Examining the Evidence for an Early Holocene Communal Bison Drive In

THE OWL CAVE MASS KILL: EXAMINING THE EVIDENCE FOR AN EARLY

HOLOCENE COMMUNAL BISON DRIVE IN SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO USING GIS

Marissa Anne Guenther

A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Anthropology California State University Bakersfield In Partial Fulfillment for the Degree of Masters of Arts

March 2014

Marissa Anne Guenther

2014 THE OWL CAVE MASS KILL: EXAM1MNG THE EVIDENCE FOR AN EARLY

HOLOCENE COMMUNAL BISON DRIVE IN SOUTHEASTERNIDAHO USING GIS

By MARISSA ANNE GUENTHER

This thesishas been accepted on behalf of the Departmentof Anthropologyby their supervisory committee:

Committee Chair

Ió r. L. Suza~i H~iks~4

BrendaR. Pace

In Memory of My Grandfather, Harrison

CURRICULUM VITAE

NAME OF AUTHOR: Marissa Anne Guenther

PLACE OF BIRTH: Portland, Oregon

DATE OF BIRTH: November 19, 1982

GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED:

California State University, Bakersfield, California

University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon

DEGREES AWARDED:

Master of Arts, Anthropology, March 2014, California State University, Bakersfield

Bachelor of Arts, Anthropology, June 2005, University of Oregon

AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST:

Geographic Information Systems, Bison Ecology, Isotopic Analyses

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Archaeologist, Bureau of Land Management, June 2009 – March 2014

Archaeologist, Center for Archaeological Research, June 2007 – June 2009

Archaeological Technician, University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History, June 2005 – June 2007

GRANTS, AWARDS AND HONORS:

2009 J. P. Silver Award, Best Student Paper, Idaho Archaeological Society ($150)

2008 Student Research Scholarship, California State University, Bakersfield ($2,000)

PRESENTED PAPERS:

Aslett, Jamie and Marissa A. Guenther 2013 A Testament of Man: Vardis Fisher and Historical Landscape Preservation along the South Fork of the Snake River, Idaho. Paper presented at 2013 the Idaho Heritage Conference. Symposium Paper, Boise, Idaho.

Guenther, Marissa A. 2010 From Folsom to Field Camps: Understanding 11,000 years of Prehistory at Castle Rocks in southern Idaho. Paper presented at the 2010 Great Basin Anthropological Conference. Symposium Paper, Layton, Utah.

2010 The two-faced trails of southern Idaho: Legitimate Routes and Bogus Blazing. Paper presented at the 2010 Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting. Symposium Paper, St. Louis, Missouri.

2009 Owl Cave: A Fresh Look at a Potential Bison Drive. Paper presented at the 2009 Idaho Archaeological Society Annual Meeting. Symposium Paper, Boise, Idaho.

2008 Owl Cave: A Fresh Look at a Potential Bison Drive. Paper presented at the 2008 Great Basin Anthropological Conference. Symposium Paper, Portland, Oregon.

2008 Bison Jump? A Fresh Approach to Investigations at the Wasden Site. Paper presented at the 2008 Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting. Symposium Paper, Vancouver, B.C.

Henrikson, L.S. and Marissa A. Guenther 2012 Investigating Holocene Climate Change on the Snake River Plain through Isotopic Analyses of Bison Remains from Cold Storage Caves. Paper presented at the 2012 Great Basin Anthropological Conference. Symposium Paper, Stateline, Nevada.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to thank Steve Croft for granting me permission to conduct research at the Wasden

Site on his private property, and to Sue Miller for her familiarity of the site which has proved useful in this study. During the course of my research, The Archaeological Conservancy purchased the site and support for this study has continued through them, specifically, Cory

Wilkins and Deanna Commons. Thanks are also due to Matt DeCarlo for his constant support, humor, and passion for life during the course of our graduate studies. I can honestly say I would not have wanted to share an 80 square foot space with anybody else – he was my rock. I will never forget my fellow graduate student comrades, Amy Girado, Amanda Camp (Hill), and

Norman Henrikson, for providing me with intellectual stimulation and comforting looks of

“we’re all in this together” on a daily basis. To my best friend and editor, Anika Henrikson, thank you for your careful eye and constant wit. I want to thank my parents for their support throughout all endeavors in my life.

I am grateful to my advisor, Dr. Robert M. Yohe, II, who guided me throughout my coursework and was a constant source of inspiration and encouragement during the direction of this study. My gratitude also extends to Brenda R. Pace for her acceptance of a huge responsibility at the last minute. Her extensive knowledge and strength in pure excellence have made the work I have put forth in this study better than I could have imagined. Lastly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. L. Suzann Henrikson. This project would not have existed without her presence in my life, and her unyielding commitment to be my mentor. She has given me countless tools to advance in my career, as well as in my life. All of this done in a manner that exemplifies her constant passion to do what is right and make archaeology “sexy.”

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AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF

Marissa Anne Guenther for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Anthropology to be taken March 2014

Title: THE OWL CAVE MASS KILL: EXAMINING THE EVIDENCE FOR AN

EARLY HOLOCENE COMMUNAL BISON DRIVE IN SOUTHEASTERN

IDAHO USING GIS

Although the evidence suggests that bison were consistently taken by aboriginal hunters on the eastern Snake River Plain throughout the Holocene, quantitative faunal analyses indicate that bison were taken in modest numbers. However, Owl Cave is an exception to this pattern. Dated at approximately 8,000 RCYBP, the bison bone bed suggests a successful communal drive making Owl Cave one of the earliest mass bison kills in North

America utilizing this strategy. An examination of the evidence offered by the original researchers of a mass kill at Owl Cave, in addition to valuable ethnographic and archaeological evidence from the eastern Snake River Plain and the Great Plains, is conducted. New avenues of inquiry, including tools available in Geographic Information

Systems (GIS), are used to assess the validity of these original claims. Using tools available in GIS, least-cost pathways are calculated to identify potential natural drive lanes and viewshed analyses are conducted to simulate the bison’s point of view while being driven.

Paleoenvironmental conditions during the early Holocene (including the presence of a pluvial lake complex), unique topographic features, and high bison population densities, likely prompted aboriginal hunters to communally hunt. The implication of an early mass kill on

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the eastern Snake River Plain is significant; offering insights into aboriginal subsistence strategies, bison population densities, and paleoenvironmental conditions during early

Holocene.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page

I. INTRODUCTION ...... 1

II. PREVIOUS RESEARCH AND PALEOENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ...... 7 Previous Research at Owl Cave ...... 7 Environmental Setting and Paleoenvironmental Conditions ...... 16

III. HUMAN BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND ABORIGINAL SUBSISTENCE ON THE EASTERN SNAKE RIVER PLAIN ...... 27 Structure and Use of Models ...... 30 Diet Breadth and Patch Choice Models ...... 32 Applications of Patch Choice and Diet Breadth Models on the Eastern Snake River Plain ...... 35

IV: BISON ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION IN NORTH AMERICA ...... 42

V: COMMUNAL HUNTING STRATEGIES AND BISON DRIVE CHARACTERISTICS: ENTHOGRAPHIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE ...... 52 Bison Drives as a Communal Hunting Strategy ...... 54 Archaeological Evidence of Bison Hunting on the Great Plains and Southeastern Idaho: Terminal Pleistocene to Contact ...... 64 Archaeological Evidence of Bison Drives on the Great Plains ...... 72 Archaeological Evidence of Bison Hunting in Southeastern Idaho ...... 79

VI: OWL CAVE: GIS METHODS, ANALYSES, AND RESULTS ...... 88 GIS Analysis of Owl Cave ...... 90 Discussion ...... 117

VII: SYNTHESIS ...... 119

APPENDIX A: VIEWSHED ANALYSES FOR PATHS 1-8 ...... 124

REFERENCES ...... 152

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1.1. Location of the Wasden Site on the eastern Snake River Plain...... 3

2.1. Profile of the north wall of Trench C during Butler’s excavations of the bison bone bed in 1967 (Butler 1968:21) ...... 10

2.2. Excavation of the bone bed in progress during initial field work conducted in 1965-1967 (Butler 1968:24) ...... 10

2.3. Plan view of excavated material at Owl Cave. Modified from Butler (1968) and original field notes and photographs ...... 11

2.4. Plano points from Owl Cave (Butler 1968:25)...... 12

2.5. Plano point found in association with Layer 18, below the bison bone bed. Photograph by Dr. Robert M. Yohe, II ...... 12

2.6. Owl Cave and Coyote Cave of the Wasden Site. NRCS and the Trust funded fence constructed in 2008. Photograph by author, May 2011 ...... 15

2.7. Volcanic features and sagebrush steppe common to the eastern Snake River Plain, including Big Southern Butte. Photograph by author, July 2012 ...... 17

2.8. Physiographic features on the eastern Snake River Plain during the terminal Pleistocene to late Holocene...... 18

3.1. Optimal Diet Curve for the eastern Snake River Plain during the early Holocene (Henrikson 2004:914) ...... 38

5.1. Olsen-Chubbuck “fossil arroyo” (Wheat et al. 1972) ...... 73

5.2. Location of excavated sites with bison remains in southeastern Idaho ...... 78

6.1. Location of the Wasden Site in relation to the maximum extent of the pluvial lake complex ...... 92

6.2. Location of intermittent stream channels within the vicinity of the Wasden Site ...... 93

6.3. Regional Digital Elevation Model showing the location of Wasden on the eastern Snake River Plain, USGS ...... 97

Figure Page

6.4. High-resolution Digital Elevation Model created from point data collected in the field and from USGS topographic maps ...... 101

6.5. Slope classified into five categories ...... 102

6.6. Slope classified into two categories ...... 102

6.7. Least-cost pathways from 35 arbitrary source points, to the target, Owl Cave ...... 104

6.8. Relative cost pathways, valued high to low from the thirty-five source points. Note the 1,350 meter converged path from the northern and northwestern routes just north of the Wasden Site ...... 105

6.9. Least-cost pathways selected for further analysis ...... 106

6.10. Viewshed analysis of Path 1 at observer points 101, 102, 103 ...... 108

6.11. Viewshed analysis of Path 1 at observer Points 104, 105, 106, and 107 ...... 109

6.12. Viewshed analysis of Path 1 at observer Points 108, 109, and 110 (with aerial photographs included) ...... 110

6.13. Snow drifts around Owl Cave. Photograph taken by Sue Miller ...... 115

6.14. Owl Cave ceiling to the wind-blown sediments that make up the floor are approximately 10 meters in depth. Photograph taken July 2007 ...... 116

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LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

3.1. Resources available on the eastern Snake River Plain during the early Holocene. Modified from Simm 1987, Henrikson 2002 ...... 36

5.1. Temporal distribution and Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) for bison from excavated sites in southeastern Idaho ...... 86

6.1. Viewshed analysis results at observer points along Path 1 ...... 111

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The role of bison in aboriginal subsistence has been widely debated in southern Idaho for decades. Researchers have demonstrated that bison make up a significant percentage of faunal assemblages in the Holocene archaeological record. Bison remains have been recovered from a number of archaeological sites on the eastern Snake River Plain and in the surrounding northern and southern valleys. Primary localities include Wilson Butte Cave

(Gruhn 1961, 2006); the Birch Creek Rockshelters (Swanson 1972); Weston Canyon

Rockshelter (Arkush 1999, Delisio 1971, Miller 1972); Tomcat, Scaredy Cat, Bobcat, and

Alpha Caves (Henrikson 2004, Henrikson et al. 2006); 10BV93 (Gough 1990); Wahmuza

(Holmer and Ringe 1986); Baker Caves I, II, and III (Plew et al. 1987); Challis Bison

“Jump”/Quill Cave (Butler 1971; Cannon et al. 2003); the Rock Springs Site (Arkush 2002), and the Wasden Site (Butler 1968, Miller and Dort 1978).

Although the evidence suggests that bison were consistently taken by aboriginal hunters, quantitative faunal analyses indicate that bison were not acquired in numbers that rivaled the mass kills represented in the archaeological record of the Great Plains. In fact, the minimum number of individuals (MNI) for individual strata at “bison sites” such as the Birch

Creek Rockshelters never exceeds 14 (Swanson 1972). The only known exception to this

pattern is the bison assemblage recovered from the bone bed layer at Owl Cave in eastern

Idaho, where an estimated 150 individuals are represented (Miller and Dort 1978).

