The Prehistory of Wyoming's Mountain Peoples (Prehistoric North America)

For decades scientists have assumed that during prehistoric times humans have never really lived in the mountainous areas of North America. This assumption was most especially applied to the mountainous regions in the northwestern corner of Wyoming, which includes Yellowstone National Park, the five national forests surrounding it, Grand Teton National Park, the mountainous south central portion of a small part of southern Montana which includes the Gallatin and Absaroka mountain ranges and the Wind River Mountains. Instead, most archaeologists assumed the prehistoric peoples in North America only ventured into the mountains for brief and random periods when they had no choice due to adverse conditions such as from population pressure or from a lack of food sources. However, in recent times melting ice and wild fires have been revealing substantial evidence of humanity having a sustained presence at heights over 8,000 feet in northwestern Wyoming. These include numerous mountain villages containing innumerabl