PEOPLE OF THE POUDRE

Native Americans in Larimer County, Colorado
12,000 y.a. - 1878

Paleo-Indian Occupancy (12,000 - 7,500 BP)

Although there isn't complete agreement, the generally accepted theory for the peopling of the Americas is that sometime during the last Ice Age when the level of the oceans dropped sufficiently to expose the land mass of Berginia between Siberia and Alaska (between 24,000-15,000 years ago), people walked from the Asian land mass to the American continent. Their travel further inland was delayed by massive continental ice sheets. The land bridge may have remained open until as late as 10,000 BP (Stone 1999: 26), so there were likely to have been multiple migrations from Asia. By possibly as early as 14,000 BP, people were able to move south into what is currently the lower United States. This section will look at the Paleo-Indians and their three cultures: Clovis, Folsom, and Plano. The period before the appearance of the Clovis culture is called Pre-Clovis. At this time there is still some debate about the existence of a culture before the Clovis groups. At best the data is sketchy and the evidence subject to interpretation so this group will not be included here.

The Paleo-Indians lived during a period of climatic change. The ending of the Wisconsin Glacial period marked the end of the Pleistocene Ice Age which lasted from 2 M y.a. until about 10,000 y.a. During the ice age, the world's climate had been cooler and seasonality was reduced from what we experience today. The Paleo-Indians experienced a warming climate and increased seasonality and saw a change in their environment as conditions became less favorable to the plants and animals which had been successful during the Ice Age. These people are often characterized as "big-game hunters".

Clovis

The Clovis period ranges from 12,000 - 11,000 BP. At this time the climate in northern Colorado was about 10 F degrees colder than we experience today. The Clovis people hunted megafauna (mammoths, sloths, bison, extinct horse, and camel) in the steppe-like conditions present at the end of the Ice Age. Around 12,000 BP the Colorado area experienced a mini-drought which may have helped these nomadic hunters by concentrating their megafauna prey near water sources. The distinctive stone Clovis projectile point was 3-6 inches long with a lancelet shape and a basal flute. These Clovis points were thought to have been used as spears in hunting the preferred mammoth prey (Gilmore et al. 1999: 31, 57; Stone 1999: 32).

The Clovis people are found all over North America although no sites have been discovered in Larimer County. It is likely they came through the area since a site has been located in Weld Count at Dent (near Milliken). The Dent kill site was the first Paleo-Indian site to exhibit man-made projectile points actually in a mammoth. The Dent evidence suggests that Clovis people actively hunted mammoth rather than simply scavenging weak or dying animals (Gilmore et al. 1999: 57). Archaeological evidence suggests that they selected animals which were isolated from the herd, mostly juveniles (Stone 1999: 33).

Folsom

From 11,000 - 10,000 BP the Folsom people lived in a climate that was about 5 degrees cooler than we know today. They saw increased seasonality compared to the Clovis people with colder winters and warmer summers. The pine-spruce woodlands seen by the Clovis were disappearing into tall and short-grass prairie as the climate became drier. The changing climate brought a change in diet for the Folsom people. The very large megafauna had all but disappeared leaving bison and smaller animals like antelope, wolf, coyote and even turtle for subsistence (Gilmore et al. 1999: 32, 64).

The Folsom people perfected the art of pressure flaking fluted stone projectile points. The 1-3 inch long points extended the beauty and workmanship of the Clovis point to a degree not seen since (Gilmore et al. 1999: 64, 68-69). Discussion still explores the purpose of fluting since it is difficult to produce, often destroys the point during fabrication, and weakens the point structurally. Theories for creating the flute include the formation of a large, flat surface area for hafting using lashing methods (creating a large area for friction effects, Wilmsen 1974: 52), creating a drainage hole for blood as an aid in killing prey, and simply that they did it because they could and they found it attractive and a way to display skill.

Like the Clovis people, Folsom cultures are found in many parts of North America. The Lindenmeier site in Larimer County was one of the first locations to provide extensive information about the Folsom people. At the time Lindenmeier was used as a campsite by the Folsom people, the area would have been a lush meadow and marsh land. The Folsom people found it a comfortable camping area and used it many times because of the reliable water supply, good supply of gravel for making tools, and its' sheltered location (Gilmore et al. 1999: 64-67). Like many sites occupied by early people, the Lindenmeier location is in a transition zone with easy access to the plains and to higher elevations (Stone 1999: 36). Besides stone tools, artifacts recovered at Lindenmeier include bone needles and inscribed bone pieces which may have been used for games or jewelry (Gilmore et al. 1999: 67). Grinding stones indicate that grains and seeds were part of the diet (Stone 1999: 39).

Plano

The Plano people (10,000 - 7500 BP) used an even greater diversity of resources than the Folsom people. The climate was still cooler and more moist than today and more of the woodland was giving way to prairie grasslands. The Plano people developed unique cultures based on the area in which they lived in contrast to the more general cultures of the Clovis and Folsom people. In Colorado two traditions developed: to the west and in the mountains a broader subsistence pattern emerged, in the east a subsistence pattern focusing on bison hunting developed (Stone 1999: 41).

The western people, due to lack of herd animals or megafauna were generalized hunter-gatherers with a generalized toolkit. The animals they used had limited migration routes, so their seasonal rounds were less varied than those of the east. As a consequence their tools were made from local material with less refinement (Stone 1999: 45-46).

The eastern people as mentioned, developed a subsistence pattern based on the bison. Their toolkit was specialized using more exotic materials and with more refinement of fabrication (Stone 1999: 41-44). Projectile points were large but no longer fluted (Gilmore et al. 1999: 69). The eastern Plano were a semi-sedentary people moving between plains and foothills (Gilmore et al. 1999: 69). The diet included bison, as well as other large and small mammals; plant foods included sunflower, prickly pear, amaranth, and limber pine. (Gilmore et al. 1999: 69, 89; Stone 1999: 41). It is with the Plano people that we start to see more organized hunting methods, for example driving a herd of bison over a cliff or up an arroyo into a snow drift to kill more animals (referred to as topographic traps). This type of hunting required more participants than the individual kills of the Folsom people, so the Plano people probably had some type of social organization to manage hunting and resource distribution (Gilmore et al. 1999: 69).

In Larimer County, the Gordon Creek burial site, dated 9700 symbol 177 \f "Symbol" \s 10 250 BP, indicates eastern Plano burial practices in this area. The female body was arranged in a flexed position and grave goods included three biface tools, a polished stone, a hammerstone, and four elk incisors one of which was perforated among other objects (Gilmore et al. 1999: 82).

Because of the Paleo-Indian reliance on big-game hunting, it is suspected that they were only transitory users of the mountains to the west. This changed with the Archaic Period.

[Introduction]

[Paleo-Indian Occupancy 12,000 - 7,500 BP]

[Archaic Occupancy 7,500 - 1,800 BP or 150 AD]

[Native American Occupancy Ceramic, 150 AD - 1850]

[Timeline]

[References]