Image of Corn Creek 6

The prehistoric occupants of Corn Creek built tepee-like circular surface shelters to protect themselves from the weather. They were about 10 to 12 feet in diameter the length and intensity of use of the shelters resulted in the sands beneath their floors being compressed into shallow dish-like depressions. Central firehearths were used for heat and cooking along with outside cooking areas. Bighorn mountain sheep were the primary food source although many other animals were also encountered and hunted. The range of animal bones at the site indicates that most sheep were hunted and killed at some distance from the campsite. Most of the bones are from the front and hind quarters that are attached to the meaty portions of big game and the spine and ribs were probably left at the kill site. The bones were all battered and broken to extract the bone marrow and probably to extract the oils and grease from the bone (a very nutritious part of big game – similar to our use of beef broth, etc, in soup). Because the Salmon River adjacent to the site is very broad the site location is not a good place to take migrating salmon (and no salmon bones were found although numerous succer bones were recovered).

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