1000 B.P. In addition to the projectile points, 43 biface blades (Figure Id), 16 unifaces, 3 large choppers (Figure Ie), 23 utilized flakes, and 1 hammer stone are represented in the Long lark collection.

The lithic waste material from the Long Park sites is consistent and shows that quartzite was predominate (1,573 waste flakes). Quartzite seemed to be the favored material for the largThe variety and number of artifacts from er and cruder bifaces, unifaces, and choppers, the Long Bark sites is limited. However, although some smaller and finer material does this is not surprising. According to loc- exist.

Small amounts of chert (]44 flakes) al informants, these sites have been suband obsidian (8 flakes were imported as they jected to intensive surface collecting for are not native to the area) were found. Quartzseveral years. The artifacts from the ite is native to the area.

Long lark sites are, however, of interest The recovery of two complete manos and two primarily because of the rarity of such data from high mountain environments (Long mano fragments is suggestive that the occupants Bark is approximately 8600 feet elevation) of Long lark, in addition to taking advantage Page 2 \

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APRIL 1982

FIGURE

No.1

THE LONG PARI<' SITES (NOT

TO ~CALE.)

,R..OAD

I

J

I

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/

-+2. Oa45

42Da44

WATER USER5' TE5T

;

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PIT.5

SEEP OJ RT R.OAD USAS NEWSLEl'TER

Page

~'J-

FIGURE No.2 PR..OJEC TI LE POI NTS /E3LADE"S/TOOLS (NOT TO

SCALE)

LONG PARK SITES

a

e

d Page

23

c

b

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AJRIL 1982

THE LONG PARK SITES (cont.) of the hunting potential, also utilized the plant and wild berry resources of the area.

the great need for more scientific research and work in high al ti tude sites in Utah.

The only cultural feature at Long Park was a fire hearth located 20 cm. below the surface and partially expos~d in the Water Users' test pit. From this fire hearth came ~ charcoal sample which yielded a radio carbon date of 1260-100 B.T. (690 A.D.). This date is the only known carbon date in the entire Ashley National Forest.

Several possible fire hearths, 3 to 5 in number, were indicated by areas of charcoal-stained earth but could not be verified as such because of the destruction which occurred in the soil test pit excavations.

The absence of provenience data and the of comparative materials from the immediate area make any interpretation of the age and association tentative at best.

There is little evidence from the test excavations to suggest long term use of the Long lark sites, but soil formation is extremely slow here; hence extended re-occupation of the sites would show little stratification. p~ucity

In summary, the three Long lark sites were used as temporary hunting and gathering sites during the mid-summer months.

Large triangular lancelot points plus a radio-carbon date of 1260+100 B.P. seems to indicate a possible late Archaic use of the site 42Da45. Smaller corner notched and stemmed points found at all of the sites indicate use of the area by a people with a bow and arrow technology, possibly up to the Historic period. The Long P.3rk area is wi thin the Imown range of both the Green River Shoshoni and the Uinta Basin Utes.

The test excav~tions at 42Da45 revealed that a potentially significant site was destroyed by the excavation of the Division of Water Resources embankment test pit which cut through most of the site. The lack of comparative sites and materials in the immediate area of Long Park has made any interpretation of age and association tentative at best and point out Page

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AHUL 1982

THE LONG PARK SITES (cont.)

Bibliography Ambler, Richard J. 1966 Caldwell Village. University of' Utah Anthropol ogical Th.pers No. 84.

Salt Lake City, Utah. ~erry,

Michael S.

1975 An Archaeol ogi cal Reconnaissance of'

~ Park Reservoir , Daggett County, Utah. Antiquities Section, Division of' State History. Salt Lake City, Utah.

Day, Kent and Dibble, David C. 1962 Archaeological Survey of' the Flaming Gorge Reservoir Area Wyoming and Utah. University of' Utah Ant hropological Papers No. ÂŁj. Salt Lake City, utah.

Flowers, Seville 1960 An Ecological Study of' Flora and Fauna of' the Flaming Gorge Reservoir Basin, Utah and Wyoming. University of' Utah Anthropological Th.pers No. 48. Salt Lake City, Utah.

Lister , Robert H. 1953 The Stemmed, Indented Base Point, a Possible Horizon Marker.

American Antiquity Vol. 18 No.1. p. 264-265.

Renaud, E. B. 1938 The Black's Fork Culture of' Southwest Wyoming. ' The Archaeologi cal Survey of' the High Western ~ains Tenth Report. Department of' Anthropology, University of' Denver. Denver, Colorado.

Sharrock, Floyd w.

1966 Prehistoric Occupation Th.ttern in Southwest Wyoming and Cultural Relationships with The Great Basin, and Plains Culture Areas.

University of' Utah Anthropological lapers No. 11. Salt Lake City, Utah.

Wormington, H. Marie 1956 Archaeological Investigations on the Uncompahgre Plateau in West Central Colorado. Denver Musewn of' Natural History, Proceedings , No.~.

Denver, Colorado.

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AN UNUSUAL SURFACE FIND

FROM WE8ER COUNTY, UTAH

By Mark E. Stuart An

unusual stone artifact came to light in the spring of 1973, as the

author was surface hunting

a small Fremont site known as 42Wb4).

Site 42Wb$)

consists of 3-4 mounds located on the west bank of an intermittent stream channel (part of the old Weber River delta system), which runs from north to south eventually ending in a large marsh environment.

Near the largest mound,

which lies closest to the stream channel, I observed protruding from the stream bank a large mud covered stone.

Closer examination of the stone revealed that

I had found a large chipped stone artifact which had apparently at one time been hafted to some kind of handle.

The artifact is of native brown quartzite (locaJ.ly called sand chert) which is found in some abundance in the foothills at the base of the Wasatch Mountains.

The artifact is

at its widest portion.

4t

inches long and tapers from I inch to 3 inches

About 2 inches from the narrowest end, a one half inch

groove has been ground into the percussion chipped artifact.

This groove fully

encircles the artifact and is worn and polished from use.

The very nature of this stone artifact suggests a probable function as that of a hafted axe.

The edges of this artif'act, however, do not show any sign

of wear or polish (even when examined under a hand lens) characteristic of axe use.

The classif'ication of this artifact as a hafted chipped stone axe must

therefore remain tentative at best.

An

examination of' numerous local collections,

and a review of' the literature failed to reveal any similar stone artifacts of this nature.

This artifact, then, must remain an enigma in the archaeology of

the Great Salt Lake region.

Figure 1 shows a front (Fig. la) and a reverse

(Fig. lb) view of this artif'act.

P

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