Approximately 8,000 years ago, the climate was getting drier and warmer and lifestyles had to change. Archaeologists call the culture of this time the Archaic culture.
Archaic people were hunters and gathers, usually moving around as they followed food sources. Their shelters were usually caves or wickiups made from brush.
People at this time were making baskets, which they used for collecting seeds, pinyon nuts, and other plants. They also used baskets for cooking.
For hunting, Archaic people made several kinds of spear points. An atlatl, or spear-thrower, helped them hurl small spears faster and farther. But they also would have eaten insects.
The Archaic people left behind rock art, and you can see echoes of their lives in the Barrier Canyon style of rock art which can be found in sites around the San Rafael Swell and Canyonlands National Park.About 500 years ago the Ancestral Puebloan people abandoned their settlements in Utah. They had also established areas in Colorado that were abandoned at this time. The reason for the mass exodus out of this area is still unknown, but there are a variety of hypotheses including climate change or cultural change.