A Plainview Kill/Butchering Locale On The Llano Est Acado-The Lubbock Lake Site

Abstract

The Lubbock Lake site is a multi-component, stratified locality on the Llano Estacada (Southern High Plains). Part of a Plainview (Paleo-Indian) period bison kill/butchering locale is being excavated. Cultural designation is based on recovered projectile points, stratigraphic position, and radiocarbon dates. Tool assemblage consists of lithic and bone expediency tool kits. Geological, faunal, and paleoenvironmental settings create an interpretative framework for the cultural event. Only part of the Plainview lifeway system is reflected at the site. The locale represents a different level of social organization than seen at other Plainview period bison kill sites. Preliminary statements include a few differences and similarities between excavated Plainview sites.     

Fossil Bison and Artifacts from The Mona Lisa Site,Calgary, Alberta

Abstract

In November, 1968, salvage excavations at the site of an art gallery under construction in urban southwest Calgary, Alberta, Canada, revealed a Paleo-Indian bison kill. The single kill level lay at a depth of more than 250 em. in flood plain deposits of the Bow River, now flowing more than a mile north of the site. The bone bed was overlain by a thick deposit of Mazama Ash (6600 years B.P.). A bone radiocarbon date of 8080 ± 150 years B.P. (G.S.C.-1209) was obtained. Intermittent pedigenesis and fineness of enclosing sediments indicate an overbank flood plain situation for the kill; evidently the site area was repeatedly flooded, probably seasonally, before and after the kill episode. No evidence of a jump-off is present, although this is inconclusive at present. In the 30 square meters excavated at Locality A there was evidence for three activity loci relating to processing of carcasses. The lithic sample includes only crude butchering tools, precluding cultural assignment. Several bone tools, most of them fashioned from tibiae, appear to have been used as expedient and expendable butchering tools at the kill. Some modification of the butchering of lower limbs is noted, apparently to facilitate the production of the bone tools.     

Hell Gap: Paleo-Indian Occupation on the High Plains

Abstract

A resume of archaeological investigations in the Hell Gap Valley of southeastern Wyoming is presented. This research produced a detailed sequence of Plains PaleoIndian occupation of this section of the High Plains. from about 9000 to 5500 B.C. Identifiable complexes recognized include Goshen, Midland, Folsom, Agate Basin, Hell Gap, Alberta, Cody, and Frederick. Materials recovered represent camping activities rather than the better known game kills, and add dimension to our knowledge of Plains Paleo-Indian cultures.     

The Simonsen Site: Report For the Summer Of 1959

Abstract

Isolated surface finds of probable Archaic and Paleo-Indian sites have been made in western Iowa for the past decade. Recently 3 sites have been found in this area, along tributaries of the Missouri River, containing cultural material buried in sediments 13-17 feet below the modern surface. One of these sites, the Simonsen, exposed on a loop of the Little Sioux River, is described.

Bison bones were eroding below the top of an alluvial terrace. This profile is divided into 8 stratigraphic zones, Zones 1 and 2, were 9 feet thick and composed of sterile loam, sand and gravels. Zone 3, contained several disintegrated bison bones, fine ash, burned earth, a fire pit with charred log fragments and a hearth containing a large canid but no artifacts. Zone 4, 1-2 feet thick was composed of sterile interbedded gravels and sand. Zone 5, from a few inches to 2 feet thick contained small flecks of charcoal, and a fragment of a projectile point. Zone 6 was a very stilty sand interbedded with sand silts. Zone 7, 2-3 feet thick was the most profilic source of cultural material but considering the large area exposed, produced few artifacts. These were knives, flakes, 2 anvil stones and 3 points. Zone 8, a gravelly deposit of unknown thickness, underlay the cultural deposits.

A total of 7 bison skulls or partial skulls were collected in addition to abundant remains of other parts of the skeletons. These remains were tentatively assigned to the extinct specie, Bison occidentalis. Measurements of the metapoidals of these specimens agreed in massiveness with those from Scottsbluff and were smaller than specimen from the Brewster and Lipscomb sites which contained bison antiquus and Folsom artifacts.

The 1959 collection from the Simonsen site supports earlier observations of affiliations with the Logan Creek Site of Nebraska and argues for assignment within the late Paleo-Indian to early Archaic horizon.     

Three Small Points: A Cody Complex Problem

Abstract

Three small points which resemble larger Cody Complex projectile points are related to this Complex on the basis of technological and shape attributes. It is concluded that several factors underlie occurrence of tiny Cody points. Resharpening of larger points accounts for one pattern. In addition, diminutive points were produced using two alternative sets of technological procedures. It is suggested that these points were not used in subsistence activities and may reflect ceremonial or symbolic activities practiced by late Paleo-Indian bison hunters.     

On The Significance of Additional Radiocarbon Dates from Bonfire Shelter,Texas

Abstract

Two hitherto unreported dates from charcoal samples associated with remains attributed to a Paleo-Indian bison kill at this site are provided. These dates further substantiate a minimal antiquity of ca. 10,000 years for the deposit and, by inference, give evidence of the use of a “bison jump” technique of hunting at this early time period. Definitional problems, differing views on the antiquity, basic comparability of cited examples, and temporal continuity of this mode of mass killing are briefly discussed. Some suggestions are made as to the cultural implications made probable by acceptance of an early date for this practice.     

