State Report Finds No Protected Site at Jackass Hill

A state review released this week found no protected archaeological site at a Littleton, Colorado park viewpoint, removing a hurdle for a planned renovation.

The preliminary report, issued in October, followed a three-day excavation at Jackass Hill Park conducted in August. The dig was ordered after residents turned up numerous artifacts while walking the area. Before crews broke ground, Littleton resident Ned Sterne and advocate archaeologist Craig Banister delivered 209 indigenous artifacts to the state for examination. The state's analysis classified 70% of that material as cultural, with the remaining 30% identified as unmodified rocks.

Dr. Holly Norton, Colorado State Archaeologist and Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer, said her office approached South Suburban Parks and Recreation about investigating whether a legitimate site existed, and the agency was receptive to the request. Her team spent three days at the location. "It was pretty limited in scope what we ended up collecting," Norton said, describing the recovered material as mostly lithics, small pieces of chipped stone associated with making projectile points and arrowheads. Archaeologists also excavated a hearth.

The report characterized the lookout point as an "indigenous open camp." More than 350 artifacts were recovered from that setting. About 90% of the material consisted of undiagnostic bone fragments and lithic microflakes, along with larger lithic flakes and fragments of manos. The hearth was located in the same area.

Norton said the state requires clear boundaries before committing resources to preservation work. "For us: there's no longer a site," she said. She said the location likely dates back thousands of years but noted that decades of use as a neighborhood park complicated the record. Many visitors collected artifacts and removed them, she said, adding: "The site is gone because of that collecting."

The hearth drew specific attention in the report. Banister and Sterne sent charcoal from inside it to ICA Labs Inc for testing. A radiocarbon analysis produced an 82.2% probability that the charcoal held a calibrated age of 670-780 AD. Banister said he believes more material probably lies underground, observing that it is rare for a site to survive within a metro area because most land has been built over. Sterne said he was unsurprised by the finding, noting the dig was shallow. Norton said the team used hand excavation, a method archaeologists in North America use to evaluate a site.

Sterne wants South Suburban to revise its plan and leave the top of the hill alone, calling it "hallowed ground to many people in Littleton" and pointing to data showing use of the site for 8,000 years. If that does not happen, Sterne proposed a formal scientific excavation of the hilltop, noting construction is expected to dig six feet deep. "It should not be archaeology by backhoe, which is about what's going to happen," he said.

The state report recommends an archaeologist monitor future construction in case other materials surface. South Suburban said it is hiring an archaeologist before work begins. Norton said digging deeper than the hand excavation could raise the chance of finding more material, and on-site archaeologists would then help the agency and her office assess any significance.