Dr. Rittenour Examines the Flute at the CEU Prehistoric Museum
The Range Creek flute was found by Alan Green in 2006. This amazing artifact is a wooden four-hole instrument with a carved mouthpiece. It was found wedged in a crevice on a ledge above a cliff in a small, shallow, northeast-facing alcove. The site includes several associated rock art panels. The closest, small pictograph may be Archaic, though the panel is heavily weathered and lacks clearly diagnostic elements. Further along the ledge to the south, a larger panel with remarkable preservation includes multiple figures, and may be Fremont. Nearby, around the corner on a very narrow portion of the ledge above a 50-ft high cliff, we found the remains of a granary with wood timbers, fingerprints in adobe, and additional artifacts that include maize, a wooden shovel, and a possible wooden handle.
Ute Elder Clifford Duncan Performs a Blessing at the Range Creek Site (photo by Alan Green)
When the flute was recovered, Clifford Duncan, a Ute elder, performed a ceremonial blessing. Although the flute does not appear to be Ute, we do not know its cultural affiliation. The flute is 80 cm, or nearly three-feet long, narrow, and appears to be an end-blown flute. It is likely associated with the main Fremont occupation of Range Creek circa AD 1000, but it may be associated with a late Prehistoric Numic occupation. There is also a small chance that the flute may be Archaic, possibly associated with a handful of Barrier-Canyon style pictographs found throughout Range Creek.
Rock Art Panels Found Near the Location of the Flute
Elders of the Hopi tribe and Leigh Kuwanwisiwma from the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office examined the flute, and felt that although it is not similar to flutes used in their ceremonies today, it could be associated with ancestral clans from the north who may have been associated with the Fremont. They consulted at some length, and decided that dating the flute would be important in determining cultural affiliation, and that the preferred method would be the relatively non-destructive OSL technique through the Utah State University lab.
Elders of the Hopi tribe and Leigh Kuwanwisiwma from the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office examined the flute, and felt that although it is not similar to flutes used in their ceremonies today, it could be associated with ancestral clans from the north who may have been associated with the Fremont. They consulted at some length, and decided that dating the flute would be important in determining cultural affiliation, and that the preferred method would be the relatively non-destructive OSL technique through the Utah State University lab.
Dr. Rittenour Examines the Flute Site with Alan Green
Dr. Tammy Rittenour is confident the Optically Stimulated Luminescence technique will allow her to determine if the flute is 500, 1000 or 3000 years old. She will set up a dark room at the museum where she will be able to work without “dosing” the dirt inside the flute, or exposing it to light. All she needs are a few grains of sand. She examined the flute and identified an area with packed sediment in the end of the flute where she will extract several sand grains for dating, then visited the Range Creek site where the flute was found and recovered sediment samples for comparative analyses. Although fragile and possibly 1,000 years old, Dr. Rittenour was surprised at the preservation of the flute. She appeared to be even more surprised after she reached the site (a 200 ft hike up steep talus and then across a narrow ridge) and examined the location where the flute was hidden, maybe for 1000 years. She is excited to work with the flute, and perhaps to conduct additional research in Range Creek.
Renee Barlow, Curator of Archaeology
Dr. Tammy Rittenour is confident the Optically Stimulated Luminescence technique will allow her to determine if the flute is 500, 1000 or 3000 years old. She will set up a dark room at the museum where she will be able to work without “dosing” the dirt inside the flute, or exposing it to light. All she needs are a few grains of sand. She examined the flute and identified an area with packed sediment in the end of the flute where she will extract several sand grains for dating, then visited the Range Creek site where the flute was found and recovered sediment samples for comparative analyses. Although fragile and possibly 1,000 years old, Dr. Rittenour was surprised at the preservation of the flute. She appeared to be even more surprised after she reached the site (a 200 ft hike up steep talus and then across a narrow ridge) and examined the location where the flute was hidden, maybe for 1000 years. She is excited to work with the flute, and perhaps to conduct additional research in Range Creek.
Renee Barlow, Curator of Archaeology
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