Owl Cave is one of three caves created by the collapse of a lava tube in Pleistocene aged basalts on the eastern Snake River Plain. Owl Cave (10BV30) along with Coyote Cave

(10BV31) and Dry Cat Cave (10BV32) comprise the archaeological cave complex collectively known as the Wasden Site (Figure 1.1). According to Miller and Dort (1978) the bison bone bed discovered during excavation of Owl Cave represents two separate mass kill events that have been radiocarbon dated to 8,000 RCYBP. Although the archaeological significance of the bison bone bed is indisputable, previous researchers have focused on bison biology and evolution (Butler 1968, 1971; Butler et al. 1971), changes in small mammals (Butler 1969, Guilday 1969), and geomorphology (Butler 1969, Dort 1969, Ore

1968), rather than addressing site-specific or regional research questions regarding the role of bison in early Holocene aboriginal subsistence patterns. As such, a substantial amount of information contained in the bison bone bed at Owl Cave remains unexplored. The work presented in this thesis makes use of this untapped information to better understand the role of bison in aboriginal subsistence on the eastern Snake River Plain.

Previous researchers (Butler 1968, Miller and Dort 1978) have argued that the collapse crater at the entrance to Owl Cave formed a trap feature that was utilized in a communal bison drive. If this claim is ultimately supported by additional quantitative analyses, the bone bed in Owl Cave not only appears to be the only record of a mass bison kill in southern Idaho, it also represents the oldest known communal bison drive in North

America.

Figure 1.1. Location of the Wasden Site on the eastern Snake River Plain.

The goal of this thesis is to reexamine the evidence offered by the original researchers of a mass kill at Owl Cave and pursue new avenues of inquiry to assess the validity of the original claims. A fresh approach, making use of tools available in Geographic Information

Systems (GIS), may provide a line of evidence in evaluating previous suppositions. This thesis will also explore the implications of these original claims in a regional archaeological context. Because so little is understood about aboriginal lifeways during the early Holocene on the eastern Snake River Plain, and indeed, throughout the Desert West, Owl Cave has tremendous potential to address important questions about the aboriginal acquisition of bison during this period. Addressing the communal bison drive hypothesis can provide insight into aboriginal subsistence strategies, and may also yield valuable insights into human responses to fluctuating environmental conditions during the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene

transition. The results of this study will also help guide future investigations at the site, as well as underscore the relatively untapped research potential of the existing collection.

Although it has yet to be demonstrated whether the bone bed represents an intentional bison drive, there is no question that the bison assemblage at Owl Cave is the result of human activities. Preliminary faunal analyses indicate that the bison were dispatched (as evidenced by projectile points embedded within scapulae and ribs), butchered (visible cut marks are present on bone), and sorted (original field notes indicate that specific faunal elements were deliberately sorted).

With so little published information on the bison bone bed, the archaeological community has been slow to acknowledge the simple presence of the site, much less its significance. There have been numerous sites on the Great Plains that have documented the mass kill of bison, but there has yet to be a site on the Snake River Plain that can contribute meaningfully to the discussions. This evidence is significant, as these types of mass kills do not occur until approximately 5,500 BP on the Great Plains. The implication of communal hunting and a mass kill this early in time, especially on the Snake River Plain, is paramount.

It not only speaks to aboriginal subsistence strategies, diet breadth and prey choice, but also provides clues into bison populations, paleoenvironmental conditions, and human demographics.

In the study to follow, the question of whether the bison bone bed in Owl Cave represents an intentional bison drive is examined from the perspective of human behavioral ecology, a robust theoretical framework. Several important research questions will be assessed: If the bison deposits within Owl Cave are a result of a drive, what implications does this confirmation have for understanding aboriginal subsistence during the terminal

Pleistocene/early Holocene transition? How does the bison assemblage at Owl Cave fit into existing prey choice models for the Snake River Plain? If bison populations were relatively high during the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene transition, how would this phenomenon have influenced human hunting behavior? Do the results from Owl Cave provide any insight about differences in aboriginal subsistence during the Holocene, as opposed to the terminal

Pleistocene?

In order to address these questions, information from a variety of sources is presented in the chapters to follow. Paleoenvironmental data for the eastern Snake River Plain are presented in Chapter II. Such data are crucial for understanding the environmental and climatic contexts at the time the bison bone bed was deposited. This information is followed by a general discussion of the theoretical paradigm of human behavioral ecology and its relevance to specific case studies from the eastern Snake River Plain in Chapter III. Chapter

IV provides a discussion on the evolution of bison in North America, which is critical to a comprehensive examination of bison ecology and behavior.

What does the archaeological evidence of known bison drives reveal about the critical elements of a successful drive? What does the archaeological evidence of bison remains in southeastern Idaho suggest about aboriginal hunting strategies during the early to late

Holocene? Does the ethnographic record demonstrate useful information regarding the necessary criteria for a successful bison drive? Chapter V includes details regarding communal hunting strategies gathered from ethnographic literature, as well as an examination of known bison drive sites on the Great Plains and archaeological evidence of bison hunting in southeastern Idaho.

Chapter VI examines whether Owl Cave is consistent with the characteristics of documented bison drives on the Great Plains. If Owl Cave functioned as a natural trap feature, does the surrounding landscape exhibit topography conducive to driving a significant number of bison? Chapter VI presents an analysis of the bison-drive hypothesis using GIS to determine least cost-pathways and viewsheds of potential drive lanes. In conclusion, Chapter

VII provides a synthesis of the results of the GIS analyses, evaluates the evidence for an early Holocene communal bison drive at Owl Cave, and assesses the implications of such evidence in terms of aboriginal hunting strategies on the eastern Snake River Plain during the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene transition.

CHAPTER II

PREVIOUS RESEARCH AND PALEOENVIRONMENTAL OVERVIEW

An understanding of previous research and paleoenvironmental conditions present during the time of the deposition of the bison bone bed at Owl Cave is crucial for addressing the research questions outlined in Chapter I. Owl Cave has been the focus of several scientific investigations since excavations began at the site in 1965. These include: archaeological excavations of Holocene and Pleistocene deposits, reconstruction of paleoclimatic data through microfauna analyses, and geomorphological studies of the eastern

Snake River Plain and lava tubes. Previous research conducted at Owl Cave and on the existing collections sets the stage for assessing the role of bison hunting in aboriginal subsistence on the eastern Snake River Plain. An essential element in determining whether

Owl Cave was used intentionally as a trap feature in a communal bison drive is a consideration of those paleoenvironmental conditions that affect the decision to hunt communally.

Previous Research at Owl Cave

The research potential of the Wasden site and especially Owl Cave was first recognized by Helen and Richard Gildersleeve of the Upper Snake River Prehistoric Society

in the mid-1960s. As noted in Chapter I, Owl Cave is one of three caves formed by the surficial rupture of a lava tube, included in what is collectively known as the Wasden Site.

During the early 1960s, private land owner Leonard Wasden agreed to allow investigations to be conducted in and around Owl Cave by the Upper Snake River Prehistoric Society in conjunction with Idaho State University. Excavations began in October of 1965 and continued sporadically (weather permitting) until August of 1967 (Butler 1968).

Investigations at this time were focused at Owl Cave, where the cave floor was laid out in a 2 x 2 meter grid and excavation was based on natural stratigraphic layers. During the excavation of a stratigraphic trench (8 x 2 meters), an extensive bison bone bed was uncovered approximately two meters below the surface (Butler 1968; Figure 2.1).

Excavations continued into the eastern portion of the cave in an effort to expose a large area of the bone bed (Figures 2.2-2.3). Once the bone bed was uncovered and collected, excavations terminated shortly after the discovery of a rock fall feature located below the bone bed, which proved impenetrable at the time due to lack of appropriate equipment.

Because Butler (1968) suspected that earlier cultural deposits would likely be found below the rocky roof fall, researchers would return later to explore these challenging deposits.

Numerous Plano-style projectile points were found in association with the bone bed layer, including some points actually embedded and broken in bison faunal elements. Plano points are large lanceolate projectiles that date to approximately 10,650 – 7,200 RCYBP

(Holmer 1986). Plano points encompass a variety of technological forms including Great

Basin Stemmed Point traditions, the Eden, Scottsbluff, Alberta, and Agate Basin types from the Great Plains, as well as the Birch Creek and Haskett types defined by investigators in southern Idaho. Plano points are marked by flat bases, some degree of edge-grinding, and are

stemmed or shouldered. Within Idaho, these myriad Plano types have been recovered in stratified contexts at the Hetrick Site (Rudolph 1995); the Buhl Burial Site (Green et al.

1998); the Haskett Site (Butler 1965); Redfish Overhang (Sargent 1973); Wilson Butte Cave

(Gruhn 1961); and the Birch Creek Rockshelters (Swanson 1972). Furthermore, a multitude of surface finds have been found in the vicinity of the Wasden site (Reed et al. 1987, Long

2007).

Radiocarbon dates from the bison bone bed (Layer 17) at Owl Cave were generated from unburned bone, charcoal, and burned microfaunal remains. The following dates were obtained:

 Base of Layer 16, 7,100±350 RCYBP (M-1853);

 20 centimeters above the bone bed, 7,750±210 RCYBP (WSU-641); and,

 Layer 18, 8,160±260 RCYBP (WSU-560).

All of these radiocarbon dates (Butler 1968) fall within the accepted date range for Plano points in Idaho. Figures 2.4 and 2.5 show several of the points that were recovered.

Based on a preliminary mandible count, Butler (1968) reported that the bone bed contained approximately 50 disarticulated bison. Evidence in support of a kill/processing event consisted of a cranial disarticulation pattern that suggested deliberate removal of the tongue and brain, cut marks on a majority of the postcranial elements, and broken tips of projectile points in the rib cage and shoulder girdle (Butler 1968).

A complete zooarchaeological analysis of the bison bone has never been conducted.

Instead, Butler and colleagues (1971) focused on defining herd composition using age classification methods based on tooth eruption and tooth wear, as well as long bone epiphyseal fusion and metapodial measurements.

Figure 2.1. Profile of the north wall of Trench C during Butler’s excavations of the bison bone bed in 1967 (Butler 1968: 21)

Figure 2.2. Excavation of the bone bed in progress during initial field work conducted in 1965-1967 (Butler 1968:24).

Figure 2.3. Plan view of excavated material at Owl Cave. Modified from Butler (1968) and original field notes and photographs.

Figures 2.4-2.5. Plano points from Owl Cave. Left: (Butler 1968:25). Right: Plano point found in association with Layer 18, below the bison bone bed. Photograph taken by Dr. Robert M. Yohe, II.

Species identification was conducted through preliminary analyses of horn-cores and cranial elements (Butler et al. 1971). Based on these studies, Butler argued that there were at least two, and possibly three, morphologically distinct species of bison represented in the bone bed at Owl Cave including Bison antiquus, Bison occidentalis, and Bison bison. This claim was based on Skinner and Kaisen (1947) criteria regarding general size and configuration of horn-core and cranial features. Butler (1968) asserted a majority of the skulls and horn-cores from Owl Cave are comparable to modern bison (B. bison), but the presence of four specimens that were comparable to B. antiquus and B. occidentalis suggest that the Owl Cave fauna represents an evolving population of bison. According to Skinner and Kaisen (1947),

B. antiquus and B. occidentalis represented two separate migrations into North America

during the Pleistocene. Although B. antiquus was the first bison species to become established in North America and lived contemporaneously with B. occidentalis, it became extinct by the end of the Pleistocene. Butler (1968) argues that the pattern seen in the Owl

Cave assemblage represents the reproductive decline of B. antiquus and the selection for a smaller, modern form of bison.

Butler (1968) noted the upper stratigraphic layers of Owl Cave were rich with

Holocene cultural deposits, suggesting that the collapsed tube had been repeatedly used by aboriginal populations over the last 8,000 years. Subsequent reports of the excavations included three published studies (Dort 1968, Guilday 1969, Ore 1968) that concentrated on the environmental reconstruction of the eastern Snake River Plain since the last glacial maximum. These studies focused on a variety of topics in an effort to understand site formation processes and environmental factors that produced the unique geomorphological characteristics of the cave’s stratigraphy. They included a small mammal remains analysis

(Guilday 1969), documentation of cryoturbation events affecting the stratified deposits (Dort

1968), and soil analyses (Ore 1968).

Excavations resumed at the site during the 1970s by principal investigators Susanne

Miller and Wakefield Dort, Jr. and additional bison bone was recovered from Layer 17.