Cody Knives and the Cody Complex in Plains Prehistory: A reassessment

Abstract

Discovery of the oldest dated Cody Knife in the New World calls for a redefinition of the Cody Complex in High Plains prehistqw. Its greater antiquity plus its association with an earlier culture gives new insight into the developmental sequence of certain Paleo-Indian tools.     

A Preliminary Report on Two Sites at Piney Creek,Wyoming 48J03Ll and 48J031

Abstract

During the summer of 1964, the University of Wyoming and the Wyoming Archaeological Society conducted exploratory excavations in two sites near Buffalo, Wyoming. Site 48J03ll consists of a number of stone circles and is apparently a camp site and site 48J0312 is a bison kill and butchering site. Artifact assemblages suggest an affiliation with late prehistoric and early historic sites in the Yellowstone River drainage.     

A Possible Paleo-Indian and Archaic Site in the Swan Valley,Manitoba

Abstract

An archaeological site uncovered in the Swan Valley of Manitoba during road construction yie1ded a small group of artifacts including a Paleo-Indian projectile point and side-notched Archaic points. The site is significant as it lies in a corridor which probably served as a vital migration route between the Northern Plains and the diminishing lakes within the Lake Agassiz Basin.     

the Risley Bison Kill:West-Central Montana

Abstract

The Risley Bison Jump, a large kill site approximately 50 miles west of Great Falls, Montana, was test excavated in 1974. The badly vandalized site was scheduled to be destroyed by land subdivision.Even though the site was badly disturbed, our excavations show that the site was a well-used bison jump with at least four usages evident. Processing and butchering areas were located along the margins of the kill middens. Side-notched projectilepoints recovered from the site suggest that it dates from the latter part of the Late Prehistoric Period.     

Pryor Stemmed: A Specialized Late Paleo-Indian Ecological Adaptation

Abstract

One of the late Paleo-Indian cultural groups in the Bighorn-Pryor Mountains area of southern Montana and northern Wyoming is characterized by a lanceolate projectile point with a distinctive alternate beveling on blade edges. Present evidence indicates a settlement pattern restricted to the mountains and foothills and an intense hunting and gathering subsistence strategy. They appear also to have been separate from contemporary cultural groups on the open high plains. A number of site investigations and radiocarbon dates indicate that this cultural group of around 8000 years ago and referred to as Pryor Stemmed was probably about the last of the late Paleo-Indian cultural complexes in the area.     

The Pelland and Moe Site Blades: Paleo-Indian Culture History in the Upper Midwest

Abstract

Analysis of artifacts recovered from the Moe site located in northwestern North Dakota reveals the presence of 15 blades and three blade-like flakes, the majority of which are made of Knife River Flint and have been modified by retouch flaking. A comparison of the Moe specimens to those from the Pelland site in northern Minnesota, the only other site from the study area which contains blades of Paleo-Indian age, indicates that the Moe specimens are smaller in all dimensions. The Pelland specimens are made of Knife River Flint and have been modified by retouch flaking. Examination of the literature on Paleo-Indian sites from the Plains region indicates that blade production is more common in Plano cultures particularly Agate Basin and Plainview-Goshen than in earlier Clovis or Folsom cultures or later Cody cultures. It is suggested that the Pelland and Moe site blades are Plano in age and most likely Agate Basin or Plainview-Goshen in cultural affiliation. A model provided by Leo Pettipas (1976) is used to suggest an eastward movement of Plains Plano cultures using Knife River Flint across southern Manitoba, eastern North Dakota, and into western and northern Minnesota following the recession of Glacial Lake Agassiz.     

Late Quaternary Bison Population Changes On The Southern Plains

Abstract

An analysis of faunal lists from 160 archaeological and paleontological sites in the Southern Plains reveals a success of long-term periods of presence and absence of the genus Bison in the region. Two absence periods are from about 6000-5000 B.C. to 2500 B.C. and A.D. 500 to A.D. 1200-1300. These long-term changes seem to indicate a combination of fluctuating bison population densities and range shifts. Certain previously documented prehistoric cultural events in particular subareas ofthe Southern Plains vicinity are examined in light of these data.     

Scapula Skin-Dressing And Fiber-Processing Tools

Abstract

Information from ethnographic and archaeological literature supports the interpretation that some bison scapula tools were used for dressing skins. Sim!lar scapula artifacts may have been used for processing bark fiber used in making cordage or weaving. References to possible scapula processing tools from the Plains Northwest Coast, Great Lakes Riverine Area, and the Southeast are summarized. Specimens made of deer and elk scapulae probably represent functionally similar tool types. These artifacts may be more common than the available reports on Plains sites indicate, and archaeologists should exercise care when identifying scapula tools. We cannot assume that all scapula artifacts represent hoes or hoe fragments.     

