From about 1200-1500, Plains Village Native Americans occupied a series of interconnected rock dwellings near Antelope Creek. Built of native dolomite, the rock and slab dwellings averaged about 12 feet by 15 feet and had a single opening, a long crawlway, on the east side. Other rooms contained a central hearth beneath four roof-support posts, while smaller rooms were thought to be for storage, and adobe platforms may have served as altars for ceremonial purposes. Near a branch of the Canadian River, the site had a perennial water source, and the sandy loam of the creek bottom supported crops including corn, beans, squash, and pumpkin. The semi-sedentary inhabitants also hunted bison, antelope, deer, and small animals, as shown by bones and tools found there. Recovered artifacts include small arrow points, beveled and oval knives, bone implements, grinding stones, and cord marked ceramics. Excavations, especially those conducted by the Works Progress Administration from 1938-41 and interpretive work in 1946, provided considerable information about the village structure and its artifacts.
