Phillips-Williams Fork Reservoir Site facts for kids
The Phillips-Williams Fork Reservoir site (also called 5GA1955) is an important place where scientists have found tools from very old times. It's located by the Williams Fork Reservoir in Grand County, Colorado. This area is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Kremmling. The site sits high up, about 2,400 meters (7,874 feet) above sea level, in a place called Middle Park.
Scientists found special stone tools called projectile points here. These points were used by early people, often for hunting. Some points are from a time called the James Allen complex (about 9,350 to 7,900 years ago). Other points found are similar to Goshen or Plainview types, which are even older (about 11,000 years ago).
Where is the Site?
The Phillips-Williams Fork site is on a flat area of land. This land is between the Colorado River and a smaller river called the Williams Fork Tributary. Around where these two rivers meet, the land stays mostly flat for about 8 to 16 kilometers (5 to 10 miles). Then, it meets mountains like the Front Range to the east, the Rabbit Ears Range to the north, and the Gore Range to the southwest.
Site History
How it Was Found
The Phillips-Williams Fork Reservoir Site was discovered by a husband and wife team, Ralph and Ruth Phillips. They spent five years collecting items from the surface of the site. No one has dug deep into the ground here yet. All the tools and items found were picked up from the surface.
What Was Found
Most of the tools found at the Phillips-Williams Fork Reservoir site are projectile points from the James Allen period. However, two points look like the older Goshen or Plainview types. Even though many points look similar, some have small differences. Experts sometimes call these points "grey area" James Allen types because they don't perfectly fit the usual description. But after careful study, scientists confirmed that the 30 points found were indeed James Allen and Goshen/Plainview types.
A report on the site mentions 28 James Allen projectile points and 2 Goshen/Plainview projectile points. We don't have much information about other tools or stone flakes (called debitage) found at the site yet.
Scientists can guess the age of these points by comparing them to similar tools found at other sites. These other sites are in places like Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Montana. For example, James Allen points are usually from about 9,350 to 7,900 years ago. Goshen/Plainview points are even older, from around 11,000 years ago.
No animal bones or remains have been reported from this site.
Why This Site is Important
The Phillips-Williams Fork Reservoir site helps archaeologists learn how early people, like the James Allen groups, used mountain areas a long time ago. When we compare this site to others in Colorado, the number of points found here is similar to sites where large groups of ancient bison were hunted.
However, there's no clear sign of a bison hunt at this site. Also, the points don't show many "impact fractures." These breaks usually happen when a point hits something hard during hunting. This makes scientists wonder how the points were used here. Some points have "bend breaks," which happen when a tool breaks while being made. This suggests the site might have been a temporary camp where people made or fixed tools.
Finding both Goshen/Plainview and James Allen points is also important. It could mean that different groups of people used the site at different times. Or, it might mean that later groups found and reused older points. It could also suggest that the Goshen/Plainview style of points continued to be made or was copied by toolmakers in later periods.