Although a comprehensive faunal analysis had yet to be conducted on the bison bone from previous field seasons, Miller and Dort (1978:137) presumably relied on some initial analyses to assert that Owl Cave was “used, probably as a trap and/or fall, for the killing of an estimated 150 bison” representing two events, close in time. They also indicated that individuals of all ages were taken, and that the presence of fetal bones suggested a late winter or early spring event.

Furthermore, during the 1970s investigations, the roof fall that obstructed the presumed earlier deposits was removed. Investigations of the earlier deposits below the roof fall indicated that a portion of the collapsed tube was used by humans to process proboscidean and ungulate meat and bone (Miller and Dort 1978). Miller (1989) argued the condition and distribution of the proboscidean material represented a workshop and a quarry in which the mammoth was butchered not only for food, but also to obtain bone that could be used in the manufacture of tools. The projectile points found in association with the proboscidean remains were fluted forms, typologically Folsom. Three radiocarbon dates were obtained from proboscidean bone collagen: 12,250±200 RCYBP (WSU-1259) and

12,800±150 RCYBP (WSU-1281) (Butler 1971, 1972); and 10,920±150 RCYBP (WSU-

1786) (Miller and Dort 1978).

Though the data potential at Wasden has been recognized by researchers as significant (i.e. Grayson and Meltzer 2002), it has been generally dismissed by the archaeological community due to underreporting. Subsequent to initial and preliminary publications, no further creditable investigations occurred at Owl Cave until the summer of

2007. At that time a consortium of interested parties including L. Suzann Henrikson, Robert

M. Yohe, II, Ken Reid, Kristie Haertel, Susanne Miller, and Clayton Marler returned to the site location, and initiated a new examination of the records and collections held at the

Museum of Natural History at Idaho State University. The goal of these renewed efforts was to assess the nature of the existing collections and field documentation of the site, as well as evaluate the condition of the intact deposits still present in Owl Cave and in the other two caves encompassed by the Wasden site, as a preclude for possible resumption of active research.

The Wasden site has been under private ownership for the last 100 years and has been used as pasturage for stock grazing and for the cultivation of wheat. A buck ‘n’ pole fence was constructed in 2008 around the site complex to protect the caves from cattle impacts, with funds provided to the landowner by the National Resources Conservation System

(NRCS) and the Idaho Heritage Trust (Trust) (Figure 2.6).

Figure 2.6. Owl Cave and Coyote Cave of the Wasden Site. NRCS and the Trust funded fence constructed in 2008. Photograph by author, May 2011.

In 2013, The Archaeological Conservancy purchased approximately 10 acres containing the site complex and identified the area as the Croft Archaeological Preserve, in an effort to provide the site with long-term preservation and protection. The designation of the Croft Archaeological Preserve is in recognition of the significant, but largely untapped, research value of the site and a desire to provide opportunities for future investigations.

Environmental Setting and Paleoenvironmental Conditions

Owl Cave is located on the eastern Snake River Plain in a cold sagebrush steppe ecosystem. The eastern Snake River Plain is an area of low topographic relief dominated by pahoehoe basalt flows from shield volcanoes and fissure eruptions that span the Pliocene through the Holocene (Greeley and King 1977). Landforms on the eastern Snake River Plain include basalt pressure ridges, swales, knolls, fissures, buttes, and lava tube systems (Figure

2.7). The volcanic features of the eastern Snake River Plain are blanketed by aeolian deposits of sand and silt that occur on the leeward side of prominent features (Kuntz et al. 1992), as well as alluvial and lacustrine deposits. Late Pleistocene and Holocene lava flows with dates ranging from 13,000 RCYBP to 2,220 RCYBP are prominent features on the eastern Snake

River Plain. More specifically, the Wasden Site is located on an axial volcanic zone that trends northeast from Craters of the Moon lava flow to the Mud Lake Basin (Figure 2.8).

This axial volcanic zone serves as the division line between internally draining Pioneer Basin to the north, and the Snake River drainage to the south. Butler (1968) describes the Pioneer

Basin as the drainage marked by Big Southern, Middle, and East Buttes, as well as where the basins of Mud Lake, the Lost River “sinks,” and Birch Creek are located.

Birch Creek drains Birch Creek Valley into the Mud Lake Basin. Channel scars mark the alluvial fan that radiates from the Birch Creek Valley onto the Snake River Plain. The

Big Lost River also reveals channel scars on an alluvial plain that merges with the

Pleistocene lake beds. The more recent meanders appear to have been braided and bounded by basalt ridges and flows (Butler 1968). The Big Lost and Little Lost rivers terminate within an area known as the “sinks,” where the water disappears into an underground aquifer.

Figure 2.7. Volcanic features and sagebrush steppe common to the eastern Snake River Plain, including Big Southern Butte. Photograph by author, July 2012.

The eastern Snake River Plain has been characterized as a cold, high elevation desert ever since the last glacial maximum, which occurred approximately 18,000 years ago with elevations ranging from 4,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level, the region is characterized by cold winters averaging 32° F followed by hot summers, which range from 75 to 100° F

(Anderson et al. 1996). Annual precipitation averages 10 inches (25 cm), primarily as snow and spring rains (Anderson et al. 1996).

Vegetation zones on the eastern Snake River Plain are primarily influenced by differences in elevation and relative soil moisture rates (Anderson et al. 1996, Billings 1949,

Bright and Davis 1982). Three major vegetation zones on the eastern Snake River Plain include: (1) Shadscale Steppe at the lowest and driest locations, (2) Sagebrush Steppe in more moderate areas, and (3) Forested areas, also known as the Juniper Woodland, at the highest elevations.

Figure 2.8. Physiographic features on the eastern Snake River Plain during the terminal Pleistocene to late Holocene.

These three zones are not discrete environmental units and integrate smoothly providing a richness of biodiversity both internally and at the margins. All are punctuated with resource- rich patches of riparian vegetation along linear perennial and seasonal watercourses, marshes, and ephemeral ponds (Henrikson 2002). These vegetative communities appear to have remained relatively stable for the last 7,000 years (Bright and Davis 1982).

Vegetation communities of the eastern Snake River Plain are largely dominated by big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), three-tip sagebrush (Artemisia tripartita), bitterbrush

(Purshia tridentata), horsebrush (Tetradymia spp.), rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus spp.), and snakeweed (Gutierrezia spp.). Common native grasses include cool season species such as bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata), Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis), bluegrass (Poa spp.), Indian rice-grass (Oryzopsis hymenoides), needle and thread grass

(Stipa comata), bottlebrush squirreltail (Elymus elymoides), and Great Basin wild rye

(Leymus cinereus). In addition, sedges (Carex spp.), cattail (Typha latifolia), and other rushes

(Juncus sp.) commonly grow in ephemeral ponds across the eastern Snake River Plain as spring melt water warms and recedes. Low, dry areas have shadscale (Atriplex confertifolia), saltbrush (Atriplex falcata), and winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata); wooded zones are dominated by old stands of Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma), not recent invaders. A diversity of forbs are found through all three zones.

Over 95% of the plant species on the eastern Snake River Plain have the C3 photosynthetic pathway. C3 plants are more effective in cool and moist environments and under normal light conditions, where photosynthesis takes place throughout the leaves.

Whereas, C4 plants photosynthesize quicker under high light intensity and high temperatures, and takes place in a specialized structure within the inner cells of the plant. The few C4 plants

in the region include winterfat, sand dropseed (Sporobolus cryptandrus), scurfpea

(Psoralidium tenuiflorum), globe mallow (Sphaeralcea spp.), and goatsbeard (Tragopogon spp.). These heat-tolerant plants do not appear in significant concentrations and usually appear in dry, alkaline terrain. The only C4 plant that occurs with relatively high frequency in southern Idaho is shadscale. However, its current distribution is limited to areas with lower precipitation such as the Birch Creek, Raft River and Curlew valleys and dry lake beds, including Lake Terreton.

With consideration to the Wasden Site, it is important to note the existence of a pluvial lake complex nearby during the Pleistocene and persisting into the early Holocene transition. This pluvial lake complex was located approximately 25 kilometers north of Owl

Cave, just south and east of the Lemhi Mountain Range (see Figure 2.8). Under the cool, moist conditions of the terminal Pleistocene, a large shallow lake, known as Lake Terreton formed in the Big Lost River sinks and Pioneer Basin, and at some intervals, it coalesced with Mud Lake, a spring-fed body of water that is still present today. The maximum extent of the lake stand is estimated to occur at 4,800 feet elevation (Gianniny et al. 2002, Nace et al.

1956, 1975). This estimation is based on visual evidence along the relic shorelines, where beach lines, and features such as bars, spits, and hooks are evident as well as cores in the basins of the lakes (Gianniny et al. 2002, Nace et al. 1956).

While Lake Terreton disappeared during the early Holocene, the swales and basins of the eastern Snake River Plain continued to serve as natural catchment areas for winter snowmelt and spring rains, and water often reaches depths of three or four feet in these depressions during wet years and support rigorous stands of cattail, reed, and other plants

(Henrikson et al. 1998). Even in the driest climatic periods, seasonal rivers, sinks/wetlands,

and spring-fed ponds provided well-watered oases amid the broad xeric sagebrush steppe. As the water depth decreases with evaporation, the ponds grow sedges that dry as summer progresses. During the spring and early summer months, these ponds are a remarkable attractant for migratory waterfowl such as green-winged teal (Anas crecca), northern pintail

(A. acuta), cinnamon teal (A. cyanoptera), northern shoveler (A. clypeata), malards (A. platyrhynchos), snow geese (Chen caerulescens), and Canada goose (Branta canadensis).

Mammals common to the region, presently or historically, and likely utilized by the region’s aboriginal human inhabitants include pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), elk (Cervus elaphus), blacktailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus), cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttalli), pygmy rabbit (S. idahoensis), yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota falviventris), blue grouse (Dendragapus sp.), and sage grouse

(Centrocerous urophasianus). Bison (B. bison) and bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) also occupied the region prior to European contact.

During the Pleistocene, a host of now extinct megafauna were common on the eastern

Snake River Plain including mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), mastodon (Mammut americanum), dire wolf (Canis dirus), horse (Equus sp.), camel (Camelops sp.), musk ox

(Bootherium bomifrons), saber-tooth tiger (Smilodon fantails), short-faced bear (Arctodus simus) and grizzly bear (Ursus Arctos) (Jefferson et al. 2002, Yohe and Henrikson 1998).

Although the timing of extinction for many of these species is poorly understood, there is evidence that some of these Pleistocene megafauna were present during the earliest human occupations.

While a sagebrush steppe environment is found throughout much of the eastern Snake

River Plain and the northern Great Basin today, this has not always been the case (Grayson

1993). Since the last glacial maximum (18,000 years ago), the Great Basin has experienced a general drying trend with warmer temperatures in the summer and colder winters (Minckley et al. 2004). Although data on paleoenvironmental conditions of the eastern Snake River

Plain is scant, valuable research conducted over the last 30 years in southern Idaho does permit some general trends in paleoclimate and past environmental conditions with some certainty (Bright and Davis 1982, Cummings and Puseman 2005, Davis 1986, Davis and

Bright 1983, Minckley et al. 2004).

During the Pleistocene, there was a different distribution of the plant species found today on the eastern Snake River Plain (Cummings and Puseman 2005). Larger forests and sagebrush steppe environments on the eastern Snake River Plain supported a wide variety of flora and fauna, including Pleistocene megafauna. Pluvial lakes were likely at their maximum until around 14,000 RCYBP, reaching their lowest levels by approximately 7,000 RCYBP

(Madsen 1999). In the Great Basin, during the Younger Dryas climatic episode (12,700 BP –

11,600 BP), pluvial lakes began to refill and the period was characterized by a return to near full-glacial conditions (Madsen 1999). Similar conditions are also observed in climate records for the eastern Snake River Plain, with a documented high stand of Mud Lake at approximately 11,600 BP (Gianinny et al. 2002).

The earliest human occupants of the Snake River Plain would have contended with extreme climatic variability during the Younger Dryas climatic episode. Rapid climatic changes, seen on a decadal level, may have severely affected plant and animal population densities throughout the period. Furthermore, seasonal plant growth likely fluctuated in concert with climate changes; such that immature plants may not have survived and the overall size and productivity of vegetative communities was reduced (Madsen 1999).

Evidence from Greenland ice cores indicates the shift from the Younger Dryas to the early

Holocene was abrupt. In fact, one estimate (Taylor et al. 1997), calls for a 7.5° C rise in mean annual temperature over a 15-year period.

