Contact
The Medicine House site (48CR2353) is an Early Archaic habitation site located in the Hanna Basin near Hanna, Wyoming in Carbon County. The site contains one of the largest and best preserved pithouses known to exist in the basin as well as a surface scatter of lithics, hearths, and fire cracked rock. Early Archaic period dates of 5360±80 BP and 5160±120 BP were obtained from features with the pithouse. The inhabitants of the site invested considerable labor in constructing the pithouse structure and in arranging the internal features to best utilize the available space. The dwelling not only housed the residents but also served as a storage facility for subsistence resources collected from the surrounding area. The storage features contained thousands of Indian ricegrass (Oryzopsis hymenoides) seeds, suggesting a long term winter occupation. Construction and use of this facility demonstrate a viable adaptation to a semiarid intermountain basin during a period of climatic stress. An estimated 30 to 40 percent of the pithouse remains unexcavated, allowing for future research. The Medicine House site also has the potential to contain additional pithouse features. The site is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D at the statewide level of significance.
The Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office documents, preserves, and promotes Wyoming’s heritage with our preservation partners.
Get a Poster or purchase Archaeology wear...
How do I list a property on the NRHP?...