Range Creek Ranch

Our archeological team was contacted by a farmer who happened to stumble across some projectile points while herding his cattle. The farmer had grown up on the farm near the site his whole life and had no idea. The site is located about thirty miles southeast of Price, Utah and has an uneven road next to steep cliffs. When the team of archeologists first arrived they saw desert like ground and brush for miles followed by sheer cliffs.

The team decided to use a systematic archeological survey for the site. We had a group of twenty archeological members surveying the ground for a sign that people once lived in this area. We spanned all twenty members with five feet between each person scanning the ground for all types of artifacts. For our excavation we relied strictly on surface archeology. By using the surveying method we chose the team of archeologists was able to locate a handful of projectile points, clay figures, and pieces of pottery.

We decided to plan the distribution of digging and testing in a series of maps. We mapped out the places where our team found the most artifacts and used remote sensing to pinpoint the exact place to excavate and to minimize damage done to the rest of the site. By doing so the team was able to find multiple more calculated areas to dig. We used a datum point excavation strategy. We mapped up the area we knew we wanted to dig with .5 x .5 square meters. Once the team found an artifact we carefully sifted through the dirt and brushed the artifacts off with a towel or paintbrush to remove the excess dirt. We recorded exactly where we obtained any and all artifact information or where we disturbed an area. When the artifacts were found and tagged we sent them off to our labs to be analyzed and cataloged.

Dating the Site

            Though I couldn’t find the exact age of the Range Creek Ranch site, the people who occupied the area and left the remnants lived from 400 AD to about 1300 AD. These people were the Fremont. Archaeologists discovered this age through radiocarbon dating. This method showed that the Fremont population in Range Creek was intense from 1000 AD to 1175 AD. Radiocarbon dating is when archaeologists look at biological specimens to determine their age through the carbon they find

within the specimen.

Assemblages

            One of the many assemblages found among the many cliffs and miles of the Book Cliffs in eastern Utah. The main find was the presence of potsherds and arrowheads found everywhere. There are over 400 different sites found so far and groups keep finding more around. Rock art is found on mainly of the walls in granaries and along the cliff walls. I couldn’t find any animal remains on any of the sites I found. The main marvel here was the many house outlines and potsherds lying around.

Wildlife

            The wildlife that lives around the area include bears, mountain lions, various types of birds and plenty of reptiles. Things the Fremont probably ate would include the mountain lions, birds and some reptiles. They also farmed quite a bit. The things they farmed were a type of corn, carrots and other grains because those were some of the only things that could survive in the dry landscape.