Folsom Archaeology in the Gunnison Basin
While most archaeologists think of Folsom as being on the Plains and in the Rio Grande Valley, there are numerous Folsom sites in the Upper Gunnison Basin. One of the largest Folsom sites in our area is the Mountaineer Site.
Western State College owns the Mountaineer Site. Western's undergraduate archaeological field school (required of Anthropology majors) has been conducted on this site since 2001. Colorado Archaeological Society volunteers and professional archaeologists have helped us uncover the past on the site. Graduate students from Southern Methodist University have also worked with us and excavated a portion of the site. Together we have opened three of perhaps fifteen Folsom occupations on Mountaineer.
Recent block excavations at the Mountaineer Site near Gunnison, Colorado have yielded a surprising Folsom assemblage. The stone assemblage is large and numbers about 30,000 pieces. The tools are typical Folsom style; but like the debitage, they are made mainly of local quartzite. Faunal material shows some processing of large mammals including bison. Much of the Folsom material comes from an associated prehistoric structure in the excavation block. This unusual site doesn’t fit the familiar model of Folsom settlement.
Material from the block excavations in one area (118 square meters) of the Mountaineer Site have yielded the following:
For questions or for more information contact Dr. Mark Stiger via email at mstiger@western.edu.
The view from the site is spectacular.
