Bison Procurement in the Far West: A 2,100-Year-Old Kill Site on the Columbia Plateau

1995 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 751-763 ◽  
Author(s):  
James C. Chatters ◽  
Sarah K. Campbell ◽  
Grant D. Smith ◽  
Phillip E. Minthorn
Keyword(s):  
Channel Wall ◽  
Columbia River ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Columbia Plateau ◽  
Stone Artifacts ◽  
Local Topography ◽  
Evidence Analysis ◽  
Kill Site ◽  
Game Hunting

Bison bones are found in Columbia Plateau archaeological sites from throughout the Holocene, yet no information on people's tactics for procuring them has yet been reported. The discovery of the Tsulim Site, a 2,100-year-old bison kill near the Columbia River in central Washington, has provided the opportunity to investigate those tactics. Despite the deteriorated state of the evidence, analysis of stone artifacts, faunal remains, and site geology revealed that at least eight animals were killed in the apex of a parabolic dune during the early to mid-winter by hunters using both atlatl and bow. Local topography and meteorology make it most likely that the herd was encountered in a low paleochannel, driven northward between the limbs of the dune, up the steep channel wall, and into the kill area, a sort of inverted buffalo jump. Results not only illuminate the large-game hunting practices of the Plateau peoples, but also point out how much can be learned from disturbed, low-density scatters of debris that are often dismissed as insignificant.

scholarly journals Notes on distribution and relative abundances of some animal species, and on climate in the Kruger National Park during prehistoric times

Koedoe ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ina Plug
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Animal Population ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
The Past ◽  
Relative Abundances ◽  
Insight Into

Faunal remains obtained from archaeological sites in the Kruger National Park, provide valuable information on the distributions of animal species in the past. The relative abundances of some species are compared with animal population statistics of the present. The study of the faunal samples, which date from nearly 7 000 years before present until the nineteenth century, also provides insight into climatic conditions during prehistoric times.

Human and Dog Consumption of Fish on the Lower Ob River of Siberia: Evidence for a Major Freshwater Reservoir Effect at the Ust’-Polui Site

Radiocarbon ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J Losey ◽  
Lacey S Fleming ◽  
Tatiana Nomokonova ◽  
Andrei V Gusev ◽  
Natalia V Fedorova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Dietary Patterns ◽  
Fish Bone ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Siberian Arctic ◽  
Freshwater Reservoir ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Stable Isotope Data

AbstractUst’-Polui is one of the most extensively studied archaeological sites in the western Siberian Arctic. New radiocarbon (14C) dates for charcoal, faunal remains, bark, hide, and human bone from this site are presented. When modeled, the charcoal dates span from ~260 BC to 140 AD, overlapping with the dendrochronology dates from the site. These dates also overlap with the expected age of the site based on artefact typology. 14C dates on reindeer bone have a slightly younger modeled age range, from ~110 BC to 350 AD. In contrast, dates on the site’s numerous dog remains, and on human and fish bone, all predate these modeled age ranges by over 500 years, despite being from the same deposits. Several sets of paired dates demonstrate significant age differences. Bone dates with lower δ13C values tend to be over 500 years older than those with higher δ13C values. Stable isotope data for the humans, dogs, and other faunal remains are also presented. These data suggest the dogs and the humans were regularly consuming freshwater fish. The dogs were probably fed fish by their human counterparts. Overall, the dog and human dietary patterns at Ust’-Polui created 14C dates biased with major freshwater reservoir effects.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Shibani Bose
Keyword(s):  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Rock Paintings ◽  
Ecological Importance

This chapter sets the stage for the narrative which ensues by delineating the ecological importance of megafauna, and underlining the importance of the period chosen for study. It is also a historiographical sketch of the ways in which studies on animals have been approached. This is followed by an elucidation of the sources used by the study to reconstruct the histories of these mega mammals. These include multiple prisms ranging from faunal remains retrieved from archaeological sites, visual depictions in the form of rock paintings, seals, and terracottas to the formidable corpus of Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, and classical Western accounts.

scholarly journals Insect Marks on Bones from La Guillerma Archaeological Locality (Salado River Depression, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Quaternary ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Paula D. Escosteguy ◽  
Alejandro E. Fernandez ◽  
María Isabel González
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Buenos Aires Province ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Faunal Assemblage ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Salado River ◽  
Bone Remains

The La Guillerma archaeological locality is located in the northeast sector of Buenos Aires province (Argentina). Two of its sites (LG1 and LG5), dated between ca. 1400- and 600-years BP, have a great amount of faunal remains including deer, rodents, fish and small birds that are subjected to taphonomic agents and processes (e.g., weathering, manganese, roots). Previous studies have shown osteophagic behaviour in different insects (e.g., Coleoptera, Blattodea). In this paper, we evaluate their incidence on La Guillerma faunal assemblage. We performed an analysis on marks that were identified in bone remains of various taxa and applied the criteria for identifying bone alteration by insects (i.e., by measuring each trace and comparing them with the types of insect marks described in the literature). Fifteen specimens (LG1 = 6 and LG5 = 9) exhibited different types of modifications (e.g., pits with striae in base, pits with emanating striae, striations) that are related to the action of insects. Although the proportion of affected bones is low in relation to the total sample, we highlight our study as the first detailed analysis of insect marks on archaeological bones from Argentina. We also emphasize the significance of addressing insect-produced modifications on Argentinean archaeological sites.

