Indigenous History of the GYE

13,000 yrs to 14,000 yrs ago:

Ice covers the GYE. Glaciers create valleys and rivers.

Paleoindian Period - This era provides some of the earliest evidence of human activity in North and South America.

14,000 yrs to 11,000 yrs ago:

Humans began to populate the landscape as the Earth began to heat up.

Evidence for human activity in this period includes a Hell Gap point (Spear Head) from the Clovis people. This point was made from obsidian obtained from Obsidian Cliff.

9,500 years ago:

Humans adapted to climate.

A diet including medium and small animals such as deer and bighorn sheep.

8,000 yrs to 1,500 yrs ago:

Most of the evidence of human occupation dates to this period.

This dates to the Archaic period. Evidence includes obsidian tools, hunting, campsites, and trails.

3,000 yrs ago:

Increased use of the GYE began.

Reliance on bison as a primary food source.

1300-1850:

Tribal oral histories indicate usage of the area begins to rise.

1400-1700:

Kiowa oral histories indicate ancestral usage during this period.

1700s:

Some tribes acquire the horse.

Allows Native American tribes to hunt faster and farther places.