A myriad of records from across the Great Basin, including pollen (Mehringer 1985,

Wigand and Mehringer 1985), tree rings (Feng and Epstein 1994), small mammal (Grayson

2000), and lake deposits (Thompson 1992) indicate the early Holocene was cooler and moister than the present. Temperatures are estimated to have been 2-3° C cooler on average during this time (Madsen 1999), and the decrease in annual precipitation and increase in mean annual temperatures and associated evapotranspiration rates significantly impacted

Great Basin vegetation and biota (Jones and Beck 1999, Minckley et al. 2004). The most significant disparity from the terminal Pleistocene to the early Holocene in the Great Basin was the replacement of wetland and sagebrush steppe ecotones with more xeric vegetation common to the shadscale steppe variation (Jones and Beck 1999). Although this period was cooler and moister than today, the environmental transition to the Holocene was warmer and drier than the terminal Pleistocene.

Evidence of a broad expansion of xeric vegetation on the eastern Snake River Plain during the onset of the Holocene is derived from data obtained from Rattlesnake and Middle

Butte caves, as well as a high elevation lake on the margin of the Snake River Plain, Lake

Cleveland, and Swan Lake (Bright 1966; Bright and Davis 1982; Davis 1984, 1986; Davis and Bright 1983). Rattlesnake and Middle Butte caves are both located at elevations between

5,250-5,300 feet and are currently found in sagebrush steppe environments analogous to Owl

Cave, which occupies a similar setting at 5,230 feet. During the Younger Dryas, pollen counts contained sagebrush and juniper levels similar to modern pollen samples (Bright and

Davis 1982, Davis and Bright 1983). However, at the onset of the Holocene, a decline in sagebrush pollens was coupled with an increase in shadscale pollens. Although derived from a limited dataset, the model of the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene environmental conditions on the eastern Snake River Plain is supported by more general regional studies compiled by Grayson (1993), Beck and Jones (1997), and Minckley and colleagues (2004).

The transition from the terminal Pleistocene to the early Holocene was marked by a reduction in effective moisture and increases in mean annual temperatures. Boundaries between woodland-juniper, sagebrush steppe, and shadscale steppe migrated, but changes were gradual and Artemesia pollen dominated throughout the Holocene and up to the present.

The shallow pluvial lake complex, located approximately 20 kilometers north and northwest of the Wasden site, would have been an attraction for migratory waterfowl, game of all sizes, and the human hunters who occupied the region. However, changing environmental conditions beginning around 11,000 RCYBP would have resulted in retreating lake levels, and by approximately 7,000 RCYBP, the onset of the middle Holocene, they would have retreated to much lower levels, similar to their current conditions represented by seasonal wetlands and small ponds (Davis 1984). Although the pluvial lakes were likely not at their maximum extent, they would have been present during the deposition of the bison bone bed at Owl Cave, roughly 8,000 RCYBP. The drier conditions at the onset of the early

Holocene in the Great Basin would have had some diminishing effect on the remaining

Pleistocene megafauna populations by this time, more than likely leaving bison as the largest game on the eastern Snake River Plain.

Bison are currently the largest herbivores in North America. As such, they require a great deal of forage. On the sagebrush steppe of southern Idaho, cool season grasses likely

represented the bulk of a bison’s late spring and summer diet, with bluebunch wheatgrass being the dominant and most productive species. During years of average precipitation, bluebunch wheatgrass, fescue, poa, rice grass, and wild rye are plentiful on the eastern Snake

River Plain and currently support modern domesticated bovids. As suggested by the

Holocene pollen records recovered from Middle Butte and Rattlesnake caves, the transition zones between sagebrush and shadscale communities have likely migrated throughout the

Holocene, depending on shifts in temperature and moisture regimes. The availability and abundance of cool season grasses, such as bluebunch wheatgrass, would have played a critical role in the distribution and density of bison populations on the eastern Snake River

Plain. In fact, it is possible that the expansion of shadscale communities during warmer, drier periods may have resulted in a significant loss of spring and summer bison forage.

Shadscale scrub typically grows in the transmontane desert regions of the western

U.S. and often occurs in alkaline or saline soils underlain by impermeable hardpan.

Shadscale communities typically range in elevation between 3,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level with annual rainfall averaging between 6 and 10 inches. This community takes its name from its dominant shrub, Atriplex confertifolia (shadscale), and includes such other species as hopsage (Grayia spinosa), winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata), spiny sagebrush or budsage

(Artemisia spinescens), and blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima). Shadscale communities are currently present in southern Idaho and are primarily found in lower latitudes such as the

Raft River and Curlew valleys in the Basin and Range Province south of the Snake River, and even greater presence in the intervening valleys typical of the Great Basin further south into Nevada. However, some shadscale does exist in areas north of the Snake River Plain, including the lower portions of the Birch Creek and Little Lost River valleys northwest of

Idaho Falls. The occurrence of shadscale communities at these latitudes is associated with the rainshadow effect of the Lemhi and Lost River ranges. Portions of the now dry lake beds associated with the pluvial lake complex that has periodically manifested at the base of these valleys are also dominated by shadscale vegetative communities.

The data presented above describes the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene transition environment as a turbulent time when climatic variations were seen on a decadal level, which would have made flora and fauna resources variable and extremely seasonal. On the eastern

Snake River Plain, this would have translated to patchiness in resources, meaning resources would have been irregularly distributed across the landscape, and mainly concentrated around water sources such as pluvial lake margins and perennial river corridors. The most significant changes seen in the early Holocene was the upward movement of woodland ecotones and replacement of these areas with sagebrush and shadscale steppe environments.

As the pluvial lakes retreated, the resources on the eastern Snake River Plain would have become more patchy and distributed differently as the seasonal wetlands and Mud Lake would have provided smaller patches or oases on the sagebrush steppe, rather than a larger patch evident in the presence of the pluvial lake complex during the Pleistocene.

CHAPTER III

HUMAN BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND ABORIGINAL SUBSISTENCE

ON THE EASTERN SNAKE RIVER PLAIN

Models developed within the paradigm of evolutionary ecology can provide insight for the investigation of the role of bison and communal hunting in aboriginal subsistence strategy. Evolutionary ecology is defined as the application of evolutionary theory to the study of adaptive design in behavior, morphology, and life history (Bird and O’Connell 2006,

Winterhalder and Smith 1992). As a subset of evolutionary ecology, human behavioral ecology is primarily concerned with the adaptiveness of behavior and its applicability to the archaeological record. Archaeological applications of human behavioral ecology are predominantly focused on understanding the variety of socio-ecological conditions in the past, and how these may have influenced human behavior (Hill and Hurtado 1996). More specifically, archaeologists who apply human behavioral ecology theories to the record are interested in understanding the internal decision-making process of an individual’s choice or adaptive behavioral response, which is influenced by costs, benefits, and constraints of a given socio-ecological context.

Human behavioral ecology relies on the basic tenants of the Processual Archaeology of the early 1960s (e.g., Binford 1962), which are in turn built upon the theoretical concept of

“cultural ecology” from before (e.g., Steward 1938). In all of these perspectives, archaeologists have attempted to study past human behavior as an adaptation to environmental conditions. Over the decades, the evolutionary ecology approach has expanded on the basic idea that natural and social environments merely influence behavior to a more comprehensive approach that relies on biological and ecological models to understand the motivation behind the behavior. Optimization and game theory models have proven to be particularly valuable when applied to human foraging (e.g., Hawkes et al. 1982, Hill and

Hurtado 1996, Hill et al. 1987, Kelly 1995, Smith and Winterhalder 1992).

The evolutionary approach makes predictions about human behavior based on simple, non-intuitive assumptions derived from biological and economic models. However, if such models do not predict the observed behavior, such deviance suggests that factors other than biological or economic optimality are at play (Gremillion 2002, Sugiyama 1996). The basic assumption of this theoretical approach is that humans and culture are products of biological evolution. To be sure, this assumption does not imply that culture is determined absolutely by biological evolution; simply, culture is a product of a decision-making process within a specific socio-economic context.

Culture is defined as a set of behaviors generated by decision-making adaptations, which expanded over an evolutionary time scale because they ultimately had an impact on the relative reproductive success of individuals. Behaviors, just like physiological traits, are part of the phenotype of an organism and are produced by the organic operation of the body and mind (Hill and Hurtado 1996). As a result, it can be assumed that natural selection acts on human cultural and behavioral variation, where human behaviors that increase the relative reproductive success of individuals will be selected over other, less successful, behaviors.

Given the long period of time hominins have been faced with the trials of hunting and gathering, it is predicted that these types of decision-making processes have been honed over time. Due to the length of human evolution, it can be assumed that humans have come up with adaptive strategies that can be analyzed using optimization models developed by biologists (e.g., Mac Arthur and Pianka 1966). Optimal foraging models are based on the assumption that behavior should yield, on average, results that are locally adaptive within a given domain of activity.

Models derived from evolutionary ecology have been applicable to archaeological research questions primarily through the use of optimization models. In identifying factors that play a part in the decision-making process, these models allow human behavioral ecologists to “explore the fitness-related costs and benefits of behavioral alternatives in specific socio-ecological contexts” (Cannon and Broughton 2010:2). Again, the power of using such optimization models is to provide a baseline against which one may assess whether human behavior is optimizing or maximizing the chance that humans and their offspring will survive (Sugiyama 1996).

Optimization models have been critiqued in the past by both behavioral ecologists and others that do not adhere to the assumptions of the human behavioral ecology paradigm.

The principal limitation identified in the application of optimization models is that human populations do not always act “optimally.” The objection to the use of optimization logic has been addressed by several researchers who explain that optimization within these models is used as an analytical tool that allows for hypothesis development, rather than “an empirical claim about human behavior” (Cannon and Broughton 2010:7). Simply put, evolutionary ecology theory does not dictate absolute optimization in human behavior; rather it identifies

the behaviors that tend to be efficient within a specific socio-environmental context

(Broughton and O’Connell 1999). The purpose of comparing model predictions to the archaeological record is not to determine whether human behavior is optimal, rather the utility of such a test lies in identifying features (currencies, strategic goals, and constraints) important to decision-making processes.

The objective of using optimization models is not to replace empirical data with model predictions, nor is it the intention of human behavioral ecologists to suggest archaeological patterns merely support or violate general model predictions (Cannon and

Broughton 2010). Instead, specific models (with their own assumptions) generated from more general evolutionary concepts and interpretations of basic foraging activity afford human behavioral ecologists opportunities to make specific predictions within particular contexts. Each model developed under a given application or model within evolutionary theory addresses specific topics, through particular assumptions, within a unique set of limitations. When the assumptions and limitations within such models are understood, they can be applied in appropriate ways and become powerful tools to improve our understanding of the human past (Winterhalder and Smith 1992).

Structure and Use of Models

Optimization models in evolutionary ecology models rely on several key components/assumptions: decision, currency and strategic goal, and constraint (Cannon and

Broughton 2010, Kaplan and Hill 1992, Krebs and Davies 1991, Stephans and Krebs 1986).

First, there is an assumption about the decision, or behavioral alternatives, faced by an individual. It is assumed there are tradeoffs among the alternatives, each with associated

costs and benefits. A model can predict, within a given set of behavioral alternatives under a certain set of conditions, the decision that offers the best possible alternative for an individual to adopt. In order to calculate which decision is the “best,” a set of measurements must be used to gauge and compare potential alternatives with one another. One common method of comparison within models of human foraging behavior assumes that decisions on whether or not to include a resource in the diet are based on their energy acquisition rate (i.e., net energy acquisition per unit of time expended or Kcal/hour). While it is practically impossible to directly assess the actual fitness effects of the different decisions, the energy acquisition rate can be used as a proxy to evaluate decisions made related to foraging.

The concepts of currency and strategic goal operationalize decisions within a particular socioenvironmental context. Both of these concepts are ultimately related to fitness, and it is assumed that the nutritional status of an individual determines the overall level of fitness (nutrient maximization) with consideration of the time necessary to acquire the essential nutritional intake (time minimization) (Belovsky 1987). Currency provides the units of measurement to evaluate the costs and benefits for the gamut of possible behavioral alternatives and the strategic goal indicates which part of the available nutritional spectrum is more beneficial and will therefore maximize fitness. The strategic goal is assumed to hold just as much importance as the currency with regard to the “best” possible alternative prediction or decision.

The final category of assumptions within optimization models is constraint, which includes features of the natural and social environment, as well as the cognitive, behavioral, and technological capabilities of the individual. Constraints can also include seasonal and spatial distribution of food resources (Kaplan and Hill 1992), as well as animal behavior and

hunting strategies which can impact return rates of a resource and the decision-making process. In general, optimization models indicate there is often a positive correlation between prey size and return rates. Both constraint and decision assumptions are important to determine the situations and contexts in which a given model can be effectively applied.