A Comment on Nomenclature in Faunal Studies

1981 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 192-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra L. Olsen ◽  
John W. Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Broad Spectrum ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Current Usage ◽  
Faunal Studies

The study of faunal remains from archaeological sites has been described using a variety of terms including: zooarchaeology, archaeozoology, osteoarchaeology, and ethnozoology. With such a broad spectrum of terms in current usage, we feel that the contradictions and errors inherent in some of this nomenclature need to be corrected. We prefer the term zooarchaeology, as a contraction of the word zoologico-archaeology proposed by Lubbock in 1865, to define the study of animal remains from archaeological sites and their relationship to humans.

Archaeological Evidence for a Former Bay at Seaside, Oregon

1995 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 362-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Connolly
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Columbia River ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Shell Middens ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Coastal Landscapes ◽  
Human Use ◽  
Razor Clams ◽  
Sheltered Water

AbstractCultural shell middens, a common feature of coastal landscapes, preserve a record of past human use of coastal resources and often provide important paleoenvironmental information. Molluscan remains from two shell midden sites, located 0.7 km from the modern Pacific coast at Seaside, Oregon, suggest the former presence of a small sheltered bay at this locality. The modern sand beaches in the Seaside area, stretching for 30 km southward from the mouth of the Columbia River, are exposed to high-energy surf where razor clams (Siliqua patula) are today the only common bivalve. By contrast, over 90% of molluscan remains (by weight) recovered from the archaeological sites represent species that favor sheltered water. Geologic studies in the Seaside area have shown that the beach prograded some 2 km over the last 4 millennia. The midden evidence suggests that the progradation was accompanied by the infilling of a former bay.

A Corner-Tang Artifact from Oregon

1944 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-451
Author(s):  
Robert L. Stephenson
Keyword(s):  
Columbia River ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Stone Artifacts ◽  
Chipped Stone ◽  
Columbia County

During the cataloging of a collection of some 650 tiny projectile points from the banks of the Columbia River in Columbia County, Oregon, an unusual specimen was brought to light. All but five of the points in the collection are under 3/4 inch in length and are proportionately narrow and thin. The five larger specimens were, then, immediately outstanding. Of these, one is of the corner-tang variety. It is 2.13 inches long, 1 inch wide, and 0.36 inch thick. It is made from a tan, slightly opalitic chalcedony,8 a material which is quite common in the collections of chipped stone artifacts from the lower Columbia River area.The specimen is of the type that Patterson has called “diagonal corner-tang” and possesses a small crescent notch on the side opposite the tang. The tang is quite narrow and pointed. The chipping is somewhat rough and uneven, and on one side there appears to be something of a channel groove running approximately two-thirds the length of the specimen. This is, in all probability, quite accidental.

The Lehner Mammoth Site, Southeastern Arizona

1959 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emil W. Haury ◽  
E. B. Sayles ◽  
William W. Wasley
Keyword(s):  
San Pedro ◽  
Geological Age ◽  
Perennial Stream ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Kill Site ◽  
Both Bones ◽  
Game Hunting ◽  
Fluted Points ◽  
Sulphur Spring ◽  
Big Game Hunting

AbstractIn 1955-56 the Arizona State Museum excavated an elephant-kill site on the Lehner ranch in the San Pedro valley, near Hereford, Arizona, and found 13 projectiles, mainly Clovis fluted points, eight butchering tools, and charcoal from two fires among the remains of nine immature mammoths and elements of horse, bison, and tapir. Bones and artifacts occurred on and in gravels of a former perennial stream exposed in the modern arroyo bank. Most or all of the animals were probably killed over a comparatively short period by hunters identified with the Llano complex by the Clovis points. The Lehner site and the nearby Naco site represent the southwesternmost extent of the presently known range of the Llano complex. The post-kill sequence of alluviation and erosion supports a geological age of 13,000 or more years for both bones and artifacts. Arizona, Michigan, and Copenhagen radiocarbon measurements of hearth charcoal indicate a date of 11,000 to 12,000 B.P. Since these dates are substantially older than the oldest radiocarbon assays for the Sulphur Spring stage of the Cochise culture, it is probable that the transition from big-game hunting to collecting is reflected in the change from Llano complex to Cochise culture, and that this shift in economic emphasis took place before the complete extinction of the late Pleistocene megafauna.

The Sulphur Spring Stage and its Place in New World Prehistory

1986 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Waters
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Stone Artifacts ◽  
Ground Stone ◽  
Plant Processing ◽  
Sulphur Spring

Radiocarbon dates from archaeological sites in Whitewater Draw, Arizona, place the Sulphur Spring stage of the Cochise Culture between 8000 and 10,000 yr B.P., and possibly back to 10,400 yr B.P. Geoarchaeological investigations of Whitewater Draw do not substantiate an earlier claim that Sulphur Spring stage ground stone artifacts are associated with extinct megafauna, nor the hypothesis that Sulphur Spring stage artifacts are specialized plant processing tools of the Clovis Culture.

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