Hogup Cave is a two-chambered limestone cavern, and an important, well-studied prehistoric Great Basin site in Utah.
Setting Hogup Cave is located on the southwestern flank of Hogup Mountain in the Great Salt Lake Desert. The Great Salt Lake itself lies ten miles east of the cave.Aikens 1970, p. 1 Hogup Mountain consists of three biotic zones determined by soil, altitude, and moisture. The lowest zone, known as the pickleweed-salt grass community, is a narrow band where sheep herders have excavated several wells, revealing the presence of groundwater. The presence of a deep spring suggests that this zone may have been used as a water source for the cave occupants. The dominant coverage of the entire Hogup Mountain is the sagebrush-shadscale belt which is the next zone. The top zone, the juniper zone, occurs only at the mountain's highest elevations. The highest point of Hogup Mountain is at 6847 ft. The actual location of the cave is 41°22'14.6"N 113°15'22.1"W
Introduction C. Melvin Aikens, professor emeritus at the University of Oregon,C. Melvin Aikens led the excavations in Hogup Cave during two field seasons: June 26 - August 15, 1967, and June 15 - August 20, 1968. According to Aikens, the main purposes of the excavations were to provide data for the study of changing patterns of cultural ecology over time, and to contribute to the solution of several problems of cultural history in the Great Salt Lake region.Aikens 1970, p. 187 Over 8,000 years of accumulated deposits from repeated human occupation were found, dating from 6400 B.C. to as late as 1850 A.D when it was used by the Shoshone as a camping ground to make seasonal rounds. An archaeological monograph was published in 1970 by Aikens entitled Hogup Cave, containing a detailed analysis of nearly 10,000 artifacts recovered during the two excavations. Numerous bones, wood, hide, cordage, fibers, textile items, chipped stones, clay, pottery, coprolites, hair, feathers, and fur were analyzed.
Stratigraphy Trench excavations of the east and west walls of the cave revealed 16 major sequential stratigraphic layers. Aikens noted that the stratigraphy revealed the modifications done by the purposeful movements of the cave occupants.Aikens 1970, p. 14 He also provided detailed descriptions of the individual strata.Aikens 1970, p. 23-25
Stratum 1 Continuous over all squares excavated and laying directly on bedrock, it ranged between 1 and 3 inches thick vertically. It had a composition of light yellow crumbly dust with rotted vegetal matter. A powdered charcoal lens of about 6 to 8 inches in diameter was found on the surface of the layer near the north end of the excavation.
Stratum 2 Only found in a small area against the east wall and in a low spot along the western boundary of excavation, it ranged between 4 and 6 inches thick. Composed of dark brown crumbly earth arising from decomposed vegetal matter, there were no cultural features found in this stratum.
Stratum 3 Continuous over all squares and ranging between 6 and 10 inches, it had a gross composition of a thoroughly burned bed of white ash containing charcoal lenses. However, the east wall and western boundary of the excavation layer were not entirely burned. There were no cultural features found in this stratum.
Stratum 4 Extended over all squares, ranging from 9 to 18 inches in thickness, and composed of pickleweed chaff, twigs, shredded bark, and antelope hair. A small bowl-shaped pit 8 inches deep and 17 inches in diameter was found near the eastern edge of the excavation, filled with ash and charcoal, suggesting it was used as a fire pit.
Stratum 5 Extended over all squares excavated and ranging between 8 and 14 inches thick. It was composed of pickleweed chaff, twigs, shredded bark, dust, and antelope hair. A large amount of human fecal matter, a charcoal-ash lens, and a 6 to 8 inch thick bed of woody twigs were found. Professor Aikens concluded that this was a special use area.
Stratum 6 Extended over all squares excavated and ranged between 6 and 13 inches thick. It had a composition of pickleweed chaff, grass, twigs, and dust. The center of the excavation contained abundant guano where bats still congregate. There were no cultural features found in this stratum.
Stratum 7 Found only over the front of the cave and ranging between 12 and 18 inches thick, it was composed of pickleweed chaff, grass, and dust. Abundant guano was found under the cleft in the cave ceiling and two small circular charcoal lenses were found near the center of the excavation.
Stratum 8 Extended over all squares excavated, ranging between 9 and 36 inches thick, it had a composition of pickleweed chaff, grass, twigs, and dust. Concentrated guano was found near the center of the excavation. A solidified burned area of charcoal and ash and two ash-charcoal lenses were also found.
Stratum 9 Extended over all squares excavated and ranged between 6 and 18 inches thick. It had a gross composition of pickleweed chaff, grass, twigs, bat guano, and dust. Guano was the dominant layer near the center of the excavation and small rock spalls were found toward the east wall.
Stratum 10 Extended over all squares excavated and ranging between 9 and 10 inches thick, and having a composition of pickleweed chaff, twigs, roof spalls, and antelope hair. A 6 to 8 inch thick deep ash zone (the result of a fire smoldering out of control) and an ash-charcoal lens were found.
