One of the greatest problems facing the Ute and Shoshone on mountain
fringes was adaptation to several different ecological biomes. Their
success is attested to by the fact that the Ute spread all over
Colorado and southern Wyoming except the Plains.
The adoption of the horse resulted in significant changes in Ute
culture. In general, the use of horses affected hunting methods and
locomotion. Where it brought the Ute into intimate contact with Plains
Indian cultures, many of their old Basin traits were replaced by
borrowed artifacts and techniques. For example, articles of rawhide
replaced basketry in most cases (Steward, 1940, p. 422). However,
very little is known about the quasi-Plains Ute, as mountain lands
were quickly appropriated by whites. Buffalo were exterminated from
mountain parks in Colorado by 1870. The works cited refer to isolated
groups on the western fringe which retained an essentially pre-horse
culture.
The people we deal with then have the “gathering small game” traits
of Steward’s Western Subarea of the Intermontane Region. In addition,
uplands and mountain regions afforded some larger game. This dual
economy was probably a great factor in their adaptability, and it
was undoubtedly a close approximation of that of protohistoric and
prehistoric inhabitants of the area.
Except for the ecologic variation cited above, Ute culture was fairly
uniform over a wide area. Because of this and the general limitation of
data, it will be treated as a whole.