Archaeology

Field school students map tipi ring at the Two Eagles site, Bighorn Canyon NRA.

NPS

What is Archaeology?
Archaeology is the scientific study of past human culture, technology, and behavior based on the analysis of remains that people have left behind. Archaeologists propose, evaluate, and undertake research projects to learn how specific ways of life developed and how they changed over time. The new Two Eagles Trail will be dedicated October 20, 2012, and visitors will be able to walk through an ancient tipi rings site, which will have several interpretive wayside signs to educate the public.

Archaeological research is based on the premise that elementary human needs for food, shelter, and social organization span time; archaeologists use careful methods to record and excavate sites, and to examine material remains that people left behind.

These remains reflect their individual cultures and by studying the remains we can learn about these early people. The study of the nonrenewable and fragile remains of past cultures instills awareness for the need to preserve and protect archaeological sites.

Archaeology At Bighorn Canyon NRA
Much of the archaeological work at Bighorn Canyon focuses on the Bad Pass Trail. This ancient trail led from the mouth of the Bighorn Canyon southward into the Bighorn Basin and eventually to the Wind River Mountains. This route served inhabitants of the region.

The rough country between the Pryor and Bighorn Mountains was an unlikely place for some of the earliest human inhabitants of North America. However, archaeologists using radiocarbon dating and other scientific methods have established that people lived in the vicinity at least 10,000 years ago and possibly as far back as 12,000 years ago.

To learn more about archaeological work on the Bad Pass Trail click on the following link:

Documenting Tipi Rings on the Bad Pass Trail

Help Protect Archaeological Sites
Archaeological sites, like other resources in the park, are protected under federal legislation. If you come upon archaeological materials, do not remove, but report your findings to a park ranger, who will record this information. The locational information is very important to our understanding of the past human habitation of Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area.

Removal of artifacts from their location destroys essential information needed in order to study past humans. If you see anyone collecting or destroying archaeological materials, please report this to park rangers.