Matthew E. Hill

On bonfire shelter (Texas) as a paleoindian bison jump : An assessment using gis and zooarchaeology

The Plainview/Folsom-aged bison Bonebed 2 at Bonfire Shelter, originally excavated in the 1960s, is argued to be the earliest North American bison jump (Dibble 1970; Dibble and Lorrain 1968). Yet, it is far older than all other known jumps, and well south of where the great majority of these sites are found. Dibble (1970) reasonably argued that its age and location was not compelling evidence against it being a bison jump. However, Binford (1978) observed that the skeletal composition of Bonebed 2 did not resemble a kill. To assess whether Bonfire Shelter could have been utilized as a jump and whether it was, we explore two lines of evidence bearing on the issue, a GIS analysis of the site and upland topography, and zooarchaeological analysis of the recovered bison remains. Although our GIS analysis indicates that Bonfire Shelter meets many of the criteria of a jump locality, our reanalysis of the faunal remains suggests this was not the primary kill locus, but instead a processing area to which high-utility portions of at least 24 bison were transported and butchered. Where the bison were killed, and how, is not known.

A moveable feast: variation in faunal resource use among central and western north american paleoindian sites

In the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains of North America, researchers have debated the degree to which Paleoindian foragers relied on large-game hunting to fulfill their subsistence needs. This study reviews the zooarchaeological record from 60 sites to test predictions drawn from prey choice models. Results indicate that different site types provide different perspectives on Paleoindian faunal use. Data from kill assemblages can only inform on the exploitation of large game, while the full variety of prey used by Paleoindian foragers is represented at camp localities. In addition, prehistoric foragers varied prey choice based on habitat setting. In the low diversity grasslands of the High Plains and Rolling Hills, prehistoric groups hunted large game almost exclusively. In the more diverse environments of the alluvial valleys and foothill/mountain environments, foragers show higher diversity of faunal use. During the early Holocene, small game made a greater contribution in the diet of Paleoindians, possibly in response to changing environmental conditions and/or increased hunting pressure.

The Waugh site : A Folsom-age bison bonebed in northwestern Oklahoma

The Waugh site (34HP42) was discovered in January, 1991 in Harper County, Oklahoma as a concentration of bison bones eroding from a stream margin. A Folsom projectile point was found with the bones. Professional excavation began in 1991 and continued in 1992 and 1993. In 1992, testing 100 m to the south of the bonebed revealed a hearth feature which provided two radiocarbon dates of ca. 10,390 years BP. This paper summarizes the data collected from the faunal remains pertaining to minimum number of individuals, skeletal element frequency, sex composition, and site formation processes.

Clovis paleoecology and lithic technology in the central rio grande rift region, New Mexico

Abstract Clovis sites occur throughout the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, but are poorly documented in the central Rio Grande rift region. Here, we present data from two relatively unknown Clovis projectile point assemblages from this region: the first is from the Mockingbird Gap Clovis site and the second is from a survey of the surrounding region. Our goals are to reconstruct general features of the paleoecological adaptation of Clovis populations in the region using raw material sourcing and then to compare the point technology in the region to other Clovis assemblages in the Southwest and across the continent. Our results show that both assemblages were manufactured from similar suites of raw materials that come almost exclusively from the central Rio Grande rift region and the adjacent mountains of New Mexico. Additionally, we show that Clovis projectile points in the study region are significantly smaller than the continental average. Our results suggest that Clovis populations in this region operated within a large, well-known, and relatively high-elevation territory encompassing much of northern and western New Mexico.

Linking Bones and Stones: Regional Variation in Late Paleoindian Cody Complex Land Use and Foraging Strategies

Abstract Using lithic and faunal data from 33 Cody complex (10,000–8600 14C years B.P.) components from the northern Great Plains, this study explores how Paleoindian land use and foraging strategies varied in relation to resource structure at the regional scale. The analysis of regional-scale faunal and lithic data was undertaken to demonstrate how disparate but related datasets must be considered together to develop a more complete understanding of hunter-gatherer lifeways. Empirical observations from the Cody archaeological record were compared to an optimal foraging theory and temporal resource predictability theory-inspired land-use model. The model predicts, and the data support, a pattern whereby Cody groups in the resource-rich foothill-mountain zone employed a regionally restricted land-use strategy for a protracted portion of the year, made spatially limited movements during which they relied on local toolstone, and expanded diet breadth by hunting a mixture of dispersed bison herds and small-bodied animals. In the comparatively resource-poor plains grasslands and adjacent alluvial valleys, the model predicts and the data indicate that Cody groups employed a nonregionally restricted land-use strategy in which they rapidly moved through regions, relied on nonlocal toolstone sources, made many residential moves over vast areas, and relied on a narrow range ofbiotic resources (primarily bison).

