POLLEN AND STARCH ANALYSIS OF SAMPLES FROM SITES 5DA3208 AND 5DA3419, DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO

Sites 5DA3208 and 5DA3419 are located south of the town of Parker in Douglas County, Colorado. A 2017 excavation of Site 5DA3208 by ERO Resources revealed a multicomponent prehistoric open camp centered on a knoll overlooking Newlin Gulch (Marcus Espinosa, personal communication, November 21, 2018). Based upon identification of associated cultural materials, ERO suggests that Site 5DA3208 was most intensely occupied during the Late Archaic period. Additional evidence for Early Ceramic and Middle Archaic cultural components were also discovered at Site 5DA3208.
Site 5DA3419 is situated on the eastern edge of Oak Gulch on the northern escarpment of the Palmer Divide, northeast of Site 5DA3208. Excavation by ERO in 2017 revealed Site 5DA3419 to be a multicomponent prehistoric site. A variety of features and artifacts linked the site to two phases of Early Ceramic and single phases of Late Archaic and Middle Archaic cultural components.
ERO submitted two samples (Samples CN782 and CN111) from Site 5DA3208 and four samples (Samples CN1124, CN3093, CN2491, and CN2717) from Site 5DA3419 to PaleoResearch Institute. PaleoResearch conducted pollen and starch analyses on Samples CN782, CN1124, and CN2491 and solely pollen analysis on Samples CN111, CN3093, and CN2717. The objective of ERO is to assess the use of metates at both sites, with specific instruction to examine the samples from Site 5DA3419 for evidence of burning.