From 1983 through 1985, Intermountain Research conducted archaeological investigations on behalf of the Exxon Minerals Company Mt. Hope Project, Eureka County, Nevada. The present report documents surface collection and excavation conducted at two prehistoric sites, five historic sites, one site with both periods represented, and one of uncertain assignment. The work was undertaken in fulfillment of the Mt. Hope Project cultural resources data recovery plan.
The prehistoric sites were diverse in character and geographic location. Site 26Eu790 was a Middle Archaic period, early stage biface reduction site in Garden Pass Valley. Located in a sand drift deposit, the site has undergone pronounced post-occupational transformation. Much smaller in size, site 26Eu983 appears to have been a location at which resources were extracted. Both a pre-Archaic and a Middle Archaic component were present, allowing limited comparisons. Site 26Eul011 was an intercept type hunting camp located in a high saddle. Bighorn sheep was the most likely target animal. Middle stage biface reduction was also in evidence at the site which dates from Middle Archaic through Numic times. Site 26Eu982 was a pinyon roasting feature which, unfortunately, was not associated with either prehistoric or historic artifacts. Radiocarbon datingindicates the feature is probably historic in age.
Four of the studied historic sites were at one time associated with the production of charcoal, an industry that flourished in the Eureka area between the early 1870s and the late 1880s. Site 26Eu988 was a remote structure inhabited by Italian Carbonari around 1880. Sites 26Eu923 and 26Eu994 were isolated charcoal lenses where charcoal was produced. Present at site 26Eu787-B was a structure apparently inhabited by a group of teamsters involved in the transport of charcoal to Eureka. With the decline of the charcoal industry in the late 1880s, occupants of 26Eu787-B appear to have shifted to ranching.
Two historic period sites were associated with the Eureka and Palisade Railroad which passed through the project area. Site 26Eu790 was occupied for a brief time by Chinese work crews involved in the 1875 construction of the railroad. Site 26Eu787-II is the location of the Mt. Hope station, operative between 1890 and the 1930s. Archaeological evidence suggests that a box car body was present at the site, probably during the 1910s and 1920s, and that it was used to house maintenance crews temporarily.