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A small rockshelter (42UN1103) in Dinosaur National Monument was recently excavated by personnel from the Midwest Archeological Center. A dry-laid sandstone retaining wall partially covered the mouth of the shelter, which also contained a slab-lined storage cist and a possible unfired clay-and-wattle storage cist. Material remains found in the shelter included a diagnostic Fremont knife tip and a cache of corn cobs. Scattered hearth remains within the shelter imply temporary habitation.

Radiocarbon dates from 42UN1103 indicate a utilization of the shelter between A.D. 1010 and A.D. 1570. Two log supports in the retaining wall substantiate the later part of this occupation, providing dendrochronological dates of A.D. 1568 and A.D. 1585. The presence of dent corn in associateion with these dates tentatively suggests recent use of the shelter by a group with a subsistence partially dependent upon corn. Such data may substantiate the growing body of evidence indicating that the Uintah Basin was occupied either by the Fremont or by a group having "Fremont-like" characteristics, but at a much later date than is typically reported. In conjunction with evidence from other recently excavated sites in the area, it is clear that a reconsideration of the so-called "Fremont demise" is underway.

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