Through all of it, the cave held him in its cold and dark, until two people mapping passages in 1988 found what was left.

The High Country And Its Ancient Visitors

The Hourglass Cave man was not necessarily unique in his use of high-altitude cave terrain in the Colorado Rockies.

He is simply the most spectacularly documented example from this region and period.

The evidence for prehistoric human use of high-altitude environments in the Rocky Mountains has accumulated from multiple sites over the past several decades.

Alpine kill sites — locations where prehistoric hunters processed large game animals above treeline — have been identified at multiple locations in Wyoming and Colorado.