A massive and rather cunning bison kill carried out some 2,500 years ago among the sand dunes of southern Alberta left behind a wealth of artifacts that are offeringnew insights into a poorly-understood culture of the ancient Northern Plains.
In addition to the scattered remains of at least 65 bison, archaeologists have found more than a hundred stone points , most of them fashioned from a type of rock found only in North Dakota, a thousand kilometers away.
Students excavate a small section of the Fincastle bison-kill site. In all, more than 200,000 bone fragments were found, enough to account for at least 65 bison. (Photo courtesy Shawn Bubel)And beneath the layer of animal fragments and tools, even more rare finds were discovered: eight arrangements of bison bones found standing on end, perched in precise, almost sculptural patterns.
Excavated between2004 and2012 in the Fincastle Grazing Reserve just north of the Montana border, the site has revealed a chapter in Plains history that was nearly lost, said Dr. Shawn Bubel , archaeologist at the University of Lethbridge.
I started to excavate at Fincastle was because the site was being looted, Bubel said.
There was evidence of pits dug across the site, gouges in the side of the dunes, and bone was tossed everywhere.
The Archaeological Survey [of Alberta] was notified of the situation, and together we came up with a plan to survey and document the site before it was lost.
As it turned out, the project grew into something fantastic. The archaeological remains were incredible.
The most abundant artifacts are more than 200,000 fragments of bison bone, comprising the remains of dozens of animals that were butchered and processed, likely in a single event.
Radiocarbon tests of several of these samples returned dates in the range of the year 500 BCE.
The location of the kill site suggests that the hunters used a particularly canny approach ambushing the herd as it watered in marshy land tucked among the sand dunes, leaving the animals with few routes for escape.
Its not what most people think about when bison hunting is talked about, Bubel said.
The 100-plus projectile points found at the site seem to reflect the influence of two cultural groups: the Besant, whose artifacts are typically found farther east, and the Sonota, who were based in what are now the Dakotas. (Photo courtesy Shawn Bubel)Big bison-jump sites where the hunters drove the herd off a cliff, or used the natural landscape to drive the herd into a trap like an arroyo, or driving the bison into a trap they constructed to enclose the animals, are the main bison hunting strategies archaeologists talk about.
Fincastle showcases more of a stalking and ambushing strategy.
The only types of bone in short supply at the site were skulls, Bubel noted, which appeared to have been detached, either to harvest the brains which were often boiled for useinhide-working or for ceremonial purposes.
[Discoveranother ancient hunting site: Butchered Bones Found in Yukon Cave Bear Marks of Early Americans, Study Finds ]Even more noteworthy, however, are 118 projectile points , whose styles and sizes suggest the influence of two major cultural complexes in the region.
Some of the points are broad-faced and side-notched, like those associated with the Besant Phase, a complex whose traces are more often found to the east, starting around 2,000 years ago.
But some of the tools are more elongated than typical Besant points, suggesting the distinctive style of a more distant group, the Sonota, which was based in whats now the Dakotas.
These points showcase attributes that are seen in [both] Besant and Sonota point assemblages, Bubel said.
What makes them of great interest is that they were made 2,500 years ago.
The Fincastle assemblage is one of the earliest occurrences of this cultural group in the Northwest Great Plains it confirms that the Besant/Sonota cultural groups were living in southern Alberta by that time.
[See another recent find of ancient stone points: 13,500-Year-Old Tool-Making Site Uncovered in Idaho Forest ]
When Plains Indians are mentioned, most think of the current U.S. and Sioux, Comanche, Arapahoe etc.
The northern Plains of Canada, it is the Ojibwe, (Saulteux) Blackfoot among others.
Follow the links, some really interesting information.
Dear Friend Kavika: This is off topic for the article.
It is interesting to me that the Bison once roamed North America freely and in great numbers. They are now a fraction of their former strength and multitudes.
When Native and First Americans ran the continent, they lived in harmony with plant and animal life. For thousands of years taking only what they needed, sand making sure nature could replenish itself. A 2,500 year old site like this only underscores the ancient wisdom of indigenous populations. Take care of Mother Earth, and it will sustainably take care of us.
This is an important lesson re must all learn and practice before crucial natural resources vanish.
Peace, Abundant Blessings and Harmony for and To One and All.
Enoch.
Niijii, most people believe that bison were only on the American plains. There were large herds of woodland buffalo and they spread as far north as northern Canada and Alaska.
The destruction of an American icon has sad, truly sad.
K....
Great article! Would you believe, reading the headline, and then the text of the article, and the location, the first thing I thought was, Ojibwe! Guess some of my reading may have stuck to the one working brain cell I have left.
Your being converted dd.
Spiritually, my beliefs are closer to the Indian concept in many ways, especially inwhat the Bible asks me to believe. Don't know if you would accept my WASP heritage. Although my ancestors have been here for 350+ years, andmost of them were pioneers and early settlers in PA, IN, and KA by the early 1800's. They may have had some contact with Indians, but I doubt they were friendly. Going to have to research the ole family stump a little deeper.
Being Ojibwe is in the heart, not the blood dd.
Point well taken, K.