SBCT Final EIS - Govsupport.us

Chapter 3 ⎯ Affected Environmentperiod of general warming and drying in western North America. The Archaic Stage represents a shiftfrom economies geared toward big game hunting to more generalized hunting and gathering. Basedon changes in projectile point morphology, the Archaic stage has been divided into Early Archaic(7,800 to 5,000 BP), Middle Archaic (5,000 to 3,000 BP), and Late Archaic (3,000 to 1,850 BP) periods.Archaic projectile points are nearly all stemmed and are not as delicately flaked as those of theearlier Paleoindian stage. In the general region, more sites of the Late Archaic period have been reportedthan sites of the earlier periods.The Late Prehistoric Stage (1,850 to 225 BP) is associated with important changes in subsistence patterns,artifact complexes, and demographics. The beginning of the stage coincides with innovationslike the bow and arrow, ceramics, and permanent or semi-permanent houses. The use of cultigensreached a significant level during this time, though few pollen or macrobotanical samples attest to thischange in southeastern Colorado. The Late Prehistoric Stage is divided into three periods: the DevelopmentalPeriod (1,850 to 900 BP), the Diversification Period (900 to 500 BP), and the ProtohistoricPeriod (500 to 225 BP).The Developmental Period corresponds with what has traditionally been referred to by archeologistsas the Plains Woodland Period or the Early Ceramic Period. Developmental Period sites are muchmore numerous in the region than those of earlier periods. At this time, cord-marked and plain pottery,small corner-notched arrow points (Scallorn, Reed, Bonham, Alba, Washita, Fresno, Chaquaquatypes), circular slab masonry architecture, and some agriculture first appeared.The Protohistoric Period (500 to 225 BP) extends from roughly 1450 A.D. to 1725 A.D. The earliestEuropean incursions into the region occurred during the first half of the sixteenth century, and the materialcultures of indigenous populations were altered significantly over the course of the ensuingthree centuries. Three principal indigenous groups entered southeastern Colorado during this period.In chronological order of appearance, they are the Apache, Comanche, and Cheyenne-Arapaho. Inaddition, southeastern Colorado was on the margin of Ute territory throughout protohistoric times.The Protohistoric Period corresponds with the Plains Nomadic Tradition. Material remains includemetal artifacts, micaceous pottery, Pueblo pottery, chipped glass artifacts, and side-notched points.3.3.4.2 Historic ContextThe first documented European incursions into the Northern Plains and Rocky Mountains were Spanishentradas in the mid-sixteenth century. Spain claimed the region and sent occasional expeditions,but did not establish permanent settlements on the northern frontier until early in the following century.Spain was temporarily driven out by the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, and returned in 1694. PermanentSpanish settlement remained south of Colorado well into the eighteenth century. Spain continuedto send expeditions north, including the punitive expedition of Anza that defeated a Comanche bandled by Cuerno Verde near Rye, Colorado in 1779. When peace was established between Spain and theComanche in 1786, trade and bison hunting flourished on the Plains and northern frontier. In theeighteenth century, the territorial claims of Spain and France overlapped in this region, but no directconfrontations occurred. When the U.S. obtained Louisiana from France in 1803, the boundaries ofLouisiana, largely disputed by Spain but claimed by the U.S., included the land extending west fromthe Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and the Rio Grande. It was not until 1819 that the Adams-OnisTreaty established the Arkansas River as the northern boundary of Spanish New Mexico.Few traces of these early historic periods have been documented in the area of FTC and PCMS.Beginning with Lewis and Clark in 1805, the U.S. sent expeditions west to explore Louisiana and toidentify a practical route west to the Pacific coast. Two subsequent expeditions are directly associatedwith the FTC area: the expedition of Captain Zebulon Pike of 1806 and the Long expedition of 1820.February 2008 3–150 2/25th SBCT Final EIS