MACROFLORAL, PROTEIN RESIDUE (CIEP), AND ELEMENTAL COMPOSITION (XRF) ANALYSIS AND AMS RADIOCARBON AGE DETERMINATION OF SAMPLES FROM SITE 5LA12616 (OWENS CACHE), LAS ANIMAS COUNTY, COLORADO

Site 5LA12616 (Owens Cache) is located within the Pinyon Canyon Maneuver Site in southeastern Colorado. The cache encountered under the bedrock niche consisted of three chipped stone tools and sparse micro-debitage. Stone tools were submitted for protein analysis (CIEP). Macrofloral and radiocarbon analysis were requested for two sediment samples collected in the vicinity of intact artifacts to recover and identify charred remains, including charcoal, that would be suitable for radiocarbon analysis. Although the geomorphic observations indicate a relatively young deposition, the artifact technology suggests Clovis age (Thaddeus Swan, personal communication March 28, 2018). In addition, XRF analysis was conducted on a possible ochre sample from the same deposit.