Utah Archaeology

This study reports on the employment of multiple geophysical survey methods at a Fremont habitation site in Utah Valley, called Wolf Village. The preliminary geophysical surveys and later ground-truthing of geophysical anomalies revealed the effectiveness of these methods in indicating where architectural and cultural remains existed just below the surface.

In an effort to make well-reasoned determinations of cultural affiliation for Utah's state NAGPRA law, a number of radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry dates were run on human remains that had been recovered from state and private land in Utah.  Several of these human remains date to the Archaic time period (ca. 8000 - 2500 B.P.).  In addition, through a cooperative effort between the Antiquities Section and the University of Utah, radiocarbon dates were obtained from several sets of human remains recovered from Deadman Cave by Elmer Smith (Smith 1952).

Although Fremont ceramic design styles have the potential to tell archaeologists a great deal about Fremont social interaction and boundaries, they have never been studied in detail. In the Fremont world, painted designs appear almost exclusively on the inside of bowls produced in two different regions of Utah. The first is the Snake Valley production zone in southwestern Utah where Snake Valley Black-on-gray was produced; the second is the Emery production zone in central Utah where white-slipped Ivie Creek Black-on-white bowls were produced. The similarities in designs on the two main types of Fremont painted bowls indicates regional interaction and exchange of both materials and ideas between the two production zones, while the differences suggest regional distinctions existed within a larger Fremont complex

Range Creek Canyon is a rugged and remote, mid-elevation canyon in the West Tavaputs Plateau, Utah. The
canyon has received much attention because of its remarkably intact record of an inte11Se Fremont occupation
from A.D. 900 to 1200. To date, 470 sites have been recorded with only a fraction of the canyon having been
surveyed The University of Utah has held its Archaeological Field School in Range Creek Canyon annually
since 2003. This article focuses on the results and direction of research at the University of Utah s Range Creek
Field Station, which was established in 2009 for the long-term study, management, and preservation of this rich
archaeological resource. Ongoing projects include survey, subsurface testing, experimental farming, wild plant
procurement, and paleoenvironmental studies.

The name White Pocket actually refers to two areas. On the topo map there is a tall butte about 500 feet high that can be seen from miles around. I'll refer to this butte as the White Pocket Monolith or Butte. Conversely, photographers use the term White Pocket to refer to the area of white and coral colored cauliflower (aka brain) rock to the east of the White Pocket Butte.

The Paria Plateau is the central geographic feature of Vermillion Cliffs National Monument; a remote, sandy area 20 by 20 miles in size bordered by Buckskin Gulch and the Paria River to the north, the cliffs themselves to the east and south, and House Rock Valley to the west. Some parts are flat, others gently sloping, and the area is crossed only by rough tracks, most requiring a 4WD vehicle due to long stretches of deep, soft sand. Dotted across this generally featureless region are numerous small outcrops of the underlying Navajo sandstone, eroded to form unusually varied shapes, generally colored white or red but mixed with layers of many other shades.

The largest and best known formations are the Coyote Buttes, in the northwest corner of the plateau, including the famous Wave, while the second most visited site is six miles southeast - this is White Pocket, a group of domes and ridges covering an area of one square mile, below a larger mesa lined by similar rocks.
A pocket, in this sense, refers to a relatively small area of land markedly different to its surroundings, which here, like most of the plateau, are sandy plains sparsely covered by bushes and small trees. White, or light grey is the dominant rock color, in contrast to the red of the Coyote Buttes, but the general features are similar - swirling, thin-layered strata, adjacent layers of contrasting color, and curious erosive features. Other colorful pockets are found further south and east on the plateau, some also with an official name but most unrecognized.
There are several dozen locations, all with the potential to have photogenic formations.

The variable contexts of Fremont habitation sites in Utah Valley often make the identification of those sites very challenging for archaeologists. Pit houses and other structures throughout the valley are frequently in plowed fields or other disturbed contexts that obscure their more exact location and nature. The application of geophysical technologies at archaeological sites throughout the world, including in North America, has proven to be an effective means of subsurface archaeological survey. However, geophysical techniques have been underutilized in Fremont archaeology. This paper reports on the employment of two geophysical methods, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and fluxgate gradiometer surveys, at three known Fremont habitation sites in southern Utah Valley-the Wolf Village, Wolf Mound, and Snow Farm sites. The preliminary geophysical surveys and later ground-truthing of various geophysical anomalies reveals the effectiveness of these methods in identifying where architectural or other cultural features exist below the surface.

