VSO has been cataloging artifacts at the Prehistoric Museum. The other day she sent me this picture of a piece of wood removed from a Fremont granary in Range Creek by an early archaeologist. We speculated about the origins of the artifact and looked at some of the literature from Range Creek. For the most part, researchers believe that Fremont builders used primarily Douglas fir and Utah juniper. But, how can they tell? What, for instance, is pictured above?
Yesterday, I made a run to the top of the pass above the canyon to see what was out there. Douglas fir, limber pine, big tooth maple, aspen, Rocky Mountain juniper, mountain mahogany, pinyon pine, Gambel oak, and Rocky Mountain maple. (I was surprised to see the limber because it is not on the range map.) I didn't see Utah juniper at that location. At any rate, it made me wonder if Fremont construction might have used a larger number of species than those listed and whether it would be easy to tell the difference between them. I collected pieces of dead wood to compare with the artifacts. This one (below) is pinyon. And it is definitely not the same as the artifact, which I will concede is most likely to be Douglas fir.
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