Deep human history the latest focus of research at Corral Bluffs east of Colorado Springs

More scientific knowledge is emerging from a land of curiosity east of Colorado Springs.

Findings are still being researched and finalized from a first-of-its-kind archaeological study at Corral Bluffs Open Space, said Matt Mayberry, the city's cultural services manager. But an initial report offers a step closer to understanding the history of human life on the rugged, fossil-rich badlands spanning 900-plus acres of city ownership.

Corral Bluffs' paleontological significance has been known. For its unprecedented demonstration of how the age of mammals rose from the ashes of dinosaurs, the land has been the focus of journal entries, a documentary and an exhibit at Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

"But from an archaeological standpoint, we've had less time to focus on that," Mayberry said.

That was until recent months, when a contracted team scoured the ground with trained eyes, "walking the site in a very methodical manner so we can identify what has not been known," Mayberry said.

Parts of tools, ceramics and projectiles were found. Mayberry said that included potential evidence placing Paleo-Indians at Corral Bluffs — those people who thousands of years ago hunted "megafauna" like the woolly mammoth.

Much is yet to be learned, Mayberry emphasized. But the initial report identified 53 sites with artifacts or deemed otherwise significant or sensitive. Of those sites, 15 are thought to be eligible for listing under the National Register of Historic Places.

That matters in the city parks department's years-long vision to acquire property around Corral Bluffs and the adjacent, also-closed Jimmy Camp Creek Park and craft a master plan for a united mosaic. (Corral Bluffs is only open to guided hikes through nonprofit Corral Bluffs Alliance.)

"Our bottom line is, we want to know as much as we can from a surface investigation," Mayberry said. "We want to identify as many sites as we can so we can avoid them as we plan trails and things like that."

Such a plan does not seem imminent. In 2024, the city anticipates more surveying of Jimmy Camp Creek Park, which has been investigated for decades.

It's named for a man who set up a trading post along Native American trails in the 1830s. Current evidence traces people there 3,500 years ago, Mayberry said, and ancient water suggests a presence thousands of years earlier — indeed, possibly back to the Paleo-Indians.

"We see the park in some ways as a repository for information about human habitation in the Pikes Peak region. It preserves that history, both Jimmy Camp and Corral Bluffs," Mayberry said.

He added: "When you look at them like a single landscape, it is unique to any place in the state of Colorado. It's similar to what you might find in the Four Corners area."

The comparison has led some local advocates over the years to question whether the city is equipped as a manager; they've wondered about the land under the National Park Service.

Mayberry said that is not a conversation he's had in city offices.

"We have a great deal of ownership, literally and figuratively, over those resources," he said, "and we think local control is very important."

Discoveries continue around Corral Bluffs and Jimmy Camp Creek amid prospective building on their boundaries.

While executives have spoken of "thoughtful development," Norwood Development Group has long held plans for homes and commercial space on the edge of the preserves as part of Banning Lewis Ranch.

"That development is coming," Mayberry said. "We want to get ahead of it as much as we can, but we also only have so many resources every year we can put toward" the parks.

Mayberry said the city is working on a "public-facing component" to the latest findings at Corral Bluffs — a presentation of some sort next year.