Colorado Council of Professional Archaeologists
2005 Annual Meeting
March 4-5, 2005, Grand Junction, CO
ABSTRACT
The concept of Protohistory in Archaeology and Ethnology: A Missive for Colorado Archaeologists
Steven G. Baker, Richard F. Carillo, and Carl D. Späth, CCPA Historic Archaeology Context Project
A concerted study and review of the archaeological and ethnological constructs of the concept of protohistory was completed by the authors in conjunction with the preparation of the chapter on the archaeology of Colorado's protohistoric and historic postcontact Native Americans for the CCPA's Historical Archaeology Context (HAC). This effort demonstrated that there is some considerable confusion among Colorado archaeologists regarding the definition and the archaeological implications and conventions of this long used and well established term. In order to bring Colorado archaeology into "compliance" with the rest of the profession's use and understanding of this very important term, it is critical to begin using the term protohistory properly.