These types of constraints are central to the analysis of Owl Cave presented here and are discussed at length in chapters IV and V with regard to bison ecology and communal hunting strategies, respectively.

Diet Breadth and Patch Choice Models

Models such as diet breadth and patch choice have been the most commonly used in human behavioral ecology contexts. According to simple diet breadth models, foods are ranked according to their net caloric or energy values divided by handling time. Although handling time does not include search time, it takes into account the time of pursuit, dispatching, and processing. These models predict that individuals can maximize return rates, and ultimately fitness, if they take resources that have an equal or greater ratio [calories

(Kcal)/ handling time (kg/hr)] than average return rates for foraging in general, and if they ignore potential resources for which is ratio is lower (Hawkes et al. 1982). Based on this assumption, resources that return a lower ratio than average will not be taken upon encounter, regardless of their relative abundance. Equally, resources that meet or exceed the average return rates will always be taken, no matter how rare they are.

Ranking and ultimately behavioral decisions in diet breadth models simply indicate which resources are more likely to enter or leave the diet, and in what order (Hawkes et al.

1982). Under this approach, if the highest ranked resources have encounter rates that

fluctuate considerably, so too will the optimal diet. However, no matter how much the optimal set may fluctuate, the highest ranked resources will never leave (Hawkes et al. 1982).

Thus, within the spectrum of available resources, as the frequency of encounter rates for higher ranked resources increases, lower ranked resources will be dropped from the diet.

Conversely, as the frequency of encounter rates for higher ranked resources decreases, lower ranked resources will be included in the diet. With regard to high ranking resources, numerous applications of optimization models indicate that there may be a positive correlation between prey size and return rates (Hawkes et al. 1982). Although it should be noted that other constraints such as hunting technology and animal behavior may also directly affect the return rates for larger prey. Generally, in this context: the larger the prey, the greater the return.

One of the key assumptions of diet breadth models is that resources are dispersed homogeneously throughout the environment and will be encountered as a simple function of their relative abundance. Search time is not typically factored into the calculation of return rates. From a practical standpoint, this assumption is rarely valid in analyses of human foraging behavior. Certainly, as discussed in Chapter II, this situation does not apply to early

Holocene eastern Snake River Plain environments, where fluctuating climate and other environmental factors influenced resource availability and abundance. Previous research suggests that patch choice models may offer more practical insights regarding resource use on the eastern Snake River Plain (Henrikson 2002, Long 2007, Simms 1987, Zeanah 2000).

Rather than ranking the return rates of individual resources that are evenly distributed throughout the environment, patch choice models calculate return rates for resources that occur in a heterogeneous distribution of different patches (Kelly 1995). These models also

predict that in situations where resources are distributed in myriad locations across the landscape, human foragers will also factor in travel, search, and handling time to decide which patch or patches will generate the highest return rate (Hawkes et al. 1982). In this kind of heterogeneous environment, the patch choice model can be utilized to predict which resource patches will be included in the diet. Further, the measures of currency and strategic goals within these models also allow for some prediction of the intensity of exploitation ranging from thoroughly to superficially.

Another important assumption of patch choice models is that return rates within a single resource patch will eventually reach a point of diminishing returns. Charnov’s marginal value theorem (1976) predicts that foragers will move out of a resource patch when return rates fall below the average for the entire environment (Kelly 1995). It is predicted that individuals will remain in a resource patch until return rates have fallen to zero (Kelly 1995).

Instead, decisions to move out of a resource patch are made as return rates near and eventually fall below the average for the surrounding environment with consideration of the constraints posed by travel and relocation. Although there are challenges to patch choice models including instances where resources patches are encountered randomly, or when travel time between patches is productive, these model can still make predictions about behavior based on a few simple assumptions (Kelly 1995).

The strength of patch choice and diet breadth models can be enhanced when they are combined. In this manner, they have proven useful in gaining insight into understanding aboriginal subsistence in the Great Basin. Simms (1987) proposed a simple diet breadth model for Great Basin foragers that included estimates on the procurement costs associated with a wide range of hunting situations involving deer, bighorn sheep, and antelope.

However, he also acknowledged and incorporated search time, especially associated with large game, in his analysis. In a unique interpretation, Simms’ (1987) model counted each specific game animal as a different resource patch unto itself. To factor search time from the caloric returns of big game, Simms (1987) examined historic records for clues on population densities of large game, their habits, and modern and historic hunting techniques. In the final analysis, Simms (1987) showed that, with search time included, the net return rate for large mammals is still extremely high in comparison with other resources. It strongly suggests that situations which decrease the search, travel, pursuit or handling time of large mammals, including bison, would also increase the comparative desirability of this resource.

Applications of Patch Choice and Diet Breadth Models on the Eastern Snake River Plain

Understanding the decision-making processes associated with the bison bone bed in

Owl Cave a result of a communal drive can be analyzed within the theoretical paradigm of evolutionary ecology. With regard to the research questions presented in Chapter I, the data set forth in previously generated optimization models can provide a broad context for understanding why pursuing bison would have been attractive to aboriginal inhabitants of the eastern Snake River Plain (Henrikson 2003, Simms 1984). Previous research on diet breadth models for the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene in North America is useful in examining the decision to hunt communally (Byers and Ugan 2005, Henrikson 2008).

The unique early Holocene geographic features must also be considered in optimization models developed for the eastern Snake River Plain. In particular, at the time the bison bone bed at Owl Cave was deposited, pluvial Lake Terreton and perennial water sources would have been considered relatively rich resource patches in a larger but generally

less productive expanse of sagebrush steppe (Henrikson 2002, Long 2007). It is assumed that terminal Pleistocene megafauna such as mammoth, camel, and horse would have been extinct by the time of deposition of the bison bone bed.

The return rates for many of the resources available on the Snake River Plain have previously been evaluated for the purpose of understanding diet breadth and resource ranking within this patchy environment (Henrikson 2002, 2004; Long 2007; Meatte 1990; Simms

1987). Table 3.1 provides a compilation of return rates that have been calculated for resources in the region.

Table 3.1. Resources available on the eastern Snake River Plain during the early Holocene. Modified from Simms 1987 and Henrikson 2002.

Resource Weight Calories Handling Calculated Return Rank (kg) (Kcal/kg) (hr/kg) total handling rate time (Kcal/hr) (Kg x hr/kg) Bison 354.0 1,450 0.04 10.00 32,400 1 Deer 45.0 1,258 0.06 3.00 20,966 2 Antelope 25.0 1,258 0.06 1.50 20,966 2 Jackrabbit 1.40 1,078 0.07 0.49 15,400 3 Marmot 3.60 1,078 0.07 1.26 14,400 4 Cottontail 0.80 1,078 0.12 0.84 9,000 5 Waterfowl 0.90 848 0.40 1.20 2,220 6 Sagegrouse 0.90 848 0.40 2.80 2,120 7 Trout 0.50 975 0.40 0.23 2,119 8 Gopher 0.30 1,078 0.70 0.021 1,540 9 Squirrel 0.45 1,078 0.74 0.33 1,470 10 Sunflower 3,650 7.20 2.15 485 11 Wild Rye 2,800 5.90 2.65 370 12 Rice Grass 2,740 6.90 2.20 350 13 Shrimp 26 1.00 1.00 252 14 Sedge 2,590 12.80 1.75 202 15 Squirreltail 2,700 31.0 0.32 91 16

The broad sample of potential resources available on the eastern Snake River Plain and the possible ranking in prehistoric diets was assembled by examining regional environmental data, ethnographic and archaeological data, historic journals (particularly for

additional bison data), and modern hunting data spanning from the early Holocene to the late

Prehistoric period. Although environmental conditions certainly fluctuated during this time, it is argued that these changes were not significant enough to change the general spectrum of potential resources available for prehistoric use/consumption, nor the basic subsistence strategies used by aboriginal inhabitants (Henrikson 2004).

Within a relatively stable environment, the ranking of resources present in the region should be generally applicable for the last 8,000 years. Figure 3.1 graphically represents the diet breadth model for this lengthy period on the eastern Snake River Plain. Upper curve (in black) represents the return rates for each resource, lower (open boxed) curve represents the handling time associated with each resources. When the return rate intersects with the handling time, the food items to the left should be included in the optimal diet, whereas the resources to the left may not be included unless harvest will return above average returns.

Although it has been argued that diet breadth models are less suited to patchy environments (Kelly 1995), they have proven to be of great utility when considering the various resources within a single resource patch and offer great comparative value in combination with complementary analyses of patch choice. The resources contained within the Lake Terreton resource patch (which could potentially include water, roots, waterfowl, large game and small game, fresh-water shrimp, grasses, and forbs) can still be ranked according to their net caloric energy per handling time. Based on the assumptions of the model, each of these resources will be taken only if its return value/ratio meets or exceeds the average return rates generated from foraging within the entire patch.

Figure 3.1. Optimal Diet Curve for the eastern Snake River Plain during the early Holocene (Henrikson 2004:914).

Considering the paleoclimatic and environmental conditions on the Snake River Plain during the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene, Long (2007) applied the principles of the

Ideal Free Distribution theory, a patch choice model, to explore habitat selection choices made by humans during this time period. Using the previously calculated return rates for resources available to human foragers on the eastern Snake River Plain (see Table 3.1), he delineated ranked habitats into three categories: 1) pluvial lakes, 2) perennial water courses, and 3) sagebrush steppe. Although precise knowledge of resource distribution during this

time period is unknown, a comparative qualitative assessment of relative resource availability was used across the three habitats (Long 2007). Due to the heterogeneous resource distribution, it can be reasonable to define graduated productivity rates within the patches, without fine-grained data (Henrikson 2002, Long 2007). Long (2007) used the terms consistent, intermittent, and absent to evaluate overall availability and abundance of the resources within each of the habitats explored in his research. The term “seasonal” was used to capture waterfowl migrations within the pluvial lake habitat, and anadromous fish movements within the perennial water corridors.

Predictions of the Ideal Free Distribution model presented by Long (2007) assumed that Clovis and Folsom/Midland components from the terminal Pleistocene, would occur within the pluvial lake complex, or a phenomenon known in other areas of the Great Basin as

“pluvial tethering” (Jones and Beck 1999, Willig and Aikens 1988). This notion of pluvial tethering is based on previous research that suggests many of the terminal Pleistocene archaeological sites in the Great Basin occur on the fossil shorelines of pluvial lake complexes, and further assumes that this lakeside habitat would have been resource rich and the most productive during the cool and moist climate conditions of this time period (Long

2007). The shorelines of pluvial lakes may have also offered additional areas of high resource productivity, such as where fresh water rivers entered the lakes (Long 2007). The predictions of the model assume that as the pluvial lakes began to evaporate during the early

Holocene, human populations would have expanded foraging activities into the second and third ranked habitats including the perennial watercourses and sagebrush steppe (Long 2007).

Using statistical analyses exploring the real and random distributions of projectile point styles common to the terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene, Long (2007) tested the

predictions of the Ideal Free Distribution model. The testing of the model revealed interesting patterns with regard to the Big Lost River corridor and the pluvial lake complex during Plano period occupations on the eastern Snake River Plain. Of particular note for this study is

Long’s (2007) recognition of a highly productive resource zone in which the high ranking habitats intersect to create a rather continuous 60 kilometer stretch of perennial watercourses and pluvial lake margins. Although resource diversity is comparable across most of the sagebrush steppe habitat, the portions of this lower ranked habitat that are adjacent to these highly ranked habitats could have been more productive than the average return rates for sagebrush steppe habitat in other areas across the Snake River Plain (Long 2007). Simply put, game encounters may have been greater in sagebrush steppe adjacent to the lake and river margins because game would need to cross the area to get to the higher ranked habitats

(Long 2007, Reed et al. 1987, Ringe 1995). Given that the Wasden site is within 25 kilometers of both the southern boundary of the pluvial lake complex and the Big Lost River corridor, the lower ranked sagebrush steppe habitat in which the site is located could likely have had a higher predictability of game and frequency of encounters, including bison herds.

