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Prehistoric Natural History of Douglas County, from the Pleistocene to the archaic period

Ice Age Douglas County (Pleistocene Epoch, 2.6 million – 11,700 years ago)

While the massive continental ice sheets never reached as far south as Douglas County, the area experienced profound effects from the Ice Age. The climate was significantly cooler and wetter than today. Instead of the current semi-arid grasslands and scattered ponderosa pines, the landscape supported a mosaic of environments: spruce and fir forests at higher elevations, extensive grasslands in lower areas, and riparian woodlands along streams.

The Pleistocene megafauna that roamed Douglas County included Columbian mammoths, ancient bison (Bison antiquus, larger than modern buffalo), giant ground sloths, American camels, horses, and predators like dire wolves, American lions, and short-faced bears. These animals thrived in the cooler, wetter conditions that supported more lush vegetation than exists today.

The Great Transition (11,700 – 8,000 years ago)

As the Ice Age ended, Douglas County experienced dramatic environmental changes. The climate warmed and dried, causing a massive ecological reorganization. The spruce-fir forests retreated to higher elevations, replaced by ponderosa pine woodlands on the foothills and expanding grasslands on the plains. Many water sources dried up, and the megafauna began their march toward extinction, disappearing by about 10,000 years ago through a combination of climate change and possibly human hunting pressure.

First Human Inhabitants (13,000 – 8,000 years ago)

The earliest confirmed human presence in the Douglas County area dates to the Paleo-Indian period, beginning around 13,000 years ago. These were highly mobile hunter-gatherers who followed herds of now-extinct megafauna. They crafted distinctive fluted projectile points, including Clovis points (13,000-12,600 years ago) and later Folsom points (12,600-11,700 years ago).

Archaeological evidence from nearby sites suggests these early peoples hunted the last of the mammoths and ancient bison, likely using coordinated group hunting strategies. As their prey went extinct, Paleo-Indian groups adapted by developing new tool technologies and hunting strategies focused on modern bison and smaller game.

The Archaic Period (8,000 – 2,000 years ago)

As the modern climate pattern established itself, Archaic period peoples developed a more diverse subsistence strategy. The drier conditions meant they could no longer rely solely on big game hunting. Instead, they adopted a seasonal round, moving between different elevations and environments to take advantage of various resources throughout the year.

In spring and summer, groups might move into the foothills and mountains to hunt deer and elk and gather plants like yampa and biscuitroot. In fall, they would harvest piñon nuts (when available) and prepare for winter. Winter camps were often established in protected valleys or near reliable water sources on the plains, where they hunted bison and smaller game.

The Archaic peoples developed new technologies including grinding stones for processing seeds and nuts, more diverse projectile point styles, and possibly early forms of food storage. Rock shelters in the area show evidence of repeated seasonal occupation, suggesting established territorial patterns.

Environmental Legacy

By the end of the Stone Age (around 2,000 years ago in this region), Douglas County’s environment had essentially taken its modern form: semi-arid grasslands dominated by blue grama and buffalo grass on the plains, ponderosa pine forests on the foothills, and riparian corridors supporting cottonwoods and willows. The megafauna were long gone, replaced by modern species like mule deer, elk, pronghorn, and smaller mammals.

This transformation from Ice Age conditions through warming and drying, megafaunal extinction, and human adaptation represents one of the most dramatic environmental transitions in Earth’s recent history. The archaeological record in Douglas County preserves fragments of this story, from Paleo-Indian campsites to Archaic period grinding stones, testimony to thousands of years of human adaptation to a changing landscape.