Paleo-Indians of Utah

Hannah Falck
Jennifer Garcia
Brett Barratt

Table Of Contents

Survey recap
Excavation
Dating the site
Assemblages
The people
Works Cited

Survey recap
Excavation
Dating the site
Assemblages
The people
Works Cited

The site was originally discovered during a

dam expansion survey of Electric Lake

Some artifacts, including projectile points

had been recovered in the area

The site was overwhelmingly large given the

time constraints

Areas where locals had recovered items

were reviewed carefully

Coordinates of the remaining area were

drawn randomly for sampling

A variety of artifacts were discovered

throughout the site

Projectile Point
Structure
Grinding Stone
Potsherd
Midden

While difficult to detect, evidence was found

of a permanent structure cluster

Projectile Point
Structure
Grinding Stone
Potsherd
Midden

Survey recap
Excavation
Dating the site
Assemblages
The people
Works cited

With limited time, we focused our excavation

where the most surface artifacts were found

Projectile Point
Structure
Grinding Stone
Potsherd
Midden

We expanded our search area slightly and

broke it into a 1 meter grid system

We centered a rebar in a natural rock

formation for a datum point

We excavated multiple sample areas in 10

centimeter intervals

Dirt was sifted to check for fragments using

1/8in mesh

Survey recap
Excavation
Dating the site
Assemblages
The people
Works Cited

Based on what was found, relative dating

methods were used
Relative Dating

Determines the
order of formation of
remains using
stratigraphic
methods.
Qualitative method
of dating.

Absolute Dating

Provides the order

of formation of
remains.
Provides the age of
remains.

Determines the age

of remains using
radiometric
methods.
Quantitative method
of dating.

One of the most effective dating tools we

had was the potsherds
Potsherds by percentage
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Oldest

Low Period

Fiber-tempered ceramics
Greater handle usage

Mid Period

Late Period

Greater sand content

Elaborate designs

Evidence of a structure also gave an

estimated time for one site occupation

We estimate the oldest occupation to date to

approximately 12,000 BP

Survey recap
Excavation
Dating the site
Assemblages
The people
Works Cited

Most of our assemblages came from several

middens discovered nearby

Our most exciting discovery came from the

oldest midden

However, several key artifacts were found in

the structure giving a perplexing story

Survey recap
Excavation
Dating the site
Assemblages
The people
Works Cited

The area was in use at several distinct

times, evident in the potsherds

The variety of potsherds indicates extensive

traveling and trading

The last occupants abandoned the site in

haste

Survey recap
Excavation
Dating the site
Assemblages
The people
Works Cited

Works Cited

Alexander, T. (n.d.). Paleo-Indians. Retrieved June 11, 2015, from

http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/american_indians/paleo-indians.html
Kelly, R., & Thomas, D. (2014). Archaeology: Down to earth. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich College.
The Paleoindian Period: 13,000 (or earlier) to 6000 B.C. (n.d.). Retrieved June 11, 2015, from
https://www.crowcanyon.org/EducationProducts/peoples_mesa_verde/paleoindian_housing.a
sp
Rust, J. (n.d.). Paleoindian to Late Prehistoric Eras. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
Images:
Paleo-Indians Hunting. Paleo-Indian Nomads. (n.d.). Retrieved June 11, 2015, from
http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/gastudiesimages/Paleo Indian Nomads.jpg
Electric Lake Dam. (n.d.). Retrieved June 11, 2015, from
http://www.hikesandlakes.com/images/Electric Lake-1.jpg
Google Maps - Electric Lake Dam. (n.d.). Retrieved June 11, 2015, from
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Electric Lake Dam
PPT design petroglyph. (n.d.). Retrieved June 11, 2015, from
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/MtnSheepPetroglyph.jpg

Color Scheme
245 221 198
181 163 146
117 106 95
54 48 43
219 198 177