Mystery tribe
What happened to the Fremont Indians? New discoveries may tell their tale at last
Like the Anasazi, the Fremont raised corn, beans, and squash, but they relied more heavily on wild foods, probably trekking every year between fields near creeks and rivers and foraging grounds. The Fremont left behind distinctive baskets, trapezoidal-shaped clay figurines, and rock art of unparalleled beauty and complexity. "The Anasazi have some interesting rock art," says Spangler, "but the Fremont were absolutely brilliant artists."
War? Although archaeologists are generally reluctant to read too much into rock art, some venture to say that panels in nearby Nine Mile Canyon may give clues as to the demise of the Fremont. "Some appear to depict warfare quite graphically," says Utah state archaeologist Kevin Jones. There are, for example, panels with images of people apparently wielding weapons and shields. Jones also sees evidence of strife in the little granaries tucked way up high into rock faces at Range Creek and the ruins of dwellings perched on pinnacles 900 feet above the canyon floor. "We've had to use technical climbing gear to get to some of these spots," he says.
What had the Fremont climbing the walls? Researchers are still piecing together the story, but the archaeological record shows that the Anasazi ran into trouble about the same time as the Fremont, suggesting, says Jones, "that something was occurring on a large scale across North America." One stress was undoubtedly a drought that began in A.D. 1270 and lasted 25 years. Another may have been the new groups--including ancestors of the Paiute and Ute peoples--moving into their arid territory, competing for plant and animal resources. "When people are starving and looking for ways to survive," says archaeologist David Madsen, author of Exploring the Fremont , "there's almost always violence."
Researchers already know how it all turned out: By the time Europeans arrived, the new crowd was in residence, and nearly all traces of the Fremont had disappeared. But what about the last act? Warfare and famine undoubtedly claimed many Fremont. But there's a debate about the fate of the rest of them. Shawn Carlyle, an adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Utah, believes that, like the Anasazi, many Fremont picked up and moved south, where they became the historic Pueblo people. He has analyzed ancient DNA from Anasazi and Fremont skeletons and found that it is more closely related to DNA from modern-day Pueblos than that from Northern Paiutes.
Madsen also believes that the remnant Fremont moved on. "The sudden replacement of classic Fremont artifacts by different kinds of basketry, pottery, and art styles historically associated with Utah's contemporary native inhabitants suggests that Fremont peoples were for the most part pushed out of the region," he writes. Kevin Jones envisions a somewhat happier ending. He thinks some Fremont families survived on their lands by reverting to full-time hunting and gathering. "Imagine if one day you or I had to leave our homes and strike out on our own," he says. "A thousand years from now, it would look like we'd disappeared when, in fact, we were just doing something different."
Fremont region
[Map labels]
Ore.
Calif.
Nev.
Utah
Ariz.
Idaho
N.M.
Colo.
Wyo.
Mont.
Rob Cady--USN&WR
With Paul Foy
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