ANCIENT MAN IN PALO DURO CANYON
Archeological studies indicate that the earliest known inhabitants of Palo Duro Canyon lived in the canyon from about 10,000 to 5,000 B.C. These early men apparently hunted the bison and now-extinct elephant-like mammoths that roamed the Palo Duro area during the [Ice Age] of [Pleistocene] time (see [geologic time scale], [fig. 6]). Their stone weapons and other artifacts have been found in and around the canyon. It is assumed that these primitive people—like those who came later—were attracted by the streams and springs that are found in the canyon and by game that came there to feed. There is also evidence that the Indians took advantage of certain of the canyon’s geologic features. They fashioned tools, weapons, and utensils from the [rocks] exposed in the canyon and used certain of the shallow caves and rock shelters as their homes.