USU archaeologists uncover historic hut

A rare archaeological site in remote Carbon County could help scholars learn more about the prehistoric people who settled here about 9,000 years before the Europeans moved West.

Utah State University archaeologists discovered a so-called "wickiup" — a temporary log and brush hut used by Native Americans west of the Rocky Mountains — on property the School and Institutional Trust Lands is selling to the Hunt Oil Co.

Hunt Oil, owner of the Preston Nutter Ranch in Carbon County, which is contiguous to the parcel where the wickiup site is located, plans to preserve the site as part of an agreement with SITLA.

"Hunt Oil is pleased to join with trust lands in following the appropriate protocol to preserve significant cultural sites such as this," said Thomas E. Muerer, senior vice president of Hunt Oil.

USU was conducting the survey for SITLA, which is routinely done before the sale of the property.

The wickiup is a significant find, according to Steve Simms, USU's professor of anthropology. Wickiups are "important because they offer a more complete window into the organization of forager camps and help archaeologists better evaluate older sites where only non-perishable stone artifacts survive the ravages to time."