Spatial Analysis of Small Scale Debris from a Late Prehistoric Site in the Lower Missouri Valley, Kansas

Abstract Late Prehistoric habitation structures in the Great Plains of North America are frequently recognized from postmold patterns and associated features, such as hearths and storage pits. At sites that lack such indicators, some archaeologists have either failed to discern domestic structures or have mistakenly attributed them to other, non-habitation functions. In the absence of more conventional house remains, the spatial analysis of small scale debris, including daub, charcoal, and burned bone, in conjunction with piece-plotted lithic and ceramic artifacts, can identify the remains of houses as well as external, domestic features. Such analysis enhances our understanding of past settlement patterns of seasonally mobile agriculturalists, as seen at the Steed-Kisker phase component at the DB site (14LV1071), a late prehistoric upland occupation of the Lower Missouri Valley at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

A further assessment of Paleoindian site-use at Bonfire Shelter

In Byerly et al. (2005) we explored the hypothesis that the Paleoindian component at Bonfire Shelter was the result of a jump kill. Our efforts involved extensive mapping and GIS analysis, a re-examination of the Paleoindian-age bison assemblage, and consideration of the geomorphic history of the canyon in which the site is located. We concluded that the preponderance of evidence indicated the Paleoindian-age bison remains at Bonfire Shelter marked a processing site as Binford (1978) suggested, rather than a primary kill locality as originally interpreted (Dibble 1968). Bement (this issue) raises several concerns about our analysis and discussion, including that we omit pertinent information relevant to the interpretation of the site. His comments, however, result from a misreading of our discussion and a misconstrual of the data set, as we explain in this response.

MOBILE HORTICULTURALISTS IN THE WESTERN PAPAGUERÍA

Abstract Excavations at two sites in the western Papaguerían desert of southwestern Arizona contribute to our understanding of cultural chronology, subsistence strategies, population mobility, and land-use adaptations in one of the least investigated archaeological areas of the U.S. Southwest. The sites, Mobak and Rainy Day, are located in the northeastern corner of the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range in Maricopa County, Arizona, and were investigated in 1998. These localities reflect a 2,000-year history of seasonal resource procurement and processing, with evidence for at least occasional Ak-Chin-style cultivation of maize and squash. Our evidence suggests that prehistoric inhabitants practiced a flexible land-use strategy based on casual agriculture and movements between desert and riverine environments. Abstract Excavaciones en dos sitios de la Papaguería occidental del sudoeste de Arizona contribuyen a nuestro entendimiento de cronología cultural, estrategias de subsistencia, movilidades de población, y adaptaciones en el uso de la tierra en una de las áreas arqueológicas menos investigadas del sudoeste Americano. Los sitios de “Mobak” y “Rainy Day” estan ubicados en la esquina noreste de la base de la Fuerza Aerea Barry M. Goldwater, en el condado de Maricopa en Arizona y fueron estudiadas en 1998. Estas zonas reflejan una historia de 2000 anos de adquisición y procesamiento de recursos temporales, con evidencia, por lo menos ocasional, de cultivos Ak-Chin de maíz y calabaza. Nuestra evidencia sugiere que los habitantes prehistóricos practicaron estrategias flexibles de uso de la tierra basado en agricultura casual y migraciones entre zonas áridas y ríos.

Paleoindian and later occupations along ancient shorelines of the San Agustín Plains, New Mexico

Abstract To better understand the residential behavior of Paleoindian (14,000–8000 CAL B.P.) and later groups (Archaic and Formative period), our project undertook an investigation of the eastern sub-basins of the high elevation (> 2070 masl) San Agustín Plains in west-central New Mexico. The work included pedestrian survey of 390 ha, geoarchaeological studies, an analysis of private collections consisting of 210 artifacts from 75 sites, and site-file record searches. The preliminary results from this project suggest the presence of significant Archaic and Paleoindian occupations along paleolake shorelines in the northeastern portion of the San Agustín Plains. Most of the archaeological sites from this area represent isolated finds of diagnostic projectile points, although a few large multicomponent sites were also identified. Functional and temporal differences between the occupations of the two sub-basins show that human use of the area shifted gradually from one focused on moderate to low-intensity habitation (Paleoindian and Archaic period) to one of short-term seasonal visits associated with special-function resource extraction activities (Formative period) in response to the disappearance of surface water features.

Analysis of Site Formation Processes at the Rex Rodgers Bison Bonebed

Abstract A reanalysis of bison remains from the Rex Rodgers site (41BI42 Area 2) indicates that the previous interpretation of the site as a well-preserved single event kill of a small herd of bison is in need of revision. A taphonomic analysis of approximately 330 identifiable bison bones from the site suggests that, although the animals were likely killed by prehistoric hunters approximately 11,500 cal B.P. as previously believed, extensive post-depositional alterations to the bonebed make many of the previous interpretations about human actions at the site problematic. The Rex Rodgers material probably reflects the end products of at least one, and possibly two, bison kills. A tooth eruption study suggests the bison died sometime between late fall and late winter. Taphonomic analyses identified culturally derived surface modifications to some limb and axial elements that show car-casses were partially skinned, butchered, and disarticulated prior to abandonment of the site. Following site abandonment, fluvial transport, severely altered the composition, condition, and structure of the bonebed. Unfortunately, the result is that much of the evidence for the prehistoric use of the bison at the site has been largely blurred to the modern observer.