Hogup Cave is a two-chambered limestone cavern, and an important, well-studied prehistoric Great Basin site in Utah.

The lowest zone, known as the pickleweed-salt grass community, is a narrow band where sheep herders have excavated several wells, revealing the presence of groundwater.

[5] An archaeological monograph was published in 1970 by Aikens entitled Hogup Cave, containing a detailed analysis of nearly 10,000 artifacts recovered during the two excavations.

Numerous bones, wood, hide, cordage, fibers, textile items, chipped stones, clay, pottery, coprolites, hair, feathers, and fur were analyzed.

Stratum 2 Only found in a small area against the east wall and in a low spot along the western boundary of excavation, it ranged between 4 and 6 inches thick.

Composed of dark brown crumbly earth arising from decomposed vegetal matter, there were no cultural features found in this stratum.

Stratum 3 Continuous over all squares and ranging between 6 and 10 inches, it had a gross composition of a thoroughly burned bed of white ash containing charcoal lenses.

Stratum 4 Extended over all squares, ranging from 9 to 18 inches in thickness, and composed of pickleweed chaff, twigs, shredded bark, and antelope hair.

A large amount of human fecal matter, a charcoal-ash lens, and a 6 to 8 inch thick bed of woody twigs were found.

Stratum 7 Found only over the front of the cave and ranging between 12 and 18 inches thick, it was composed of pickleweed chaff, grass, and dust.

Stratum 8 Extended over all squares excavated, ranging between 9 and 36 inches thick, it had a composition of pickleweed chaff, grass, twigs, and dust.

Stratum 10 Extended over all squares excavated and ranging between 9 and 10 inches thick, and having a composition of pickleweed chaff, twigs, roof spalls, and antelope hair.

A 6 to 8 inch thick deep ash zone (the result of a fire smoldering out of control) and an ash-charcoal lens were found.

Composed of pickleweed chaff, grass, dust, twigs, and antelope hair, a small ash-charcoal lens was found inside the cave portal.

Aikens pointed out that although this stratum was not continuous over most of the excavation, it was important because it led to the realization that there was a partial gap in the stratigraphic record.

Stratum 12 Continuous over most squares excavated and ranging between 6 and 12 inches thick, it was composed of Scirpus, bark, and antelope hair.

It had a composition of pickleweed chaff, grass, bark, twigs, Scirpus, antelope hair, and bat guano, and three small charcoal lenses were found.

Also found was a flattened oval shape of unfired clay containing a mixture of crushed white stones and fragments of vegetal fiber.

After the comparison, Prof. Aikens grouped the collection into four major series: 1) Pinto or Little Lake; 2) lanceolate; 3) Elko; 4) and small projectile points.

Subclass 6 consisted of one long, cylindrical mano with three grinding surfaces, one of which was longitudinally and laterally convex, giving it a rocker shape.

There were 6 "pounding/abrading stones" found,[20] made of sandstone, gabbro, and conglomerate, all having flat abraded surfaces and battered edges and ends.

A separate outer sole was added to the basic piece and an ankle wrap was sewn around the upper part to give the moccasin a bootlike appearance.

The good condition of the feathers allowed straightforward visual comparison with known specimens from the Royal Ontario Museum collections.

[39] Unit I resembled the Desert culture where a way of life was based on seed gathering, primarily pickleweed, and small and large game hunting, mostly pronghorn, deer, and bison.

[43] There was also a marked decline in the use of milling stones and manos, which Harper and Alder suggested might be due to the recession of the lake that reduced the suitability for growth of pickleweed.

[44] The importance of bison and pronghorn became more emphasized than in Unit I but evidence showed a loss of interest in deer, rabbits, and the total disappearance of waterfowl.

Aikens suggested that the primary function of basketry was related to collecting and processing of plant seeds and this low usage coincided with the reduced intake of pickleweed.

There was a marked decline in artifacts and an almost complete disappearance of distinctive objects such as those found in Unit III, which could suggest a radical change of cultural ecology in Utah.

Hide artifacts such as thongs and fragments of rabbit fur robes were found and pottery sherds continued to be seen but few were Fremont, causing Aikens to observe that they were most likely out of context in Unit IV.

[48] Professor Aikens emphasized in his book that Hogup Cave was only one of the settlements that were occupied during the course of a seasonal round, with the whereabouts of the sometime occupants during the rest of their economic cycle being unknown.