Prehistory of Colorado

Prehistory of Colorado provides an overview of the activities that occurred prior to Colorado's recorded history. Colorado experienced cataclysmic geological events over billions of years, which shaped the land and resulted in diverse ecosystems. The ecosystems included several ice ages, tropical oceans, and a massive volcanic eruption. Then, ancient layers of earth rose to become the Rocky Mountains.

Before man, the dinosaur, mammoth, mastodon, camelops and giant bison foraged for food in a verdant land. During the Ice Age Summer humans walked into the present Colorado area as they followed and hunted large animals.

The ancient hunters, the Paleo-Indians, evolved into modern Native American nations. The first people in Colorado were nomadic, following and hunting large mammals using the Clovis point. As Megafauna became extinct, people adapted by hunting smaller animals, gathering wild plants, and cultivating food, such as maize. As the natives became more sedentary, there were significant technological and social advances, including basket, pottery, and tool making and creation of permanent structures and communities. Trading with other indigenous people expanded the number and type of material items used for material goods, such as sea shells, stones for jewelry and tools, pottery and food.

The following is a summary of geological formations in Colorado:

Precambrian metamorphic rock that forms the core of the North American continent during the Precambrian eon 4.5–1 billion years ago. There is also Precambrian sedimentary argillite, dating back to 1.7 billion years ago. During the Paleozoic, western North America lay underneath a shallow sea, which deposited many kilometers of limestone and dolomite.

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