A simple, short cave might be entered casually — for shelter, for curiosity, without any special preparation or intent.

A cave that extends for hundreds of meters into a mountainside, through multiple restrictions and challenges, is a different kind of place.

Penetrating it deeply requires specific preparation, specific capability, and specific motivation.

The Radiocarbon Record Of The Colorado High Country

The Hourglass Cave man is not the only radiocarbon-dated evidence of early human presence in the Colorado Rockies.

He is, however, among the earliest and most dramatically placed.

Archaeological surveys of high-altitude sites in Colorado have produced radiocarbon dates for human occupation at various elevations and in various contexts.