Date of Award

5-2026

Degree Type

Report

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Sociology and Anthropology

Committee Chair(s)

Judson Byrd Finley (Committee Chair)

Committee

Judson Byrd Finley

Committee

David Byers

Committee

Jacob Freeman

Abstract

Archaeological research on the Fremont tradition in Utah has historically emphasized large village excavations to define Fremont cultural traits. While these investigations have clarified aspects of material culture, architecture, and subsistence, villages represent only brief, localized occupations within a millennium-long continuum of mixed foraging and farming (Simms 2008). This emphasis on large settlements has left smaller, more ephemeral sites that are integral to dryland human ecology underrepresented.

Fremont archaeology in Utah needs a perspective that unifies village-based excavations with landscape-level survey data to fully understand the scope of developmental and behavioral trajectories in northern Colorado Plateau dryland agricultural systems. Through integrating academic excavation reports and a sample of 495 CRM generated site forms, this study demonstrates that the dispersed, non-architectural activity areas dot the landscape. For example, widespread thermal features reflect repeated subsistence processing beyond village contexts. Documenting these sites contributes to a better understanding of the organization of agricultural production and settlement systems in this region.

Available for download on Tuesday, January 01, 2256

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