Back on the Swell

Archaeology is back in swing at the CEU Prehistoric Museum, with lots of trips to discover and record sites.

Tuesday we recorded a lithic scatter found by volunteer Craig Royce, and several Archaic projectile points on the San Rafael Swell. Mr. Royce is an expert in geology, regularly volunteers at the Paleo Lab with John Bird, and teaches literature at the Pinnacle Academy. He brought two of his best students, Victoria "Tori" Brandt and Trevor Burge, to help out at the site.

The day was hot, with temperatures exceeding 80 degrees, and it was a beautiful day on the Swell. Tori turned out to be an excellent artist, creating a very good sketch of a Humboldt concave-base projectile, and Trevor was a natural with the Trimble GPS, recording most of the artifacts on the site.

We have a beautiful Shoshoni eagle feather headdress that will be donated back to the Shoshoni Tribe. The headdress was presented by the tribe to KSL weatherman Bob Welty back in the 1980s at the Festival of the American West. It was brought to the museum by Chris Montague, the Director of Conservation Programs at the Nature Conservancy in Salt Lake. It is made of the primary flight feathers and plume feathers of a bald eagle, with ermines and rabbit fur and very nice beadwork. It is authentic, and quite striking. We are very pleased to be returning this beautiful artifact to Bruce Parry, Executive Director of the Shoshoni Tribe in Brigham City, so the tribe can display it in the new tribal museum at the American West Heritage Center.

Our latest Saturday on the Swell started balmy and ended stormy, with rain, snow, hail and hurricane force winds. Fifteen intrepid explorers/volunteers came on the expedition, including: CEU archaeology intern Jen Zivkovich, CVAS member Jim Huffaker, Weber State University Students Maren Svare, Stephanie Karren, Chance Cummings, Selest Sanchez and Debra Lynne, and volunteers Camille and Michael Davidson, Breanne Loosle, Linda and Tim Patterson, and professional archaeologists Alison Leick and Byron Loosle (Dr. Loosle is also the BLM state archaeologist). We left the museum in sunshine, but by the time we reached the site there was a strong wind and foreboding clouds. The volunteers flagged and recorded pottery sherds, lithic debitage and tools, and even a mano. The site is a Fremont village, and was so large that we had to concentrate on one activity area. We will be documenting, mapping, and eventually conducting excavations at this important site. After lunch, the temperature quickly dropped about 15 degrees and the rain/hail started, so we moved up to the Rochester site where we had calm weather for about 40 minutes. The rock art was spectacular, and the hike was very nice, and then we headed into town for a quick stop for hot chocolate and restrooms.

Please join us for our next Saturday on the Swell during Utah Prehistory Week on Saturday, May 9. We will be discussing the Barrier Canyon Archaic and the San Rafael Fremont, and touring several famous rock art sites, including Buckhorn Wash, Head of Sinbad, Black Dragon, Dry Wash and Rochester. RSVP to Dr. Renee Barlow at 435-613-5290 or renee.barlow@ceu.edu by Thursday, May 7, and make sure to bring your lunch, snacks, plenty of water, a hat with a brim, sunscreen and hiking shoes. And rain gear-- just in case.



Renee Barlow, Ph.D.
Curator of Archaeology
College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum
451 East 400 North, Price, Utah 84501
phone/voicemail 435-613-5290