Ice Patch Archaeology in the Teton Mountains

Abstract

Since 2015, I have investigated 21 ice patches in the Teton Range, Wyoming and located one pre-contact and several post-contact artifacts. The pre-contact artifact is a modified whitebark pine stick that dates to 3158 to 2960 cal BP. The post-contact artifacts are one 1940s wallet, one carved Boy Scout walking stick, and two modified pine sticks that date to the contact/post-contact periods. I also collected paleobiological specimens, including wood samples from dead trees and bison bones that are used to reconstruct past tree line elevations, as proxies for paleoclimate regimes, and to reconstruct the pre-contact lifeways of bison in the higher elevations of the Greater Yellowstone Area. This article presents the combined results of these investigations and their implications for future ice patch research in the Tetons.