Running of the buffalo: investigations of the Roberts Ranch Buffalo Jump (5LR100), northern Colorado
Date
2016
Authors
Johnston, Christopher M., author
LaBelle, Jason M., advisor
Pante, Michael C., committee member
Knight, Richard L., committee member
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Abstract
Since the Roberts Ranch Buffalo Jump (5LR100) was first reported on in 1971, there has been a great deal of research on bison kills and faunal analysis, as well as advancements in analytic techniques, that can now be applied to the collection from the site. Much of the collection was reported in a thesis by Max Witkind in 1971; however, some of these data are being presented here for the first time. The site is dated to approximately between A.D. 1660-1750 and consists of the remains of at minimum 19 bison adult and sub-adult bison, as well as at minimum eight fetal bison. This thesis examines the collection from three different perspectives. It starts by analyzing the non-bone artifact assemblage, which includes different styles of arrow points, at least two different ceramic traditions, and a modified bone assemblage. These data show that much of the past site activities focused on butchery and processing of bison, but other activities were also carried out at the site. The next section utilizes faunal analysis methods not yet developed when the site was first reported to explore the bison assemblage in more detail. This analysis shows some non-cultural impacts to the collection, but largely documents that the bonebed is the result of human butchery and processing decisions. These two data sets are then analyzed spatially. The results show patterned clusters of artifacts around the main bone concentrations, offering new insights on how to incorporate a site structure approach at mass kill sites. Lastly, this thesis illustrates the value of applying new methods to older archaeological collections.
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Subject
bison kill
communal hunting
spatial analysis
bonebed
bison jump
Late Prehistoric