Doctoral Dissertation: Bison Hunting on the Late Prehistoric Great Plains: Seeking an Explanation for Variability in the Kill Record

Southern Methodist University, Dallas TX

Investigators

Abstract

Under the supervision of Dr. David J. Meltzer, Judith Cooper will analyze data gathered on Late Prehistoric bison kill sites on the Great Plains. During the last two millennia, mass bison kills were common on the Northern Plains. Hunters drove herds over cliff edges, or trapped them in pounds or corrals. Hunting events mostly occurred in the fall, when groups gathered provisions for the harsh Northern Plains winter. Conversely, at the same time on the Southern/Central Plains, large bison kills were rare. Instead, hunters targeted small numbers of bison, often resulting in the death of a single animal. And yet, during earlier time periods, hunters executed mass kills in both regions. Why did Late Prehistoric hunters on the Southern/Central Plains abandon mass bison kills, even though their Northern Plains contemporaries continued to execute them? Oddly, bison bone is often found at Late Prehistoric residential sites across the Southern/Central Plains, suggesting that, despite the absence of large kills, bison played an equally important dietary role. How is bison bone so widespread at residential sites when kill sites are so rare? At present, an adequate explanation for the paucity of large bison kill sites on the Southern/Central Plains has yet to be offered. This research will define and seek to explain the differences in Late Prehistoric bison hunting across the Great Plains. Specifically, the author will test if the differences resulted from variation in archaeological preservation (e.g., large kills occurred on the Southern/Central Plains, but their signature was destroyed over time), environment (e.g., the mild climate of the Southern/Central Plains rendered large bison kills during the fall unnecessary), technology (e.g., hunters on the Southern/Central Plains did not have weapons necessary for mass kills), or social organization (e.g., Southern/Central Plains groups were more sedentary and relied heavily on horticulture). To test these hypotheses, existing data on bison kill sites and Great Plains environment will be gathered from government records and published sources and compiled to produce a unified database. These data will be analyzed using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a computer system designed specifically for geographic data. The overall goals of the research are threefold: (a) to identify changes in bison procurement over time and space, (b) to explain differences in bison hunting strategies in terms of the environment; and (c) to define the relationship between climate, bison, and humans on the Great Plains. The project will generate an up-to-date synthesis of archaeological and environmental data, which will be made available to other researchers through digital media. In fact, the project results will be useful to researchers in other sciences, and thus encourage interdisciplinary data sharing and collaboration. Broader impacts of the research include the incorporation of underused government site records. Also, the proposed research will integrate innovative applications of GIS and these may be used to address similar problems in the future. Finally, this research will greatly benefit Native American populations indigenous to the Great Plains. By calling attention to the diversity amongst prehistoric aboriginal groups, this research will provide a more complex and nuanced perception of their culture history.