Tie Cutting in the Uinta Mountains of Utah left a unique and temporally changing imprint upon the landscape between 1867 and 1939. This paper analyzes some trends in the architectural changes over two distinct periods in the industry's history.

Briefly describes and discusses unique Cheju (Jeju) Island traditional tomb wall constructions featuring "ghost gates." Photograph included.

(The newspaper article is on order from the Jeju National University archives, but I have temporarily attached a sketch from my field notebook from October of1980 indicating the location of a "ghost gate" in one of several, remote, historic tomb walls located at a geomantic site identified on a tomb stone as "Landscape of a Swallow's Nest").

Thanks to Dr. Kim Ji-hong and Mr. Pak Dong-hwan for their generous assistance and expert advice in the field during my dissertation fieldwork.

Anthracological (charcoal) and pollen analysis conducted on samples from multiple sites in Nine Mile Canyon, Utah, western United States of America, were used to reconstruct the woodlands of this region and interpret firewood exploitation during the Formative period (~ AD 200e1300). The pollen record identifies constituents of the paleoenvironment of this region, reflecting species that grew in the vicinity of the site and in the broader area. Wood charcoal reflects various trees and shrubs that were used as fuel or for construction by the prehistoric occupants settled in Nine Mile Canyon. Pollen results elucidate a portion of the spectrum of wood taxa, which varies in different parts of the canyon, depending on elevation and the canyon's topography. While micro-charcoal analysis has a long and rich tradition in association with pollen analysis, anthracological analysis is different in that it focuses on macroscopic pieces of archaeological charcoal. Here, anthracology, using SEM imagery, helps define local woody taxa by identifying macroscopic pieces of archaeological charcoal. These two analytical tools build a complementary record of local woodland vegetation through aerial pollen transport and fuel wood selection. While the pollen record is affected by aerial transport, the anthracological assemblages, in most cases, reflect species growing in the vicinity of the prehistoric settlements, but can be affected by natural transport within the drainage. Recovery of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) charcoal from the lower portions of the canyon, containing steep walls and natural conditions not favorable for Douglas-fir growth, indicates presence of driftwood or debris-flow deposits.

Because the science of archaeology draws upon so many dzflerent disciplines, it is a pevfect mechanism to teach
young people about all aspects of science, math, the arts and character: Doing archaeologicaljeld and laboratory
work with 4Ih - 6Ih grade elementary students not only exposes them to archaeology but it can also enlighten them
to a whole range of ideas and endeavors using archaeology as a backdrop. Exposing kids to anthropology and
archaeology ensuresfitwe stewards for the resource and at the same time, serves to excite their minds about science
and the arts. Working with kids on an archaeological site is not easy and it is not for everyone but we believe it is
a focal point for public outreach eflorts.

During the late summer of 1998, Dr. Joel Janetski of Brigham Young University contacted the Antiquities Section concerning two sets of human remains that had been uncovered in Rich County, Utah (Figure 1). Two individuals employed by the Deseret Land and Livestock Company had excavated these human remains and associated artifacts from a site located on property owned by the Livestock Company. The ranch manager had become aware of the two sets of human remains and had contacted BYU. Dr. Janetski had put the Ranch manager in touch with the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner (Dr. John Foster) and he traveled to the ranch and took possession of the human remains and the associated artifacts. He later transferred all of the material to the Utah Antiquities Section for further analysis and reporting.
The assemblage is an amazing collection of everyday utensils, material goods and unique artifacts belonging to two individuals, who either died at this location or were buried at this location sometime in the later part of the 19th century. These materials were analyzed through the volunteer efforts of members of the Utah Statewide Archaeological Society, primarily Jan and Sonja Finlayson.

This paper examines the visibility of numerous remote granaries located in Range Creek Canyon of central Utah. Of the more than 400 sites recorded in the canyon, approximately twenty-five percent are storage facilities. These include granaries, (above ground storage) cists, (subterranean or semi-subterranean storage) and caches of tools or raw materials. Many of these are located in highly visible but difficult to access locations (remote granaries), while others are easily accessible but well-hidden. This pattern may represent two strategies for protecting stored resources: one in which the storage facility is plainly visible and can be easily monitored and another in which resource stores are hidden and left unattended. Using viewshed analysis, the visibility of granaries from the valley floor and from prehistoric residential sites is assessed and quantified. Recent high resolution Digital Elevation Models and georeferenced aerial photographs allow an accurate reconstruction of what is visible from each granary, i.e. archaeological sites, the valley floor, and defensive vantage points. This paper will test the hypothesis that granaries are visible from the valley floor and positioned in view of residential sites. If correct, the function of this defensive positioning may be to monitor access to granaries from a distance.

