Colorado’s Paint Mines tell a 9,000-year-old secret about America’s first people

9,000 Years of Native Clay Harvesting at Paint Mines

The Paint Mines of Colorado tell a story that spans 9,000 years of human history. Native peoples first dug these colorful clays when mammoths still roamed North America.

Over time, the Apishapa culture, Cody complex, and Duncan complex all came back year after year to harvest the red, yellow, and purple clays.

They used these vibrant earths for sacred paint, pottery, and even made arrow points from selenite deposits.

As centuries passed, the Plains Apache worked these mines until the Comanche and Ute pushed them out in the 1700s. The Arapaho and Cheyenne later claimed these grounds too.

The story of America’s ancient past comes alive at Paint Mines Interpretive Park where these rainbow-colored formations still stand.

People Walked These Mines 10,000 Years Ago

Folks roamed the Paint Mines at least 10,000 years ago.

Diggers found old Paleo-Indian tools scattered among the colorful hills, including square-based Eden-style spear points at two spots in the area.

The Paint Mines ranks as one of North America’s longest-used natural resource spots, with folks coming back again and again to gather its special clay.

Many different groups relied on what these mines offered over thousands of years.

The Apishapa People Made Their Mark First

About 9,000 years ago, the Apishapa people became the first known group to regularly use the Paint Mines. Their tools cover the site, showing they came during certain seasons just to gather clay.

These early Americans started what would become a tradition lasting thousands of years. They came to this special place whenever weather allowed.

They noticed the unique qualities of these colorful clays and taught their children about them.

Cody and Duncan Groups Continued the Clay Tradition

The Cody and Duncan folks kept coming to the Paint Mines after the Apishapa. Diggers can tell they were there from the unique tools and broken pottery they left behind.

These groups got better at gathering what earlier people had started. They found smarter ways to get and work with the valuable clays.

They figured out which clay types worked best for body paint or making pots.

Seasonal Camps Grew Around the Clay Deposits

Diggers found at least three different living spots from Middle and Late Archaic times around the Paint Mines. These camps show how short visits turned into longer seasonal stays centered on clay gathering.

The leftover items show better clay-working methods as knowledge grew over time.

These spots served as temporary workshops where raw clay got ready before people carried it to their permanent villages.

Clay Pottery Reached Its Peak in Later Years

Most old items found at Paint Mines come from the Ceramic period when pot-making took off. Small corner-notched points and stemmed-style arrowheads from this time are scattered everywhere.

The cord-marked pottery found here shows the advanced skills these people mastered.

The amount of pottery pieces proves this period saw the most use of the mines, with many groups traveling far to get these specific clays.

Clay Mining Required Special Skills

Native people created special ways to get different clay types from the Paint Mines. They carefully picked deposits based on color and feel for various uses.

The evidence shows planned mining work rather than simple gathering, with specific areas targeted for particular clay types.

Tools found on-site show how these old miners made special gear to remove clay while keeping its special qualities.

Red, Yellow, and Purple Clays Held Sacred Power

The iron in the Paint Mines created bright red, yellow, and purple clay that Native people valued highly. These colorful materials played key roles in religious events and major tribal gatherings throughout the year.

Each clay color held special spiritual meaning to different groups, with some colors saved only for certain rituals or tribal leaders.

People saw the mines as powerful places where the earth provided materials to connect with spirits.

Arrows and Pots Came From These Special Clays

Native Americans looked for selenite clay from the Paint Mines to make tough arrowheads. The site also offered perfect pottery clays with qualities great for cooking pots and storage containers.

Diggers found signs of on-site clay work before transport back to villages, including grinding stones and mixing pits.

Clay workshops near digging spots allowed for first steps in processing to make the valuable stuff lighter to carry away.

Plains Apache Tribes Controlled the Mines for Centuries

During the 1500s and 1600s, early Plains Apache groups ran the Paint Mines.

They kept up the clay gathering started by earlier cultures while adding their own methods and uses. Their distinct tools show they stayed there until Europeans started showing up.

The Apache thought the mines were sacred ground and carefully controlled which groups could get the valuable clay.

Comanche and Ute Tribes Took Over the Sacred Site

The Plains Apache lost the Paint Mines in the 1700s when Comanche and Ute people pushed them out. These new tribes quickly started using the sacred clays in their own cultural practices and ceremonies.

They changed the gathering methods to fit their specific tribal needs and art styles.

The change in who controlled the mines didn’t make them less important, as the new groups recognized the value of these special clay deposits.

The Final Native Caretakers of an Ancient Tradition

Arapaho and Cheyenne peoples replaced previous tribes at the Paint Mines in the mid-nineteenth century.

These groups became the final Native Americans to traditionally harvest from the mines before American westward expansion disrupted access.

Their pottery fragments help archaeologists confirm the continuous use of the site right up until European-American settlement.

The Arapaho and Cheyenne maintained many of the same clay harvesting practices that had been passed down through countless generations across 10,000 years of human history.

Visiting Paint Mines Interpretive Park, Colorado

Paint Mines Interpretive Park at 29950 Paint Mines Road in Calhan offers free admission to explore 750 acres where Native American groups harvested colorful clays for over 9,000 years.

You can see the selenite clay and jasper formations that indigenous peoples used for ceremonial paint and pottery. Join guided Saturday hikes covering the site’s geology and cultural history with advance registration.

Don’t climb the fragile formations, and leave pets at home to protect this sacred archaeological site.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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