Understanding resource patches during this transitional period is crucial for understanding human subsistence strategies. Although paleoclimatic data is limited in the region and throughout the Great Basin, general environmental patterns have been generated through previous studies. Though it can be acknowledged that prey choice during the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene is poorly understood throughout North America (e.g.,

Cannon and Meltzer 2004), existing models of diet breadth, prey ranking, and patch choice can be used to predict some aspects of aboriginal hunting practices. These models predict that at the time the bison bone bed was deposited at Owl Cave, the sagebrush steppe

environment within this area may have had higher than average return rates than other sagebrush steppe environments on the eastern Snake River Plain. Archaeological evidence suggests that during early Holocene Plano period occupations, aboriginal populations were indeed utilizing this transitional area which is adjacent to the highly productive resource patches represented by the pluvial lake complex and the Big Lost River corridor.

CHAPTER IV

BISON ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION IN NORTH AMERICA

Based on horn-core and cranial elements, Butler (1968, 1971) argues that the bison bone bed in Owl Cave represents two or three morphologically distinct species of bison including Bison antiquus, Bison occidentalis, and Bison bison. While there are significant complications inherent in analyses of this nature, there is no question that the bulk of the faunal remains contained in Layer 17 of Owl Cave are of the genus Bison. An examination of a variety of studies on bison ecology can provide insight to how bison behave, including those found in Owl Cave.

Over the past century, morphological, molecular, and behavioral studies have been conducted on paleontological, archaeological, and modern bison specimens from North

America. Paleontologists examining Pleistocene bison ecology typically apply taxonomic

“splitting” or the division of a genus into multiple species. However, Guthrie (1970) argues that a focus on adaptation is required to decipher the evolution of taxonomically modern bison in North America. This exercise is complicated because the post-cranial skeleton in the genus Bison has not differed significantly through time or space and even features of the skull exhibit interspecies similarities. Differences in bison crania have been attributed to local adaptations, but these differences have not been used to understand potential taxonomic

implications. By default, horn-cores have been used as the primary morphological indicator of taxonomy. In fact, Guthrie (1970) asserts that if bison did not have horns, some paleontologists would consider grouping all forms of paleontological and modern specimens into a single species. However, he also states that solely using horns to map phylogeny, as

Butler has attempted for Owl Cave, is dangerous because horns are responsive to changes in nutrition, hormones, and overall health of an individual animal. Furthermore, horns have an ontogenetic growth pattern and are a secondary sexual characteristic that makes them highly responsive to natural selection (Guthrie 1970).

Several taxonomic studies of North American fossil bison have been conducted to address these issues (Guthrie 1970). In these studies, researchers recognize slight differences in horn cores, from which several specific taxonomic distinctions have been derived. Based on this research, several theories regarding North American bison evolution have been hypothesized. According to McDonald (1981), modern bison subspecies evolved from now extinct populations of Bison antiquus and Bison occidentalis, which occupied the North

American savannas at the end of the Pleistocene. Although many species of megafauna became extinct during the climatic shifts of the terminal Pleistocene, these modern bison antecedents were able to thrive in the grassland prairie communities of the Great Plains, which expanded rapidly as glaciers retreated (Guthrie 1980).

Although tall grass prairies and steppes supported many species of megafauna

(including bison) during the Pleistocene, the short grass ecosystems that evolved during the

Holocene were not able to provide adequate sustenance to all these large herbivores. The newly evolved short grass communities included grass families such as Bouteloua,

Agropyron, Stipa, and Buchloe, which were high in protein and resistant to the detrimental

effects of heavy grazing and trampling. Short grasses provided bison with a high protein to carbohydrate ratio, even in their dry form (Tatum 1980). These characteristics probably allowed bison and short grass ecosystems to co-evolve (Guthrie 1980). However, these short grass ecosystems could not sustain other megafauna species. Therefore, rather than extinction, bison found a niche within short grass prairies and evolved in specific ways that allowed them to thrive there for thousands of years.

It is important to note that the evolution of the bison from the terminal Pleistocene well into the Holocene was strongly influenced by many factors in addition to the evolution of short grass prairies. Other ecological factors such as predators, climate, and seasonal fluctuations may have had an effect on bison evolution in North America.

Two prominent hypotheses have been offered to account for the origin of modern bison in North America. The first postulates that B. bison is derived solely from B. occidentalis, an emigrant species from Siberia to North America during the late Pleistocene

(Flerov 1977, Geist and Karsten 1977). B. occidentalis was but one part of a wave of

Siberian fauna that spread south into North America with the extinction of the Rancholabrean megafauna (Geist 1991). It is within North America that the large-horned Siberian B. occidentalis evolved into a dwarfed version with smaller horns typical of B. bison (Geist

1991, Wilson 1980). Guthrie (1970) argues that the dwarfing was a result of differences in predation. The large-horned Siberian type formerly contended with large cats and short-faced bears, which are solitary hunters; whereas upon arrival in North America, bison had to contend primarily with wolves. During the terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene, the primary predator in North America, especially on the short grass prairies preferred by bison, was the gray wolf, which hunted in packs (Lott 2002). Retreat from these quick, pack

animals would have been the best strategy to avoid death. The safety of “running with the herd” has probably been a behavior reinforced for thousands of years on the North America steppes and plains (Lott 2002). Therefore, the strategy against predators shifted from confronting individual predators using large-horns, to “running with the herd,” where large horns were less advantageous for protection.

Another hypothesis regarding bison ancestry/evolution attributes an indigenous origin of B. bison derived from two populations of B. antiquus that hybridized after the warm, dry interval often referred to as the Altithermal (McDonald 1978). The populations of the smaller-horned B. antiquus were the most common in the southern United States and

Mexico, whereas the larger-horned B. latifrons occurred primarily north in more forested areas. According to McDonald (1978), B. latifrons became extinct in the Pleistocene, and B. antiquus survived into the early Holocene, and in turn, evolved into the modern form of bison with the two recognizable subspecies, plains bison and wood bison.

With regard to modern populations, wildlife biologists currently accept two subspecies Bison b. bison (plains bison) and Bison bison athabascae (wood bison). However, there is great contention on whether these subspecies designations are truly warranted.

According to McDonald (1981), plains and wood bison on the Great Plains were not distinguishable until after 5,000 RCYBP. This differentiation corresponds to a cooling trend at the beginning of the late Holocene, which also coincides with a period of greater effective moisture on the northern Great Plains (McDonald 1981). Since short grasses are greatly affected by changes in seasonal temperature and moisture (Bamforth 1987, Hanson 1984), a bison’s heavy reliance on them makes these animals vulnerable to both long-term and short- term periods of increased aridity when short grass prairies may have been less productive.

Indeed, Reher and Frison (1980) found that the health of bison is quite sensitive to these fluctuations in grassland productivity on a time scale of less than a decade.

By 5,000 RCYBP, stabilizing environmental conditions on the northern Great Plains allowed bison populations to rebound successfully from fluctuating conditions in the early

Holocene. Frison (1991) agrees with McDonald’s hypothesis that this middle Holocene time marks the emergence of the two modern bison subspecies, and plains bison are thought to have reached their highest population densities after 2,500 RCYBP. However, wood bison population densities during the Holocene are more difficult to ascertain due to the lack of dated specimens. Questions as to whether they warrant a subspecies distinction also complicate the situation.

The timing of the emergence of modern bison on the southern Great Plains does not appear to reflect the same pattern as the northern Great Plains, and it is reported that this shift occurred sometime between 8,000 RCYBP and 6,500 RCYBP (Lewis et al. 2007).

Interesting analyses by Lewis and colleagues (2007) correlate the appearance of modern gracile forms of bison in the southern Great Plains with the shift in abundance of C3 grasses to primarily C4 grasses (Lewis et al. 2007). This shift transpired due to a decrease in effective moisture and temperature changes between 10,000 RCYBP and 8,000 RCYBP. The overall mass of bison diminished because the productivity of C4 grasses, which are less nutritious than their C3 counterparts, meant bison were consuming less calories and protein (Lewis et al. 2007).

Butler (1968) also postulated that the appearance of modern bison at Owl Cave occurred during the post-glacial period, when he saw evidence that mean annual temperatures were higher and moisture levels were lower. However, his hypothesis that the

bison bone bed at Owl Cave represents an “evolving bison population” (1968:10), is not substantiated by the limited analyses that have been conducted. Certainly, the collection still presents a potentially significant and largely unrealized opportunity to contribute to this area of research.

A comprehensive study of geographic variation in historic modern bison populations has been precluded, due to the near extinction of all bison in North America during the mid-

1800s (van Zyll de Jong 1986). Biologists studying modern populations continue to debate bison taxonomy and the diverse opinions can be attributed to the near-annihilation of herds prior to direct and comprehensive study and to the relatively low numbers of specimens that have been available for analysis (van Zyll de Jong 1986). However, several researchers have employed morphometric measurements and statistics to address the differences between the claimed distinct populations of plains and wood bison.

There are two prevailing hypotheses of modern wood and plains bison variability

(Geist 1991). One hypothesis describes the differences as genetic; therefore, the designation of B. b. bison and B. b. athabascae as taxonomic subspecies is warranted. Another hypothesis describes variation among these forms as ecophenotypic in nature. That is, variation in phenotypes are induced by environmental factors and not due to genetic differences.

Van Zyll de Jong (1986) argues that the variation between the modern bison subspecies is genetic. Although van Zyll de Jong rejects the phenotypic variation hypothesis, he does reason that environmental and behavioral factors have interacted with gene flow. He explains that synergistic interaction between the environment and gene flow has produced a distinction between the two modern subspecies. In particular, van Zyll de Jong (1986)

emphasizes that the northern boreal forest created a natural barrier from grasslands on the

Great Plains. The presence of this barrier served to limit seasonal movement and also hindered interbreeding between the two populations. This construction of contact between populations occupying the boreal forests and those occupying the grasslands of the Great

Plains, set the stage for different directional selection to promote different alleles or phenotypic displays within each of these environments (van Zyll de Jong 1986).

A later study of modern wood and plains bison populations (van Zyll de Jong et al.

1995), compared eight phenotypic variables among six extant populations to determine whether variation seen in Wood Buffalo National Park was ecophenotypic in nature, or if the character variations had a basis in genetic differences. The results of the metric analyses indicate four of the five pelage, or hair and coat, characteristics showed a significant association, which supports a genetic basis for the phenotypic variables that distinguish plains and wood bison (van Zyll de Jong et al. 1995). Results of this study indicate that panmixia, or random mating, did not occur with an introduction of plains bison to the presumed “pure” form of woods bison in the Park.

Several attempts have been made to analyze the genetic differences between wood and plains bison, but the results obtained have been ambiguous. Several potential genetic markers were chosen to decipher the distinction between the subspecies; but, individual bison could not be assigned to the correct subspecies based on genetic markers on chromosomes, blood proteins, mtDNA, or nuclear DNA (Bork et al. 1991, Cronin 1986, Peden and Kraay

1979, Ying and Peden 1977).

In another attempt to understand the genetic implications of the two modern subspecies, Strobeck (1992) conducted a molecular study of several populations of wood and

plains bison in North America. Strobeck’s (1992) findings corroborate previous genetic analyses that wood and plains bison are not genetically distinct subspecies and do not form distinct phylogenetic groups. Furthermore, the similarity in mtDNA suggests that wood and plains bison were not distinct groups in the past. Strobeck (1992) attributes morphological variability of the modern species of bison to geographic isolation and asserts that each represents the geographic isolation of a wide-ranging species of bison occupying North

America in the past.

Morphological studies conducted by McDonald (1978, 1981) and van Zyll de Jong

(1986) corroborate the finding that wood and plains bison differences are due to geographic isolation and environmental factors. Nevertheless, both of these researchers argue that the variability could still be genetic in nature. McDonald (1978, 1981) indicates that the variability between plains and wood bison regarding body size is slight, and relatively unimportant, but upholds a subspecies distinction. Whereas, van Zyll de Jong (1986) found that both overall body size and horn-core characteristics (size and length) support a genetic distinction between wood and plains bison.

An additional molecular study by Wilson and Strobeck (1999) focused on calculating genetic variation and genetic distance of wood and plains bison by examining the microsatellite loci of eleven modern populations. This study indicated that all eleven populations were genetically distinct, probably as a consequence of the founder effect and subsequent genetic drift (Wilson and Strobeck 1999). The difficulties of the founder effect and genetic drift within genetic analyses of extant populations were pointed out by Geist

(1991) in his argument for an ecophenotypic explanation for variation. Moreover, the maternal effect (bison within a herd have a higher probability of being related though

maternal descent) and male dominance effect results in less genetic diversity and disproportionate genetic contribution of a single bull, respectively. Therefore, it is argued that the small founder populations of extant groups results in rapid divergence of allele frequencies, and therefore creates “pseudo-subspecies” of little to no consequence to bison phylogeny (Geist 1991).

