A New Look at Fremont Cordage From Mantle’s Cave in Northwest Colorado

The perishables from Mantle’s Cave (5MF1), a nonresidential, Fremont rockshelter located in northwestern Colorado, continue to inform us about the prehistoric people who occupied this area. Because cordage construction techniques, in particular, may be used to identify social groups, the large cordage assemblage from Mantle’s Cave was reanalyzed. This paper discusses the results of the reanalysis, which focused on the direction of the final twist (S vs. Z). The cordage assemblage from Mantle’s Cave viewed as a whole suggests use of the site by one social group. However, the analysis of the cordage within the context of the caches it was recovered from reveals much variability. In addition, new chronometric data indicate intermittent use of the site for over 2,400 years. Reasons for the variability observed in cordage construction techniques for the rich assemblage are proposed.