Stratum 11 Continuous outside the cave portal and truncated by Stratum 12 inside the cave mouth. Composed of pickleweed chaff, grass, dust, twigs, and antelope hair, a small ash-charcoal lens was found inside the cave portal. Aikens pointed out that although this stratum was not continuous over most of the excavation, it was important because it led to the realization that there was a partial gap in the stratigraphic record.
Stratum 12 Continuous over most squares excavated and ranging between 6 and 12 inches thick, it was composed of Scirpus, bark, and antelope hair. A small ash-charcoal lens and an unlined pit of approximately 18 inches were found.
Stratum 13 Continuous over the outer chamber of the cave and ranging between 9 and 12 inches thick. It had a composition of pickleweed chaff, and there were no cultural features found in this stratum.
Stratum 14 Extended over all squares excavated in the outer room and ranging between 8 and 14 inches thick, this stratum was composed of pickleweed chaff, grass, dust, ash, and antelope hair. Bat guano was also found under the cleft in the cave ceiling. Four ash-charcoal areas were found and black stains remained from incomplete combustion. Two of the burned areas were large, with the largest separated into light grey, dark grey, black, and reddish bands. Aikens inferred that the burned area was a result of accidental in situ burning of the cave fill.
Stratum 15 Continuous over all squares excavated in the outer room and ranging between 2 and 7 inches thick. It had a composition of pickleweed chaff, dust, and guano, with no cultural features found.
Stratum 16 Continuous over all squares excavated in the outer room and ranging between 3 and 12 inches thick. It had a composition of pickleweed chaff, grass, bark, twigs, Scirpus, antelope hair, and bat guano, and three small charcoal lenses were found.
Cultural features Professor Aikens categorized four kinds of cultural features.Aikens 1970, p. 25-26 The first were the hearths found in most levels. In some areas, there was considerable ash and charred material as a result of the in situ burning of deposits, and demonstrating that the burned areas had no distinct margins. The second type was an unlined bowl-shaped pit found in Stratum 4. This pit contained occupational detritus and no evidence of fire. The third was the thin bed of Scirpus, grasses, or twigs. Aikens suggested that this bed might have been used for sleeping or sitting, or that it was the detritus of some particular kind of activity. The fourth type of cultural feature was the modification of the cave fill and the extensive aboriginal movement, which Aikens concluded were performed to level or enlarge the living space in the cave. Professor Aikens also pointed out that cultural constructions were rare in Hogup Cave compared with the total number of deposits found, giving the impression that the occupants had made only the most rudimentary and casual modifications to the cave.
Artifacts
Pottery Professor Aikens categorized the pottery sherds found in the cave into 6 types: Great Salt Lake Grey, Knolls Grey, Snake Valley Grey, Snake Valley Corrugated, Promontory ware, and Shoshoni ware.Aikens 1970, p. 31-32 The first pottery appeared in Stratum 12, increasing in later strata, and continued to Stratum 16. Aikens explained that the frequency distribution of the pottery suggested concurrent use of the cave by makers of both types of pottery.
Clay Figurine fragments were represented by six unfired clay fragments. Three were conical in form and resembled the handle termini, or lower portions, of typical Utah Fremont figurines. The fourth fragment had two “ears” at the broad end, the fifth fragment was cylindrical, and the sixth fragment was L-shaped. Also found was a flattened oval shape of unfired clay containing a mixture of crushed white stones and fragments of vegetal fiber. Two flattened lumps of unfired clay with impressions of coiled basketry were found as well.Aikens 1970, p. 32
Chipped stone Professor Aikens categorized a total of 325 complete or nearly complete projectile points that were well known in the Great Basin.Aikens 1970, p. 33-56 He added that only the artifacts recovered from the 1967 excavation were included in his tabulation and discussion as the materials from the 1968 excavation were not yet analyzed when the paper was published.
There were 325 projectile points recovered from the cave, classified into 29 types. Besides looking at the features of the projectile points themselves, they were also compared with the collection of 489 complete projectile points from the nearby Danger Cave. After the comparison, Prof. Aikens grouped the collection into four major series: 1) Pinto or Little Lake; 2) lanceolate; 3) Elko; 4) and small projectile points. The groups signified that there was close cultural relationships between the types in the series, therefore they could be seen as four cultural/technological traditions.
There were 70 thin and bifacially worked blades, which had no cutting edges nor notches and stems. Choppers were heavier, cruder, and bifacially flaked with cutting edges.Aikens 1970, p. 57-58, 60. 82 coarsely flaked unifaces and bifaces were found, discarded or aborted roughouts or blanks.Aikens 1970, p. 60. 147 scrapers which had one or more flaked chipped edges that created blunt working edges.Aikens 1970, p. 62-63. Only two presented special preparation for hafting. 2 spokeshaves and 21 drills were also found.Aikens 1970, p. 63, 65. The drills looked more like artifacts than the spokeshaves, which seemed to be nondescript notches pieces of stone. The drills were found uniformly in all deposits.
Ground stone Professor Aikens described a total of 922 items in this major category, which was broken down further into groups depending on the use of the artifacts.