Notes On Bison In Val Verde County,Texas: Additions To Dillehay

Abstract

Bison remains from deeply stratified deposits at the Castle Canyon Site, an area of southwestern Texas where bison remains are outstandingly rare, date about 1500 B.C.-A.D. 1000. The last bison known in the area died about 1885. It is suggested that environmental conditions in the area may not have changed, and that presence-absence periods might rather reflect changing conditions on the Central or Northern Plains. These data do not alter Dillehay’s conclusions, but present information not available to him.     

Insights into early lithic technologies from ethnography

Oldowan lithic assemblages are often portrayed as a product of the need to obtain sharp flakes for cutting into animal carcases. However, ethnographic and experimental research indicates that the optimal way to produce flakes for such butchering purposes is via bipolar reduction of small cryptocrystalline pebbles rather than from larger crystalline cores resembling choppers. Ethnographic observations of stone tool-using hunter-gatherers in environments comparable with early hominins indicate that most stone tools (particularly chopper forms and flake tools) were used for making simple shaft tools including spears, digging sticks and throwing sticks. These tools bear strong resemblances to Oldowan stone tools. Bipolar reduction for butchering probably preceded chopper-like core reduction and provides a key link between primate nut-cracking technologies and the emergence of more sophisticated lithic technologies leading to the Oldowan.     

Experimental Butchering of a Chimpanzee Carcass for Archaeological Purposes

Two archaeological assemblages from the Sierra de Atapuerca sites show evidence of anthropogenic cannibalism. These are the late Early Pleistocene level TD6-2 at Gran Dolina, and the Bronze Age level MIR4 in the Mirador Cave. Despite the chronological distance between these two assemblages, they share the common feature that the human remains exhibit a high frequency of anthropogenic modifications (cut marks, percussion pits and notches and peeling). This frequency could denote special treatment of bodies, or else be the normal result of the butchering process. In order to test these possibilities, we subjected a chimpanzee carcass to a butchering process. The processing was intensive and intended to simulate preparation for consumption. In doing this, we used several simple flakes made from quartzite and chert from quarries in the Sierra de Atapuerca. The skull, long bones, metapodials and phalanges were also fractured in order to remove the brain and bone marrow. As a result, about 40% of the remains showed some kind of human modification. The frequency, distribution and characteristics of these modifications are very similar to those documented on the remains of Homo antecessor from TD6-2. In case of the MIR4 assemblage, the results are similar except in the treatment of skulls. Our results indicate that high frequencies of anthropogenic modifications are common after an intensive butchering process intended to prepare a hominin body for consumption in different contexts (both where there was possible ritual behavior and where this was not the case and the modifications are not the result of special treatment).     

An Alternative View of Some Southern Plains Archaic Stage Characteristics

Abstract

It is argued that Hammatt’s 1976 review of the Southern Plains Archaic Stage is in part not well reasoned or well supported. His contention that projectile point styles are not reliable as indicators of Archaic sites, while Clear Fork gouges are, is unsupportable and logically inconsistent based on the data he used. Other attributes used by Hammatt to define Archaic components are also discussed. Hammatt views the study of subsistence patterns (adaptation) rather than projectile points, as a more meaningful way to identify Archaic sites. This is a welcome argument and goal     

Comments On the Preceramic in Missouri*

Abstract

In the Plains periphery of the Central Area, Missouri, extensive preceramic remains are found. Well recognized complexe s with Paleo-Indian connections are Nebo Hill, Sedalia, Graham Cave Levels 6-4, andArnoldResearch Cave. Radiocarbon dates range from 7738 B. C. to 4322 B. C. Other preceramic complexes described from excavations include the Hatten Mound component and the Lincoln County burial site, in the Northwest Prairie; Blackwell Component A in the Ozark Highland; and the Jakie L2 and L3 components dated at 5112 B. C. to 4422 B. C. in the Southwest Drainage. Surface collections from all areas indicate preceramic occupations.     

The Gore Pit Site: An Archaic Occupation in Southwestern Oklahoma and a Review Of the Archaic Stage in the Southern Plains

Abstract

The Gore Pit site (34CM131), which is within the city limits of Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma, has been revealing evidence of Archaic occupation through excavation and surface collection since 1963. The site is contained in the bottom of a large borrow pit which was sera ped to a depth of 15 to 20 feet by he Highway Department.The pit is on the active flood plain of East Cache Creek and borders the creek a few feet to the east. The artifacts recovered by surface collection include projectile points, scrapers, scraper planes, Clear Fork gouges, andgrinding stones and basins. Three burned rock middens were excavated, one of which yielded radiocarbon dates, 6030 + 300 B.P. (Bastian 1964) and 6145+ 130 B.P. (GX1558). In the spring of 1968, a partially preserved, semiflexed human burial was discovered in the pit. There were no associated artifacts. A radiocarbon date obtained from the apatite fraction of the bone resulted in a determination of 7100+350 B.P. (GX2009). The earliest Archaic on the Southern Plains is presently dated around 6000 B.P. However, there is a paucity of dated and documented sites for the preceding 2000 years. Archaic subsistence patterns occur at least 2000 years earlier in areas to the west and east. The origin and age of the earliest Archaic in the Southern Plains remains undetermined. The Archaic must ultimately be identified on the basis of subsistence patterns and not on the basis of projectile point styles.