Medicine Lodge State Archeological Site
archaeological site in Big Horn County, Wyoming, United States
Medicine Lodge State Archaeological Site is a Wyoming state park that interprets the Medicine Lodge Creek Site, a prehistoric Native American archaeological site near Hyattville, Wyoming. It is administered by the Wyoming Division of State Parks and Historic Sites. The site is at the base of a steep limestone outcropping near the point where the dry and running portions of Medicine Lodge Creek join for a protected location with ready access to water. The site includes petroglyphs and pictographs on the rock face. An eight-year-long archaeological study beginning in 1968 discovered more than 60 cultural levels. These levels dated from the Paleoindian, Archaic, and Prehistoric periods. The site comprises a portion of the former Wickwire Ranch, which was purchased by the state in 1972 and is now about 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) of Medicine Lodge Wildlife Habitat Management Area. The archaeological site was designated in 1973. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 5, 1973. The site is managed as a state park.
“Medicine Lodge State Archeological Site” enters the record as archaeological site in Big Horn County, Wyoming, United States. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Medicine, Lodge and State can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Medicine Lodge State Archeological Site” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Medicine, Lodge and State provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q54874360. The first chronological checks are 1968, 1972 and 1973.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Medicine Lodge State Archeological Site”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Medicine Lodge State Archeological Site primary sources, Medicine Lodge State Archeological Site archive and Medicine research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Medicine Lodge State Archeological Site”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Medicine Lodge State Archeological Site” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.