Interestingly, modern bison populations from Yellowstone National Park, long thought to be a remnant indigenous population, were included in the Yellowstone National

Park genetic study and did not exhibit a significant genetic difference from the plains bison, as was expected if they represented a distinct wood bison population. Wilson and Strobeck

(1999) explain this unexpected outcome as the result of plains bison being driven to the

Yellowstone area by hunters; therefore, acknowledging that periodic crossbreeding may have occurred. The results of this study also support Meagher’s (1973) assertion that the

Yellowstone herds represent a hybrid of the two subspecies, since “pure” forms of wood bison were nearly exterminated by the 1860s.

Cannon (2008) compared several Holocene archaeological specimens from the Grand

Teton and Yellowstone areas to published craniometric data for wood and plains bison (e.g.,

McDonald 1981). The results indicated that the archaeological specimens were dominated by male bison. In addition to craniometric data, discriminant function analysis was used to explore any taxonomic relationships of the archaeological specimens to known groups of wood and plains bison (Cannon 2008). Using six horn-core measurements, discrimination between the wood and plains bison is clear; however, there is overlap between the two groups (Cannon 2008). Cannon (2008) interpreted the results of the discriminant function analysis as indicating that crossbreeding between wood and plains bison populations has

likely occurred, and postulates that such crossbreeding has been facilitated by long-term seasonal movement between high and low elevations (Cannon 2008).

All of these studies have pointed out genetic and morphological characteristics of modern bison, and some have attempted to compare archaeological or fossil specimens to modern populations. Some behavioral descriptions have been given based on historical accounts, and inferred interaction with predators. The results of these studies illustrate that modern wood and plains bison exhibit overlap in phenotypic variation, while still retaining distinct genetics based on geographic isolation. Crossbreeding through seasonal movements based on forage availability to and from high altitude and low elevation transition zones is also noted. The potential for the bison bone assemblage from Owl Cave to contribute to this research remains high, but as of yet, it’s potential is largely untapped through the preliminary analyses that have been completed.

CHAPTER V

COMMUNAL HUNTING STRATEGIES AND BISON DRIVE CHARACTERISTICS:

ETHNOGRAPHIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE

The archaeological record in the Great Plains substantiates that prehistoric hunters were harvesting and driving bison, but it does not always demonstrate exactly how hunts were executed. By the time European explorers were describing aboriginal activities on the

Great Plains, horses and firearms were widely utilized by native populations and traditional buffalo drives and pounds were decreasing in popularity (Barsh and Marlor 2003). That is to say, the dynamics of communal hunting at the time of Contact are not directly analogous to the strategies used prior to the acquisition of the horse, firearms, and possibly even the bow and arrow. Furthermore, the explorers and European observers rarely made an effort to ask how bison were being driven and were not typically observing, firsthand, long-distance bison drives (Barsh and Marlor 2003).

Although the ethnographic record is not a direct comparison to aboriginal hunting strategies prior to the horse and other technologies, a few hunts were observed firsthand and these observations of bison jumps and pounds can provide some insight to understanding the communal bison hunt. Verbicky-Todd (1984) has reviewed these firsthand observations which range from the 1790s to the 1870s and primarily focus on the northern Great Plains in

timbered areas that were most suitable for fur trade posts. The review concluded that traditional methods of communal hunting were very difficult and required a well-organized, large group of people, in addition to environmental conditions that supported bison herds large enough for a successful acquisition (Verbicky-Todd 1984).

Traditional methods of communal bison hunting on the Great Plains included three primary techniques: (1) impounding bison in pounds, (2) driving bison to trap or jump locations, and (3) surrounding bison in a surround. Bison pounds and jumps relied on similar techniques and are discussed in this thesis. The surround method was apparently practiced by both mounted and pedestrian hunters. The surround on foot is considered to have been the primary method practiced by hunters on the Great Plains and consisted of forming a circle around a herd and closing in upon it, until animals could be dispatched with the hunter’s weapons (Ewers 1958, Grinnell 1893, McHugh 1972). Like other methods of communal hunting, great skill was required to successfully execute the surround hunt and knowledge of the landscape, environmental factors, and bison behavior was crucial.

On the Great Plains, communal hunts were preferred when bison populations were large. Communal efforts relied to some extent on large bison populations, and were likely more successful due to the animal’s propensity to be curious, scared, and frightened by individual hunters (Frison 1973, 1991; Verbicky-Todd 1984). Individual or small group hunting was also practiced, but may have been more successful when bison populations were significantly reduced (Henrikson 2003, 2004).

The Owl Cave bone bed, reported to represent at least two separate events close in time (Miller and Dort 1978), suggests that bison populations during the early Holocene must have been substantial enough to support multiple herds and at least some successful

communal hunts. As discussed in Chapter II, the availability and abundance of cool season grasses, such as bluebunch wheatgrass, would have played a critical role in the distribution and density of bison populations on the eastern Snake River Plain. Holocene pollen records recovered from Middle Butte and Rattlesnake caves, suggest the transition zones between sagebrush and shadscale communities migrated throughout the Holocene depending on shifts in temperature and moisture regimes, but clearly show the continued presence of these sagebrush and shadscale steppe settings throughout the Holocene. It is likely that the moist, cool climate of the early Holocene, when the bison bone bed at Owl Cave was created, would have been conducive to sustaining large amounts of C3 grasses, and in turn relatively large numbers of bison.

Bison Drives as a Communal Hunting Strategy

Successfully guiding and procuring a herd of bison required extensive knowledge of local geography, the environment, and bison behavior. Verbicky-Todd (1984) outlines several constraints that must be considered when evaluating the feasibility of a bison jump or trap:

Hunters had to execute the hunt in locations possessing specific topographic features and be aware of local conditions. In executing successful communal hunts, people had to use geographic and environmental conditions to their advantage. This required significant knowledge of local factors to be able to compensate for any unexpected problems that could potentially jeopardize the success of the hunt. For example, detailed insight regarding seasonal wind and weather patterns, snow levels, non-human predators, and other hunting parties, would increase the success of communal hunting strategies.

The hunt was dependent on the proximity of bison herds to the specific geographic feature or natural trap. Communal bison drives had a high probability of failure and the herd would not be easily “tricked” the next day to the same jump or trap. Multiple herds within reasonable proximity to the trap features would have increased success rates for the hunters. The presence of a herd near the area of procurement would have been closely tied to resource availability in the area. The herds must be foraging in close vicinity to the trap at the time of the hunt in order for it to be successful. Longer drive distances always equate to more room for error.

The hunt was dependent on bison behavior. All animals demonstrate behavior patterns unique to their species (Frison 1991). Understanding internal and external factors that impact the ability to acquire an animal is crucial for hunters. Internal factors include species, sex, age, size, and condition; whereas, external factors may include time of year, time of day, weather, terrain, vegetation, and other predators in the area (Frison 1991).

Hunting one species is generally mutually exclusive of hunting other species at the same time. Whether hunters intend to communally hunt, or acquire animals in a small group or those isolated from the herd, they tend to focus on one species. Although species of similar sizes may overlap in their habitat, their behavior is distinct enough to preclude hunting of multiple species at one time (Frison 1991). Ethnographic accounts of communal bison hunting on the Great Plains indicate that there were restrictions on other types of hunting when bison were targeted, so as to not interfere with the success of the communal hunt

(Verbicky-Todd 1984).

Bison possess a keen sense of smell, poor eyesight, are inherently curious, and have a tendency to follow herd leaders (Verbicky-Todd 1984). For an animal of its size and stature,

bison can move quite rapidly and change direction extremely quickly. Early observations of bison on the Great Plains attest to their speed, agility, and remarkable quickness. John J.

Audubon, a naturalist, noted all these characteristics as well as the bison’s extraordinary climbing abilities; often into places where predators were unable to follow (Audubon 1960).

Hunting bison is a difficult task because they quickly perceive danger and can escape by an immediate reversal of their direction or nimble dodging of a threat at the last second.

However, in a large group of bison, the mass and momentum of bodies is so great that it can be very difficult for herd leaders to change direction quickly with a herd barreling from behind. Furthermore, bison are not always predictable in their reactions to specific stimuli

(Frison 1991). Some days they may be tame and docile, but other days they may be rowdy and wild. With erratic and unpredictable behavior typical of bison, native hunters had to be sufficiently familiar with bison behavior and their natural patterns to be successful in their hunting endeavors (Frison 1991).

The skills necessary to successfully drive a herd of bison into a specific location would have been remarkable, especially considering the annual fluctuations in bison populations, health, and movements. An understanding of bison seasonal movements with a particular region was also crucial to the success of a jump. European explorers reported that

Native people would go to particular areas at certain times of the year, sometimes within a few days’ travel, to wait for bison (Verbicky-Todd 1984). Explorers also witnessed large bison herds. On the Great Plains, explorers encountered herds that extended for 25 miles and contained millions of individuals (Epp 1988). On the Snake River Plain, these numbers were significantly lower; however, herds of 1,000 individuals were reported, which is significant for sagebrush steppe of the eastern Snake River Plain (Henrikson 2004). During prehistoric

times when bison populations were comparable to these early observations by European explorers, it is unlikely that people would have kept pace with long-distance bison migrations

(Epp 1988). Instead, as argued by Bamforth (1987), hunters would have possessed the ability to forecast the movement of the herds and how to intercept them.

Although bison herds tend to follow long-established trails (Carbyn et al. 1993), their movements are directly affected by the environmental factors that influence the annual growth patterns of grasses. Bison are known to travel substantial distances to locate exceedingly nutritional and high-quality grasses (Tieszen et al. 1998). Topography, hydrology, and fire history will impact the growth of grasses, and therefore, are all factors in the timing and direction of bison herd movement (Barsh 1990, Epp 1988, Knapp et al. 1999,

Shaw 1997). Within two or three years following a fire, the growth of extremely nutritional grasses, attractive to grazers such as bison, offers enticing . It is likely that Native American groups set strategic fire to specific landscapes to increase the likelihood bison will travel to these recovering areas with high-quality grasses.

During the late fall and winter months, the location of bison herds on the landscape would, in part, be related to the need for shelter in cold weather (Roe 1970). On the northern

Great Plains, as well as on the eastern Snake River Plain, great seasonal variability would likely influence the movement of bison herds into sheltered areas including the river valleys and timbered areas for the cold season. However, if an unusually mild winter occurred, bison herds could remain in more open areas much longer than usual in the absence of severe weather pressuring them to seek shelter. In addition, forage availability during the cold season would have also played an important role in the presence of bison on the Snake River

Plain.

The hunt was dependent on communal efforts and knowledge of the process of driving bison. During the 19th century on the northern Great Plains, Blackfoot “bison-callers” would inform chiefs to move camp near a particular jump or pisskan, and then pray for bison herds to appear within the vicinity (Schultz 1962). Bison “runners” were observed to locate herds and stampede them, “decoyers” served as a visual barrier to steer a herd into a drive lane, and “frighteners” prevented the herd from turning at the last second to avoid the jump

(Verbicky-Todd 1984).

Bison runners used songs, animal calls, shouts, grass fires, and noise-makers to start a herd running. According to historical accounts of Blackfoot groups, the runners were often young, unmarried men who trained at length to increase their speed and stamina, which was required for scouting bison (Schaefer 1978). It was not uncommon for runners to travel as far as 20 to 50 miles from camp to search for bison herds (Arthur 1975, Denig 1930, de Smet

1972, Fidler 1793, McDougall 1896). There were usually multiple runners involved during a drive, although sometimes one or two would be sufficient (McDonnell 1889). Once the runners located bison, the next task was to manipulate the herd into the drive lanes; however, it required great patience and sometimes slowly starting the herd was extremely valuable to the accuracy of placing the herd at the beginning of drive lanes. Observations of this technique included the runners slapping robes on the ground which would compel the bison to move a short distance away from the sound, and then settle down (Mandelbaum 1979).

This would be repeated to get the herd to gradually move in the desired direction. Sometimes these men would use fire or calls to get the bison to bunch together and keep them going in the right direction to the drive lanes (Verbicky-Todd 1984).

