Folsom structures in the Wyoming Basin of southwest Wyoming: The evidence from site 48SW97

Folsom people are traditionally thought to be highly residentially mobile specialized bison hunters focused on the grasslands of the Great Plains. Recent research has begun to show greater variability in their land-use patterns and mobility in the mountains and intermountain basins of the Rocky Mountains. The excavation at site 48SW97 of the remains of two structures consisting of roughly circular arrangements of cobbles associated with Folsom points adds to this growing evidence of variability. Site 48SW97 is on a juniper-covered ridge on the Rock Springs Uplift portion of the high semi-arid Wyoming Basin of the Middle Rocky Mountains. The superstructures associated with these rock features appear to have lacked an elaborate design and may have been simple windbreaks made from stacked sagebrush and juniper branches or hides. The excavated portion of the site probably represents a single short-term occupation in an area that was repetitively reused and contrasts with other Folsom sites in southwest Wyoming that contain evidence of occupations of longer duration.

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