The red dirt of a Utah ranch has been keeping a secret for centuries. Now archaeologists are uncovering an almost perfectly preserved picture of ancient American Indian life in Range Creek, a remote canyon located in east-central Utah. "It's like a brand-new library that nobody's ever looked at before," Kevin Jones, an archaeologist for the state of Utah, told TFK.
Range Creek holds evidence of the Fremont culture. The Fremont were farmers and hunter-gatherers who lived in the area about 1,000 years ago. Researchers have found more than 300 village sites. They believe that the remote canyon may hold thousands more. "The most astounding thing we've discovered so far in Range Creek is that the sites are in fantastic condition," says Jones. "They haven't been damaged."
Time, looters and vandals have taken a heavy toll on other American Indian sites. But Range Creek's treasures are remarkably well preserved.
Archaeologists have found stone pit houses that the Fremont partially dug into the ground. The houses kept people warm in the winter and cool in the summer. High on cliffsides, the Fremont built stone granaries to store grain and corn. Pottery shards and arrowheads are scattered about the area. Researchers have unearthed human bones at four village sites.
Secret Ruins Revealed
Waldo Wilcox, a rancher, owned Range Creek for more than 50 years. He
kept the historical treasures a secret from most outsiders. "I didn't
want people to destroy it," he told TFK. In 2001, he sold the ranch to a
conservation group for $2.5 million. The group transferred the land to
the Bureau of Land Management, which then turned it over to Utah. Range
Creek's ruins remained hidden until last summer, when archaeologists
revealed the site to reporters.
Now the challenge is to protect the site. "We need to allow people to see it and learn from it in a way that doesn't wreck it," Jones says.
Wilcox agrees. "I'd like for my grandkids to see it the same way I've seen it," he says.