Archaeological sites located in sand dunes present challenges, such as determining site boundaries and possible feature locations. Sand accumulates over portions of the site, covering artifacts and features. Mechanical stripping is an archaeological technique that has proven invaluable in identifying subsurface features whose fill is distinct from the surrounding soil, while inflicting little or no damage to critical feature elements such as structure floors. We used this method at all four Warm Springs and Brillo project area sites, revealing 80 total features—nine wickiups, six churn zones, two activity areas, 58 thermal features, and five other features—that dated to the Middle Archaic (3530-3370 BC), Late Archaic (1260-1110 BC and 900-510 BC), Basketmaker II (360 BC-AD 30), and Southern Paiute (AD 1680-1900) periods.

Among the petroglyph figures of faceless men within Horseshoe Canyon in Utah, the Holy Ghost stands seven feet high and dominates the others. It is the only figure that is a rebus, whose details comprise syllabic letters from Old European, a Finnish script. The figures date from 9000 to 7100 BC, when Folsom tribes populated the region. The inscription is an epitaph that says, “From his circle in the ground, eternal peace. Eheys and the fine spark of wizards disposed together in a hole.”

The Brigham Young University archaeological field school has spent five field seasons excavating at Wolf Village (42UT273), a large Fremont site in Utah Valley. Wolf Village is a blend of typical Fremont architectural traits and unique or rare characteristics. This blending is exemplified in the two adobe surface structures, which are the only well-documented adobe structures in Utah Valley; the residential pit structures, which include features such as multiple ventilation entrances and are abnormally large; and the 80.5 m² pit structure, which is the largest Fremont structure found to date and was likely used for communal activities. Despite the differences in construction, radiocarbon dating suggests that all these structures date to a relatively short time period in the A.D. 1000s. Exploring architectural traits and variation at Wolf Village and other Fremont sites gives new insights into community and interaction within the Fremont world.

Water is arguably the most important resource for successful crop production in the Southwest. In this dissertation, I examine the economic tradeoffs involved in dry farming maize vs. maize farming using simple surface irrigation for the Fremont farmers who occupied Range Creek Canyon, east-central Utah from AD 900 to 1200. To understand the costs and benefits of irrigation in the past, maize farming experiments are conducted. The experiments focus on the differences in edible grain yield as the amount of irrigation water is varied between farm plots. The temperature and precipitation were tracked along with the growth stages of the experimental crop. The weight of experimental harvest increased in each plot as the number of irrigations increased. The benefits of irrigation are clear, higher yields.
The modern environmental constraints on farming in the canyon (precipitation, temperature, soils, and amount of arable land) were reconstructed to empirically scale variability in current maize farming productivity along the valley floor based on the results of the experimental crop. The results of farming productivity under modern environmental constraints are compared to the past using a tree-ring sequence to reconstruct water availability during the Fremont occupation of Range Creek Canyon. The reconstruction of past precipitation using tree ring data show that dry farming would have been extremely difficult during the period AD 900-1200 in Range Creek Canyon. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Fremont people were farming during this period suggesting irrigation was used to supplement precipitation shortfalls.
Large amounts of contiguous arable land, highly suitable for irrigation farming, are identified along the valley bottom. The distribution of residential sites and associated surface rock alignment features are analyzed to determine whether the Fremont located themselves in close proximity to these areas identified as highly suitable for irrigation farming. Seventy-five percent of the residential sites in Range Creek Canyon are located near the five loci identified as highly suitable for irrigation farming.

From 1889 to 1917, Pacific Islander (mostly Hawaiian) converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lived, worked, and worshipped at Iosepa, a remote desert settlement in Utah’s Skull Val- ley. An examination of the settlement’s design and layout, together with an analysis of petroglyphs at the site, reveals ways this religious community actively negotiated traditional Hawaiian cultural practices and newly adopted Latter-day Saint beliefs in shaping and maintaining their unique religious identities; a process that continues among their descendants today.

Human burials dating to the Archaic period are uncommon in the archaeological record from Utah.  Additionally, infant burials dating to the Archaic are especially rare.  A recent chance discovery, of an infant burial during an archaeological survey, has led to a significant discovery of a 5,000 year old burial associated with wooden artifacts and a sage grouse feather.