August 22, 2014

Fragments of pottery discovered by archaeologists in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado contain residues of a pain-relieving compound similar to modern aspirin. The pottery fragments, which date to more than 1,300 years ago, contain residues of salicylic acid, a chemical compound known for its ability to reduce fever and pain. Acetylsalicylic acid, or aspirin, one of the most widely used drugs in the world, is prepared from salicylic acid. The pottery fragments are the oldest known physical evidence of traditional American Indian medicinal practices ever found.

American Indians’ use of indigenous, or native, plants for a wide variety of medicinal purposes is well known from oral histories, ethnographic sources, and the continuing traditions of Indians today. Scholars have listed as many as 2,700 different plants that are recognized by American Indians as having healing purposes. For example, many Indian groups were known to boil willow bark to make a drink that reduced fever. The Pueblo people of the western United States are known to boil willow roots and bark to make a poultice (hot pack) that is used to soothe aches and pains. Although scholars know that the use of medicinal plants likely developed over thousands of years, few, if any, physical remains of traditional American Indian medicines have been found in the archaeological record.

The earliest archaeological evidence for ancient Indians creating a pain-relieving compound similar to modern aspirin was found recently in Colorado. Many types of Indians, especially the cliff-dwelling Pueblo Indians, are known to have used the willow plant to create pain relieving remedies. (© James P. Rowan.)

Archaeologists at the Colorado rock shelter originally excavated a variety of artifacts, including stone tools and pottery shards in 2011. The pottery did not have distinctive designs or other markings that could be used to determine if they were made by ancient ancestors of any American Indian group living today. However, a chemical analysis of residues coating one pottery shard identified the substance as salicylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin. The salicylic acid was most likely deposited on the pottery as willow bark, roots, or leaves were boiled within the vessel. No other residues, such as those that would have been deposited from cooking food in the pottery, were found on this shard. The archaeologist studying this pottery suggests that the fragment was from a pot used specifically to store or prepare medicine. This indicates that an understanding of the uses of plants was already well developed in American Indian medicine more than 1,000 years ago.

Additional World Book articles:

• Analgesic
• Analytical chemistry
• Archaeology
• Medicine

September 13, 2013

Up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain has fallen across a 100-mile (160-kilometer) expanse of Colorado’s Front Range, causing massive flash flooding. The city of Boulder has received 14 inches (35 centimeters) since the rains started on September 9. The National Weather Service has characterized the downpour as “biblical” in its volume. Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle described facing 20-foot (6-meter) walls of water racing down canyons that had already been stripped bare, first by drought and then wildfires.“This is not an ordinary day,” he stated. “It is not an ordinary disaster.” At least three people are known to have died from the storms.

Thousands of residents are being evacuated as local streams turn into rampaging torrents. After examining the area around Boulder Creek, Boulder’s Office of Emergency Management warned all residents “to go to higher ground immediately due to the potential for flash flooding along the creek.” The resort towns of Lyons and Estes Park are totally isolated by water and cascading rivers. Lyons, which has been without electric power, is being evacuated. Estes Park has lost both telephone and cellphone service. The rampant water has already caused at least six dams to fail, and state officials are closely watching several high-hazard dams whose failure would endanger lives and cause enormous property damage.

Massive volumes of rain rushing down the slopes of mountains in Colorado's Front Range are creating flash floods that are devastating communities in their paths. (National Park Service)

In New Mexico, an area in the Guadalupe Mountains received 11 inches (27 centimeters) in a 24-hour period. Until this week, the state has been in the grip of an intense, year-long drought, and riverbeds that have been dry for months are now treacherous rapids. Carlsbad Caverns National Park closed yesterday because of the flooding.

Additional World Book articles:

• Rocky Mountains
• Rocky Mountain National Park

June 29, 2012

President Barack Obama has declared Colorado, currently being ravaged by wildfires, a national disaster area. The declaration releases federal funds for people affected by the two worst fires of the eight or so raging in the state: the High Park Fire in the north and the Waldo Canyon Fire in the center of the state.

The High Park Fire–the second-largest fire in Colorado’s history–began June 9 with a lightning spark in the Fort Collins area. By June 29, the blaze had consumed more than 87,000 acres, destroyed 259 homes, and caused the death of one person. Fire officials stated that as of Friday, the fire had not grown for two days and was considered 85 percent contained.

The Waldo Canyon Fire, raging since June 23, is smaller. However, extremely dry, hot, and windy conditions have made this fire fiercer, faster-moving, and more difficult to restrain. The blaze began near Waldo Canyon in the Pike National Forest. It quickly reached the northwestern outskirts of Colorado Springs–the state’s second most populous city–and doubled in size. By Friday, the fire had destroyed at least 346 houses, forced more than 36,000 people to evacuate their homes, and killed at least one person. The charred remains of the victim were discovered late Thursday in the Mountain Shadows subdivision, one of the areas hardest hit. Some 20,000 homes and the U.S. Air Force Academy remain under threat of the fire, which has burned more than 18,500 acres. According to local fire officials, the blaze is only 15 percent contained.

The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, reports that 32 large, active fires also continue to rage in 7 other western states: Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

Additional World Book articles:

• Forest
• Forest Service
• Weather 2011 (a Back in Time article)
• Why Forests Need to Burn (a special report)