Researchers find prehistoric corral in Park County

By Leo Wolfson
Cody Enterprise
Via Wyoming News Exchange
 
CODY — Using radiocarbon dating, researchers from the Park County Historical Preservation Commission have found wood fragments from the 13th to late 18th century from logs and tree stumps at a prehistoric corral near the upper Greybull River.
Preservation members determined the wood was sourced from avalanche debris, taken from trees killed sometime before the time the structure was built. The newest wood at the site appears to be from around 1770, while the oldest originates from 1240 A.D. Very few axe marks are visible on the logs, some of which over a meter wide.
“We don’t know when in that sequence it was built,” said Larry Todd, treasurer for the Park County Historical Preservation Commission. “It could have been built any time after that 1240 A.D. date and it could have been built or repaired … from later avalanches put on.”
The Park County Historical Preservation Commission is being recognized for its research on the prehistoric corral, with a $2,000 increase in grant funding from the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office. The organization spent about 10 to 15 days studying the Shoshone National Forest site in 2017.
“As part of the analysis, we realized that the field work was going to be more intensive and expensive than we thought,” Todd said.
Todd, an anthropology professor emeritus at Colorado State University, said the structure was likely designed to trap or hold animals, however said it is not a setting typically used to keep sheep and other small grazing animals. Todd said it’s likely the corral was built by Native Americans, but said it’s also possible it was built by early settlers.
“When and what exactly it was used for, we’re not exactly sure,” Todd said.
One particular enclosure on the site encompasses around 9,000 square feet, with fencing averaging around four feet high.
“You’d think it would be very difficult to move without horses, or a very large amount of people pulling and tugging and rolling on them,” Todd said. “How they moved some of the pieces is sort of enigmatic as well.”
The Historical Preservation Commission first became aware of the corral from Calvin King’s 1992 book “The History of Wildlife in the Big Horn Basin,” which briefly mentions the feature.
Todd felt urgency to research the structure, as it sits near a wooded area and is at risk for forest fire destruction. In addition to studying the wood fragments Todd’s staff made maps and took photos of the site.
The certified local government grant increases Park County’s grant from $9,000 to $11,000. Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office receives funding for the program from the U.S. National Park Service.
“Part of the money each year has to go with local historic preservation organizations,” Todd said.