Heritage Resources
Within
its 6.3 million acres, the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest contains
an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 prehistoric and historic archaeological
sites. The various types of heritage resources range from the enigmatic
squiggles and curlicues of prehistoric rock art, to the phenomenal
mining towns of the 19th century, to Euro-American emigrant trails
and roads.
A number of Native American tribes claim Humboldt-Toiyabe lands
as part of their ancestral homelands. These include different groups
of Southern Paiute, Northern Paiute, Western Shoshone, and Washoe
Indians. All of these Native American groups are the descendants
of the prehistoric peoples that once inhabited the vast landscape
stretching east from the Sierra Nevada Mountains across the basin
and range lands of Nevada. Evidence of both historic Native American
camps and prehistoric occupations are abundant throughout the Humboldt-Toiyabe
National Forest. While there is some evidence for very early Native
American occupations (ca. 13,000 years ago) on the Forest near Ely,
Nevada, archaeologists believe that most prehistoric uses of the
mountain ranges managed by the H-T occurred after about 4500 years
ago.
Europeans began to travel through the Great Basin region as early
as the 17th century. However, it was not until the American westward
expansion of the 19th century, spurred on by the California Gold
Rush, that full-scale settlement occurred. Lands overseen by the
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest are rich in historic sites, as
represented by old emigrant roads, extensive mining towns, stagecoach
stops, logging-related sites, among others.
|