300 archaeological sites, in one 4200 acre area, untouched by man for over 1000 years?Sounds unlikely, but that's exactly what exists on Range Creek Ranch in a remote part of Utah. Owned and protected by the Wilcox family for generations this incredibly well-preserved piece of history was sold by Waldo Wilcox (pictured below courtesy of Great Outdoors.com) to the Trust for Public Lands in 2001 and then deeded to the State of Utah.
Native American pithouse villages, granaries high on cliff walls, hundreds rock art images, and seemingly endless scatters of stone tools, beads, and ceramics are spread across the landscape. Credited to the ancient Fremont Culture these artifacts are essentially pristine...as if the Fremont people had walked away over 1000 years ago, never to return.
In its best episode to date Time Team America spent 3 days working with lead archaeologist, Duncan Metcalfe, of the Utah Museum of Natural History. Just below is a short preview video from Time Team America. (click here to watch the whole Ranch Creek Time Team Episode).To learn more about Range Creek Ranch and its fascinating story check out...
Secrets of the Range Creek Ranch, Smithsonian Magazine
The Lost World of Range Creek, Great Outdoor.com
Secrets of the Lost Canyon, KUED-University of Utah
Range Creek, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
###
No comments:
Post a Comment