The Dirt on Archaeology: The Dirt on Archaeology: Gar Fish and the Lost Fremont Sites

We returned to excavate a thin layer of cultural sediments above the lower, 1200 year old floor on two grid units. The crew consisted of CVAS member Marvin Evans and CEU students Jake Anderson and Sarah Botkin. We only recovered a single lithic artifact from the floor, but Jake and Sarah found it while being filmed, and we took quite a few samples from the floor for pollen, phytolith, and macrofossil analyses for microscopic evidence of the foods they were storing and eating at the site. I am hoping for maize pollen!

We had lots of visitors on site. Rick Shaw from the Sun Advocate, Josie Luke from EmeryTelcom TV, and Janna Monson from KUSA and KASL radio stations examined the excavation at "Applique House" and toured some of the other sites in Range Creek. It was a wonderful excursion until the museum suburban broke down! Luckily, we got a tow back up the canyon, courtesy of Josie Luke and her beautiful new SUV. We also had a great visit from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, led by Bill Bates, the Region Manager in Price, and Mark Connolly, the main security officer in Range Creek.

We also recorded several Fremont sites near Nine Mile Canyon-- including a amall pithouse village with pottery and ground stone, and a large site with maize, three granaries and three rock art panels-- and looked at several additional sites that we will be recording during the next month. Thank you Marvin Evans and Tom and Jeannie McCourt!

Tom McCourt made the most exciting discovery of the week... fossilized scales from a prehistoric gar fish! These fish were predators adapted to shallow, still, murky water. They can be up to 3 meters long, weigh hundreds of pounds, and have been around for about 60-100 million years. Wow!!