Mark E. Miller

The Trappers Point site (48SU1006): Early Archaic adaptations and pronghorn procurement in the Upper Green River Basin, Wyoming.

Abstract The Trappers Point site is a stratified Early Archaic site near Pinedale, WYoming, containing three intact cultural components (strata III, V, VII) ranging in age from 7880-4690 radiocarbon years before present (RCYBP). Pronghorn remains are the most common elements and they indicate a spring season of use for the middle of the three occupations. Comparisons of skeletal morphology and behavior between prehistoric and modern pronghorn populations have generated provocative observations and prompted more critical contrasts with paleoenvironmental evidence. Trappers Point provides the best evidence for Early Archaic pronghorn procurement in the entire area, and over half of the site has been left in place for future research.

The John Gale Site Biface Cache

Eighteen chert bifaces were found cached at the John Gale campsite near Rawlins, Wyoming in 1936. Tliey were made from source material available in or near the Green River Basin, then transported eastward. TJiis paper describes morphological variation and manufacturing technology and proposes a production classification for the assemblage. Tlie sample consists of what probably are Late Prehistoric age, early to middle stage bifaces which survived long distance transport as durable items prior to being cached.

Stock raising and winter sheep camps in south-central Wyoming (1880–1957): An ethnoarchaeological example

Winter sheep camp locations on one ranch in south-central Wyoming are strongly influenced by particular landscape and topographic attributes. A patterned distribution of camps is suggested from both archaeological and ethnohistoric evidence. Sheep camps are one of the most ubiquitous archaeological sites in the region and offer valuable insights into the transhumant settlement pattern of the nineteenth and early twentieth century sheep industry. Our knowledge of this site type owes much to the growth of Cultural Resource Management over the last 40 years. The present study incorporates both participant interviews and Cultural Resource Management archaeology to offer a testable model for site location and content on sheep range in Carbon County, Wyoming.

In search of the Fraeb battlefield and trading post, August 1841

Abstract During the late 1830s and early 1840s, trading posts in Wyoming were relocating to major waterways and trail systems to capture the burgeoning indigenous bison robe and overland Euroamerican emigrant trade. Recent research discovered references to a “Fraebs trading post” operating in southern Wyoming during the 1830s. Wyoming cultural records also contain a site form for 48CR1184, the “Bridger and Fraeb trading post,” located in south-central Wyoming. The construction of a post in southern Wyoming during the 1830s would have been at odds with developing economic models. Historical references describe a battle between Euroamerican trappers and Native Americans near the supposed Fraebs trading post. However, reliable references to the nature of the structure associated with the battle have not been discovered. In 2011, the authors conducted archaeological investigations in an effort to locate the battle site and possible remains of the post to gain insight into historic activities at this location.