Settlement Locations

Houses were not the only prehistoric remains found at the Crooks Canyon sites. A number of older scatters of stone tools and debris ("middens") were also located. While many of these older sites are found in broad, open meadows, virtually all of the later house structures were clustered within dense stands of juniper. Archaeologists believe that this shift in settlement location, from one where activities were conducted out in the open to one where they were closed-off and hidden behind a protective screen of trees, provides some of the best evidence that the inhabitants of these villages felt under threat of attack.

Topographic map of Crooks Canyon site areas (right). Older sites tend to be located in open sagebrush meadows, whereas later-dating house structures are often situated behind a protective screen of juniper similar to those depicted in the photo (below).


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