Trinchera Cave Archeological District
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Trinchera Cave Archeological District
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| Location | Along Trinchera Creek, 8.5 miles (13.7 km) north of Trinchera |
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| Nearest city | Trinchera |
| Coordinates | 37°9′58″N 104°0′53″W / 37.16611°N 104.01472°WCoordinates: 37°9′58″N 104°0′53″W / 37.16611°N 104.01472°W |
| Area | 460 acres (190 ha) |
| Architectural style | Other, Stacked stone enclosure |
| NRHP Reference # | 01001120 |
| Added to NRHP | October 22, 2001 |
The Trinchera Cave Archeological District (5LA9555) is an archaeological site in Las Animas County, Colorado with artifacts primarily dating from 1000 BC to AD 1749, although there were some Archaic period artifacts found. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 and is located on State Trust Lands.
Trinchera Cave is located within the Trinchera Creek canyon in south central Colorado, west of Interstate 25, in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The climate zones and topography vary significantly in the 3,147 square mile Trinchera data analysis area (State of Colorado). Elevations range from 5,370 to 14,345 feet (1,637 to 4,372 m), the lowest being at the San Francisco Creek to the height at Blanca Peak. Between the two points are low rolling hills, valleys, ridges, steep mountain slopes and cliffs. At the lowest elevation there is less than 6 inches of precipitation per year; The mountainous areas receive 20 or more inches of precipitation per year, primarily in the form of snow. The habitat supports elk and deer populations.
Archaeological data indicates that there were people who inhabited or camped at the site from the late Archaic cultural period, Sopris Phase, Apishapa culture complex, and late prehistoric periods, which spanned a period from several thousand years BC to AD 1749.
People of the Archaic period were hunters of smaller game, such as deer, antelope and rabbits, and gatherers of wild plants. The people moved seasonally to hunting and gathering sites. Late in the Archaic period, about AD 200-500, corn was introduced into the diet and pottery-making became an occupation for storing and caring food.
Large corner notched points from the Archaic age are artifacts found at the site and akin to the Texas Ellis points or Denver area Magic Mountain Site points found in Zone B. The presence of the points could show a relationship to the Basketmaker culture of New Mexico and Arizona, one of 17 such sites in southern Colorado.
Sopris Phase, was an Upper Rio Grande hunter-gatherer culture that followed the Archaic period, influenced by pueblo people, such as the Taos Pueblo, and trade in the Upper Rio Grande.
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