- Odocoileus hemionus—Mule deer
- Cynomys gunnisoni—Gunnison prairie dog
- Cynomys leucurus—White-tailed prairie dog
- Felis oregonensis hippolestes—Mountain lion
- Lutreola vison energunenos—Mink
- Putorius arizonensis—Mountain weasel
- Taxidea taxus—badger
The above lists were drawn mainly from Meritt Cary’s Biological Survey of Colorado (1911). Though this is the most complete work available, it is somewhat out of date and contains certain species names that have been superseded. An effort was made to check this with more modern works, such as Warren’s Mammals of Colorado (1942), but this was not always possible.
Description of the Site
The rockshelter itself is now a moderately large overhang, measuring some 40 feet in width and 15 feet in depth. As [Fig. 6] indicates, the ceiling slopes upward rapidly and only the inner yard or so is completely protected from rain or drizzle. When first inhabited, the floor of sand and gravel sloped up to the mouth (west), and presumably continued into the flat valley outside. At the time of excavation, however, the surface sloped to the north. This difference appears to have been due to the collapse of a considerable portion of the adjacent cliff face, creating an enormous mound of dirt and sandstone, which washed in from the north during the latest stages of occupation.
The small intermittent stream, Strain Gulch, flows in front of the shelter on a southwest-northeast axis. It has cut down its bed to a gravelly-bouldery layer corresponding to the lowest level at LoDaisKa. The fill between the stream and the site is of a wet limey nature. Excavation was extended in this direction as far as was feasible. Beyond the stream lies a valley about one-half mile wide, bounded on the west by the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
Method of Excavation ([Fig. 4])
In preparation for excavation, a vertical rod was driven in the southern sector and the datum point established twenty inches above the ground surface at this spot. A second stake was located on a north-south line from the first (using magnetic north) at the opposite end of the shelter. A horizontal line connecting these stakes at the level of the datum point was considered the baseline. The area of the rock shelter to be excavated was then laid out in one yard squares. Letters were assigned to the grid lines running east-west, and numbers to those running north-south. Each square was designated by the grid lines intersecting at its northeast corner. To facilitate exact measurement, a series of stakes was set up along the baseline at intervals of two yards. From locations on the stakes on the same horizontal plane as the datum point, lines were extended to corresponding pitons driven into the rear wall of the overhang. A second series of connecting lines formed a suspended grid of two yard squares.
Figure 4— LoDaisKa Site. Above, prior to excavation (Looking North). Below, preliminary test trench. Note homogeneous character of deposit.