REDISCOVERY
We keep finding old things. Some of them, we don't remember having had in our possession, but here there are - all of a sudden – and, very often, they are welcomed with new interest and concern.
Such a place is a recently re-discovered location of ancient ruins in the State of Utah which were the base for an ancient Paleo-Indian civilization which has been, heretofore, somewhat of a mystery.
The place is known as Range Creek Canyon and it has ruins dating from about the time of Christ. It is one of those sites on a private ranch and although it has been successfully kept as a family secret by the owners for over half a century, it is now under qualified archeology administration and it is unusual in that it presents an almost pristine look at the civilization which existed there. The sites are special treasures, seemingly untouched by invaders, scavengers, inept “diggers” or souvenir collectors.
The main canyon in which these ancient people lived was owned by a Utah rancher who, for fifty years has wisely kept it a secret. Excavations which are now underway are finding a wealth of artifacts undisturbed by previous workings. There are village sites and a fortress home extending as much as nine hundred feet above the wall of one of the more impressive mountains. Study shows that these people were those who settled the Utah area about two-thousand years ago. They are thought to have originated in Asia and, after crossing the Bering Strait land bridge, settled down. They have been known for some time as the “Fremont people”. The name is alleged to be that of a Spanish explorer who never saw any of them but found settlements he thought to be theirs throughout the general Utah area. Since that time they have continued to be called by that second-hand name. Perhaps the current dig will reveal a tribal distinction through their art work and restore a more meaningful name to their family. They were judged to have been hunters and planters of a limited number of crops known at their early period. .At some time around 1250 A.D They disappeared, it seems, as soddenly as did other tribes in the area.. The fate is still a mystery the key to which might be in the Range Creek Canyon ruins..
In their Utah settlements they prospered and thus invited the enmity of at least three less-settled tribes - the Utes, Soshone and the Pauites, who, it seems, spoke a numic-language. The less militant Fremont people, lost the struggle to keep their homeland and were pushed into the rugged canyon areas where they barely survived. Thus far over three hundred sites have been designated for additional, detailed study. The public awareness of the site cam to light in June of 2004 when the newspapers detailed the land transfers involved. ^The Research people and the Utah State Legislature were alert to the need for legislation specifically designed to protect the Range Creek Canyon area. V Visitors,today, must acquire permits to visit the area, and hunting and camping have been restricted The State of Utah also funded by foot and aircraft patrols of the area. The entire nation will forever be in debt to the state of Utah for the special attention they gave to the re-discovery of such early roots North American cultures.
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This is a treasured area from which all of us may well learn many of the secrets held in the artifacts which are found there about the early human inhabitants. Two hundred and fifty households to be studied. Stone-and-mortar granaries, storage rooms and enclosures as well scores of trapizodal figures painted on the canyon walls are believed to have been done at about the time of Christ. The Fremont people; had different way of weaving,they wore animal clawed moccasins, ands they mo developed remarkable hunting and farming skills. Their everyday tool and pottery different in form and content from that of other farming- oriented tribes south of the Colorado River. Much it to be learned of their individual qualities. Highly respected by existing Indian tribes in the Utah area today many claim to be kin and speak of them as their “ancestors.”
It may well come to be that be that one of the greatest values to come out of all this project will be to rediscover in the ancient ruins, the key to the true name of these people we still call ”The Fremont People”
A. L. M. October 4, 2004. [c758wds]
