Fremont were an Indigenous (native) American people who once lived in what are now Utah and portions of Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado. The Fremont culture lasted from about A.D. 400 to 1350. The culture is named after the Fremont River in central Utah.
The Fremont people descended from peoples who lived in the region for thousands of years and from others who migrated into the region from the Southwest. The immigrants from the Southwest brought corn to the region by 200 B.C. However, scientists recognize the Fremont as a culture distinct from others in the region, such as the Ancestral Pueblo (once known as the Anasazi), only after the use of the bow and arrow was introduced there by A.D. 200 and pottery by A.D. 400. Fremont rock art reflects the people’s mixed native and Southwestern heritage, but their basketry, clay figurines, and grinding stones show them to be a distinct culture.
Fremont people lived in pit houses, which were partially buried in the ground. They constructed granaries of adobe and underground pits to store their crops of corn and beans. They grew a distinctive type of corn that experts call Fremont dent because the top of each kernel has a dimple. This type of corn was well suited to the high altitude and short growing season of the region. The Fremont also ate wild plants, including various roots and pine nuts, and hunted mule deer, bighorn sheep, and rabbits.
Most Fremont lived in hamlets made up of a few pit houses. In some areas, however, they built larger villages with many houses and more than a hundred people. The larger villages had open plazas for community activities. Archaeologists recognize the graves of village chiefs because these leaders were often buried with special objects indicating their rank. Most Fremont clothing was woven from plant fibers, but leather was also used. In winter, Fremont people made warm robes by winding strips of rabbit fur around string to produce a thick yarn and by then sewing the yarn together. They also traded for turquoise from the Southwest and sea shells from what is now California.
Fremont population reached its peak by about 1050, but farming began to decline by 1150 due to drought and early frosts. Farming continued where conditions allowed, but many Fremont turned to wild foods or moved away. The Fremont completely stopped farming by 1350. The culture continued to fade as other peoples moved into the area. Scientists do not know if any peoples today are descended from the Fremont.
See also Ancestral Pueblo.
