NPS

Petroglyph

The prehistoric Fremont people lived throughout Utah and adjacent areas of Idaho, Colorado and Nevada from 700 to 1300 AD. The culture was named for the Fremont River and its valley in which many of the first Fremont sites were discovered.

The Fremont were an Ancestral Puebloan people who had strong cultural affiliations with their better-known contemporaries, the Anasazi. The Fremont often lived in pit houses (dug into the ground and covered with a brush roof), wickiups (brush and log huts) and natural rockshelters. Their social structure was composed of small, loosely organized bands consisting of several families. They were closely tied to nature and were flexible, diverse and adaptive -- often making changes in their lifeways as social or environmental changes occurred.

Diet:

The Fremont maintained a hunting and gathering lifestyle and supplemented their diet by farming; growing corn, beans and squash along the river bottoms. Edible native plants included pinyon nuts, rice grass and a variety of berries, nuts, bulbs, and tubers. Corn was ground into meal on a stone surface (metate) using a hand-held grinding stone (mano). Food was stored in pottery jars or baskets inside small masonry structures, called granaries, which were tucked under small overhangs on narrow ledges. Deer, bighorn sheep, rabbits, birds, fish and rodents were hunted using snares, nets, fishhooks, bow and arrow, and the atlatl or spear-throwing stick.

Unique Artifacts:

Archeologists have identified several kinds of artifacts that are distinctive to the Fremont people.One was a singular style of basketry, called one-rod-and-bundle, which incorporated willow, yucca, milkweed, and other native fibers. They also created pottery, mostly graywares, with smooth, polished surfaces or corrugated designs pinched into the clay.

Unlike the Anasazi who wore yucca fiber sandals, the Fremont made moccasins from the hide of large animals, such as deer, bighorn sheep or bison. The dew claws were left on the sole, possibly to act as hobnails; providing extra traction on slippery surfaces.

The most unique and mysterious artifacts left by the Fremont were clay figurines. The small figures resemble people, often showing intricate details such as ear bobs, necklaces, clothing, hair and facial decorations and sexual characteristics. The purpose of figurines is unknown, but archeologists suggest that they had religious significance or were associated with fertility rites.

Rock Art:

Figurines resemble Fremont rock art. Pictographs (painted) and petroglyphs (carved or pecked) are depictions of people, animals and other shapes and forms left on rock surfaces. Anthropomorphic (human-like) figures usually have trapezoidal shaped bodies with arms, legs and fingers. The figures are often elaborately decorated with headdresses, ear bobs, necklaces, clothing items and facial expressions. A wide variety of zoomorphic (animal-like) figures include bighorn sheep, deer, dogs, birds, snakes and lizards. Abstract designs, geometric shapes and handprints are also common. 

The meaning of rock art is unknown. The designs may have recorded religious or mythological events, migrations, hunting trips, resource locations, travel routes, celestial information and other important knowledge. Many archeologists propose that rock art uses symbolic concepts that provide the observer with important information and that was notsimply artistic expression or doodling. 

Some day, we may understand rock art better; but only if these sites are not destroyed. The slightest touch removes fine granules of sand and leaves behind a residue of sweat and oil. Please refrain from any activity that involves touching the panels. If you see anyone damaging rock art or any archeological site, report it to a ranger immediately.

By 1500 AD, archeological evidence of the Fremont ceases to exist. A combination of pressures may have caused this. First, Fremont people tended to live in very marginal, high- altitude environments, and their population densities (with few exceptions) were low even in peak years. Second, the disruption of the nearby Ancient Puebloan cultural centers, with their long-distance trade systems and huge population centers, upset interactions between the two cultural groups. This possibly lessened the availability of trade goods and marriageable partners. Finally, the arrival of ancestors of Numic-speaking groups (Navajo and Apache) may have caused new competition for wild resources and territory rights here in the Fremont heartland. Armed conflict may have resulted, as well. It also seems likely that at least some of the Fremont people were displaced and moved southwest probably intermarrying with other groups. 

No archeological studies support the idea that fast and extreme climate change is responsible for the “disappearance” of Fremont artifacts from the archeological record. That’s the puzzle: Fremont cultural diagnostics don’t abruptly disappear; they scatter and gradually become increasingly rare between 1250 and 1500, until they are no longer found. A single, simple explanation for events like this would be preferable; unfortunately, this issue is complex, and remains to be solved.

(top of page)