The Secrets That Lie Beneath Our Feet

The Colorado foothills are a transition zone between the plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topographically higher mountains, hills, and uplands.  Native Americans often hunted on the plains but used the foothills to make their winter camps as they had views of potential enemies and often found sources of water from creeks and giant red rocks and caves to use as shelters.

The prehistoric natives date back more than 12,000 years. Archeological evidence suggests that the first people to appear in Colorado were the big game hunters (or Paleoindians), probably from the north. These people are divided into the Clovis and subsequent Folsom cultures. Archeologists distinguish the two cultures by their different types of spear points. The Clovis people are often called the “mammoth hunters,” while the later Folsom people are the “bison hunters.” These people marked the beginning of a big-game hunting tradition that lasted thousands of years until historic times.  I blogged about a wonderful discovery of Clovis era stone tools found in the Boulder area on this post. 

 

Many Natives American tribes lived in Colorado but the most common was the Utes who were hunters and gatherers.  They acquired horses from the Spanish conquistadors, who were the first Europeans to visit Colorado. The Ute lifestyle changed dramatically with horses, giving them more mobility. Once primarily defensive warriors, they became adept horsemen and warriors, able to raid other tribes. Prestige was based upon a man’s horsemanship, as well as the number of horses he owned. 

A few years ago, my husband and I attended an archeological dig that was performed by the Colorado Archeological Society (CAS) in a nearby county--click here to read that post-- where many ancient artifacts were found, including some artifacts from the Spanish explorer era. 

 

Very often red rock overhangs and caves along the front range of Colorado were used as shelters and artifacts are often found in these areas on various archeological digs. In fact, 33 past archeological digs have been conducted in our area in the past with many discoveries made.

This all brings us to a recent archeological dig that was performed in our community recently, but instead of near red rocks, it was done on a foothill, where years of erosion had revealed a dark black burn area.  A resident of the community, who is an archeology professor, found an ancient tool rock tool called a mano in this area while he was on a hike.  You or I would most likely have passed right by that rock and this burn area, but to the resident's trained eye he realized it was a discovery of ancient life.  Our community history committee decided this was a discovery worth exploring and we contacted an archeology company to do a private dig and evaluative testing of the site.

The archeologists excavated the burn area and samples were collected for radiocarbon assays to date the artifacts.  It takes a while for results from these tests, but the archeologists felt this was a fire pit most likely used by hunters from the past to cook wild game. They estimated they were from the Early Ceramic Period 150–1150 CE.  It is fascinating to think of evidence of man from so long ago!

Archeological digs are painstaking work requiring many hours of minute digging and passing rubble through screens to check for any object pieces that are identifiable. Anything significant is removed for examination and sent to labs for further study as well as portions of the soil which were collected for radiocarbon assay. The hope is to find spearheads, arrowheads, ancient awls, bones, and pieces of cooking tools, and other hunting weapons.   We will be excited to find the exact dates of the samples and what other evidence could be analyzed. I'll update this post when that information comes in. 

Isn't it amazing what secrets lie literally beneath our feet? 

I feel fortunate to live in such an interesting place and to be able to be a part of these discoveries.  We are also blessed to be among many volunteers in our community who are devoting time and energy to help advance our knowledge of the past and to preserve it for the future.

Thank you for reading my post--I hope you found it interesting

Stay happy, safe, and healthy!

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Pumpkin Buttermilk Pound Cake

To cut down on grocery shopping I have been buying a gallon of milk with each shopping outing.  Since my husband and I are the only ones home these days we often don't finish the gallon before it goes a bit sour. Not one to waste anything I searched for ideas on using soured milk and the idea that it could be turned into buttermilk by adding a bit of lemon juice to it so that it thickens.  It is the same result with fresh or sour milk   When I have buttermilk I use it for baking everything from pancakes, biscuits, and cakes. This Pumpkin Buttermilk Pound Cake is amazing! It makes a heavy dense cake that is moist and full of spicy autumn flavor.  It's perfect anytime, but it is especially good this time of the year and as an autumnal holiday dessert.

Over the years I loved and purchased many different metal Nordic Ware brand bakeware pans, but I always seem to reach for their bundt pan the most.  I even have a full Pinterest board full of bundt pan recipes.  It's just such a versatile pan. I just trust it will release the baked cake perfectly, and the slices I cut from it will be the perfect serving size.  As you can see in the photo above this Pumpkin Buttermilk Pound Cake recipe fills the pan completely after baking, when cooked in the standard 10-inch bundt pan.

Pumpkin Buttermilk Pound Cake

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup buttermilk
2  teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2 and 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 15- oz. can pure pumpkin purée 2 cups

Instructions:

Heat the oven to 350°F. Generously spray a 10- to 12-cup bundt pan with baking spray. Rub all over with a paper towel, then spray lightly one more time.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and cloves. 

In a measuring cup, combine the buttermilk and vanilla.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for 5 minutes. Slowly and gradually add the oil, beating until combined. Add the brown sugar. Increase the mixer speed to high and beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well on medium-high speed after each addition. Beat in the pumpkin.

Slowly pour in the buttermilk mixture, and mix until combined. 

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the batter, mixing just until combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and tap the pan on the counter once or twice to settle the batter.

Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it, 45 to 60 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, invert the cake onto a rack, removing the pan, and cool completely for at least 2 hours before frosting.

I frosted my cake with melted bittersweet chocolate and added some pecans on top.  You could just shake some powdered sugar on top or use caramel icing drizzle or any icing you prefer.  If desired you could also add crushed nuts or dried fruit like raisins or currants or a finely diced apple to the batter before baking. 

My husband and I couldn't wait to have a slice of the cake the next morning with our coffee.  It smelled so good and tasted fabulous!  Just a small slice goes a long way with this cake as it is really rich and delicious. Enjoy!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween. Here are some fun Halloween memories throughout the years...

... and a winning face mask no matter what time of the year!

PS: Thank you to all who expressed concern in my prior post about the terrible wildfires in Colorado. We had snow last weekend which helped contain the fires a bit. The Cameron Peak fire remained at 208,663 acres Sunday, or about 326 square miles, and is 64% contained. The East Troublesome fire remained at 193,774 acres, or 303 square miles, and is 37% contained. As the snow melts and temperatures and winds begin to rise again firefighter crews are working to identify and extinguish hotspots, and they are reinforcing fire containment lines. We are so thankful for all their hard work and dedication. Please keep them in your prayers for safety. 

Stay happy, safe, and healthy!

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 I'm linking this post to some of the following blog events:

 Mosaic Monday, All Seasons, Blue Monday, Through My Lens Monday, Little Cottage Link Party, Hearth, and Soul Link Party, You Are the Star Blog Hop, Inspire Me Monday, Home Matters Linky Party,  Good Random Fun, Nature Notes, Grand Social, Travel Photos, Happiness Is Homemade, Over the Moon, Create, Bake, Make,  Our World Tuesday, Ruby Tuesday, Tuesday Turn About. Tuesdays With A Twist, Let's Keep In Touch, Wordless Wednesday on a Tuesday,  Party in Your PJ's, Wordless Wednesday, Nanahood WW, Oh My Heartsie Girl's Wonderful Wednesday, Your Whims Wednesday, Wednesday My Corner of the World, Wonderful Wednesday,  Little Things Thursday, Thankful Thursday, Thursday Encouraging Hearts and Home,  Thursday Thinking Out Loud, Friendship Fridays, Friday Features Linky Party, Skywatch Friday, Pink Saturday, Sunday on Silverado