The sequence of peoples who lived in and around the Monument reaches back at least 8,000,usually the number quoted is approximately 1000 years. The most visible signs of pre-European human activity-petroglyphs, granaries, and dwellings-were left by people of the Fremont and Anasazi cultures, who occupied the area for several hundred years. By around AD 1300, both Fremont and Anasazi were gone from the region. They were followed by the Southern Paiute, who moved into what is now the Monument. The Ute, Hopi, and Navajo who journeyed there occasionally.

The Grand Staircase Monument holds exceptional archaeological and historic sites. The most sensitive sites are rock art sites, rock shelters, sites with standing walls, wooden structures, and traditional cultural properties. These sites contain important information and perishable organic materials not found at other locations. Other significant sites include clusters of unique sites that represent contact between the Fremont and Anasazi in the Kaiparowits region.