As the herd approached the drive lines, men who were skilled in luring the bison into the lanes were called out from camp (Verbicky-Todd 1984). These decoyers would often dress as bison, wolves, or coyotes and strive to confine the movements of the bison, especially aggravated bulls or terrified calves (Shultz 1916). Decoyers were known for their skills to imitate and mimic bison sounds and behavior and often disguised themselves in bison hides. The mimicked bellows of the decoyer would be suggestive of calf cries and could lure the herd further into the drive lane. Coues (1897) reported that once a decoy gets the herd to follow him and advance slowly into the drive lane, he will then set off at full speed to get to the herd moving quickly towards the trap. Another method of decoying involves a man, without a disguise, positioning himself in front of the herd and appearing and then disappearing, which would trigger the bison’s natural curiosity, and attract the herd toward the trap location (Grinnell 1893).

Once the bison were within the drive lanes and moving at great speeds, other members of the group would stand behind the rock cairns or earthen features, burning dung and waving robes to enhance the visual barriers necessary to keep the bison within the confines of drive lanes. Typically, the decoyers would retreat from the drive lane just before the trap, precipice, or pound location (Verbicky-Todd 1984). Some jump locations had a specific area dug into the ground so the decoyer could safely seek shelter as he neared the terminus of the drive (Lewis and Clark 1904, Schaefer 1978). As one can imagine, the decoyer position is a dangerous job and required great courage, skill, and dexterity to be effective. It is believed that these were specific skills and talents that certain individuals possessed and they were passed on or learned by each generation (Schultz 1916).

As the bison have ended up in the desired location, sometimes rituals were performed before the slaughter and butchering of the animals (Verbicky-Todd 1984). Historical accounts on the Great Plains revolved around smoke. Some groups would smoke with the chief in a tent (Harmon 1911). Others would sit around the pound and smoke before slaughtering (McDonnell 1889). Some groups would have a shaman or “poundmaker” blow smoke on the bison as they passed around the pound before the slaughter (Skinner 1914a,

1914b). Although, there were also several accounts of slaughtering occurring right away, which more than likely had to do with the number of injured animals, the security of the trap or pound, and other factors that may have put humans at risk of death, injury, or loss of bison. Rituals were also performed after the slaughter and before butchering occurred and included songs and offerings of tongues to boys and pieces of fat to girls (Mandelbaum 1979;

Skinner 1914a, 1914b).

The slaughter would typically be performed by men and boys (Coues 1897, Ewers

1958, Harmon 1911), while the entire group, including women, men, and children participated in the butchering (Verbicky-Todd 1984). European explorers spoke of the impressive nature of the butchering of bison within a pound and reported many people ate raw parts of the bison, including the liver, kidneys, and brains (de Smet 1972, Hind 1971).

Although all the bison were killed, not all of them were butchered. This, of course, depended on the number and composition of the herd. Bull meat was considered too tough and undesirable during most times of the year and was often left for dogs to enjoy (Ewers 1958).

Sometimes there was such a significant amount of bison that the carcasses would overwhelm the pound making it unsuitable for future use. In these instances, Plains groups would build pounds in other locations (Hind 1971, Mandelbaum 1979).

After the butchering of bison, the kill would be distributed in camp, and typically every family would secure some of the meat. Some accounts indicate that groups that lived near specific kill locations were given shares of the meat, even if no members of the groups participated in the hunt (Mandelbaum 1979). Some groups distributed meat based on the number of people in the family (Coues 1897, de Smet 1972, Ewers 1958, Weekes 1948).

However, other groups dispersed meat according to the level of participation in the hunt and certain individuals were given higher quality cuts or organs (Coues 1987, Denig 1930, Ewers

1958, Harmon 1911, Mandelbaum 1979, McDougall 1896). Post hunting activities usually included feasting and processing the kill. Generally, men participated in ritual feasting, and the women began processing the hides and preserving the meat (Verbicky-Todd 1984).

Hunters may have modeled their drives on wolf behavior and may have established collaborative relationships with the canids. Examination of Blackfoot ethnographic and oral history data suggests that portions of the skill set necessarily to perform mass kills may have been acquired through hunting collaborations with wolves (Barsh and Marlor 2003).

Blackfoot cosmology proclaims beavers as the creators of the world in which we live, and that wolves are the first to realize how to make use of the most precious resource: bison

(Barsh and Marlor 2003). It is said that Blackfoot learned to hunt bison from wolves and protected them when necessary, calling wolves their brothers and Blackfoot ancestors “the wolf people” (McClintock 1910). The reverence of wolves is seen in Blackfoot war and hunting songs, as well as iniskim (stones believed to contain powers) stories bring to light the fact that wolves drive bison just as humans do (Barsh and Marlor 2003). Observations of wolves hunting bison may have provided prehistoric hunters with tips, angles, and strategies on how to successfully acquire the most prized resource the beaver created.

Biologists have shown that wolf prey selection varies regionally based on the behaviors and abundance of large herbivores, the topographic conditions, and the varied learned social behaviors of the wolf pack itself (Carbyn 1992, Hayes and Harestad 2000,

Hovens et al. 2000, Kunkel et al. 1999, Okarma 1995, Vos 2000). On the Great Plains, it appears that wolves preferred bison as prey despite the challenge wolves may pose to predators a fraction of their size (Barsh and Marlor 2003). It is argued by Fox (1992) and

Peters (1978) that wolves, similar to humans, possess the ability to mentally map landscapes and predict movements of other species. Notably, wolves have even been observed repeatedly taking advantage of a specific topographic location to ambush bison (Carbyn et al.

1993).

Wolves have been observed to stalk bison herds. They will watch them from opportune vantage points, or occasionally mix themselves within a herd without attacking for days (Carbyn and Trottier 1987, Dyck 1977, Mech 1981). Bison attempt to defend themselves from this harassment by gathering closer or shielding calves (Carbyn and Trottier

1987). However, wolves will typically take their time to study and pick out weaker animals and then isolate an individual to attack. This will get the bison herd to start running. Once bison are on the move, the wolves attempt to cut away some of the weaker adults or calves from the herd by splitting them into smaller groups (Carbyn and Trottier 1987). Wolf packs also show organized methods during bison driving; some individuals will attack and stampede the herd, while others will circle the herd and try to cut off escape routes (Carbyn and Trottier 1987). These strategies are crucial to the success of the bison hunt for wolf packs and human groups alike, and show direct correlations to the human characters in a communal hunt known as bison “callers,” “decoyers,” and “frighteners.”

In addition to the importance of human observations of wolves hunting bison, it is also worthwhile to consider the possible collaboration of humans and canids. Although both wolves and humans possess the mental capacities to map landscapes and forecast movements of bison within known topography, there are certain realities that put humans at a disadvantage during a pedestrian hunt, in comparison to wolves. Humans are much slower and do not have a powerful ability to track by scent and sound. However, wolves did not have large handheld weapons (that may have worked better at close range than impressive dentition), or fire (to use as a harassment tool). Sharp (1978) suggests that since human and wolves do not have a significant advantage over one another in the ability to drive bison, the combinations of their abilities would have been mutually beneficial.

Originally competitors, how would wolves and humans have become collaborators?

Humans have intervened with the reproduction of wolves beginning at least 100,000 years ago, and eventually began to breed populations that became domesticated dogs (Vila et al.

1997). Olsen (1985) speculated that humans may have observed wolves in an effort to locate prey, but as a consequence, began a social relationship with wolves that involved food sharing. It is reported that wolves and coyotes would enter a buffalo pound or trap location to scavenge the remaining bison. It is not understood if this was an intentional tactic by humans to establish social relationships with these predators. Nevertheless, the presence of wolves during the communal drive, even if it was passive, would have ultimately played a role in creating more fear in the bison herd and increasing the effectiveness of the drive (Barsh and

Marlor 2003).

Although 19th century and contemporary Plains Indians have knowledge of bison drives, jumps, and kills, their information is largely historical in nature, and not acquired and

tested through direct personal experience (Barsh and Marlor 2003). However, Blackfoot linguistics, cosmology, and geography can give clues as to how bison were driven, and kept moving to a target location, such as a jump or trap. Coupled with archaeological evidence of bison hunting on the Great Plains and in southeastern Idaho, especially on the eastern Snake

River Plain, ethnographic accounts of communal hunting strategies can be augmented.

Archaeological Evidence of Bison Hunting on the Great Plains and Southeastern Idaho:

Terminal Pleistocene to Contact

According to Frison (1991), successful acquisition of bison during prehistoric times required a phenomenal knowledge and familiarity with bison behavior. For jumps or drives to be effective, a large number of animals was essential. A small herd of bison could not be successfully stampeded over a trap feature because the limited number of animals behind the leaders of the herd do not represent enough force, mass, or momentum to push the entire herd forward. The leaders could therefore easily turn away from any cliff or escarpment in time.

On the Great Plains, many Late Prehistoric jump sites are associated with linear drive lanes constructed of stones that directed the stampeding animals to make a right turn immediately before the jump, preventing the herd leaders from seeing the precipice until it was too late.

Small group and individual hunting probably accounted for more kills over the course of prehistory than communal hunting, but communal efforts are more archaeologically visible and have received the most attention regarding archaeological investigations (Frison 1991).

The most successful method for hunting smaller herds is to drive them into a natural

“trap” or “funnel” that prevents their escape until they can be dispatched. On the Great

Plains, this “funnel” method appears in the archaeological record during the earliest

occupation periods (Guthrie 1980, Frison 1991). When examining the terminal

Pleistocene/early Holocene archaeological evidence of communal bison hunting on the northern and southern Great Plains, a basic pattern emerges: bison hunting typically occurred during the winter and specific kill sites were not consistently reused (Bamforth 2011).

Hunters did not typically make any archaeologically visible investment in hunting facilities and carcasses located within kill sites appear to be non-intensively butchered (Bamforth

2011). Archaeological evidence suggests that most communal bison hunting efforts utilized the natural topography of dry arroyo beds as traps (Frison 1991). Considering the seasonal characteristics of arroyos, such as spring run-off, a majority of the kills appear to date to the fall and winter (Frison 1991).

The seasonality of kills is likely a function of bison herding behavior (Speth 1983).

During the rut in late July and August, thousands of bison often converge, made up of herds ranging in size from 20-300 individuals (Tatum 1980). This is a pattern likely to have been typical of both historic and pre-contact times. During the rut, bulls converging with large herds of cows and calves are particularly unpredictable. Prior to the acquisition of the horse, attempting to drive bison during the rut would have been highly difficult and risky. A less challenging time to employ pedestrian hunting techniques may have been in the fall, winter, and mid-summer (Tatum 1980). During this time, bison separate into smaller herds comprised solely of bachelor bulls or cow/calf herds (Flannery 1953, McHugh 1972). These cow/calf herds would typically contain between 20 and 70 individuals and are more predictable in their behavior when bulls are not present. In addition, cows are at their maximum weight during the fall, making a hunt even more optimal for maximization of nutritional benefits. After the acquisition of the horse, hunting during the rut became more

feasible and less dangerous, allowing hunters to dispatch animals on an individual basis during high speed chases.

Several historical documents from the Great Plains present contradictory information regarding bison behavior and seasonal movements. Many note that bison migratory patterns were unpredictable (Roe 1970). However, Tatum (1980) argues that this unpredictability is a consequence of the disruptions associated with increasing human populations and overhunting. Bison behavior certainly fluctuated on an annual basis due to variable amounts of precipitation during Pre-contact times but bison behavior was still far from random.

Archaeological evidence attests to the fact that Native American hunters had an intimate knowledge of not only bison behavior, but also of ways in which the landscape offered opportunities to exploit bison (Bamforth 1987, Frison 1991, Hanson 1984, Kehoe 1973,

Morgan 1980, Tatum 1980). It was this knowledge base that allowed aboriginal populations to continually employ communal hunting methods to successfully secure bison herds predicated on their seasonal movements.

Because bison was a primary subsistence resource, the dynamics of bison behavior were intricately connected to every aspect of life among ethnographically known groups living on the Great Plains at the time of European contact. Great Plains research has also produced seasonality studies that indicate the majority of bison kills occurred in the late fall or late winter, due in part to bison behavior. As the archaeological record shows, pedestrian drives were more effective during the late fall after the rut, when bulls have departed the more docile herds comprised of maximum weight cows and calves.

Archaeological evidence suggests communal hunting strategies for bison procurement began to shift approximately 2,000-3,000 years ago. Bamforth (2011) notes that two primary

characteristics set apart middle to late Holocene bison kill sites from their early Holocene counterparts on the Great Plains: 1) jumps and corrals are used in communal hunting efforts which are tied to specific points on the landscape and are repeatedly reused, and 2) more intensive butchering of bison at these sites is exhibited in the faunal assemblage, including evidence of bone grease production.

Hunters began using cliffs or sinkholes to drive bison in the northern Great Plains, more specifically in Montana, Alberta, and Saskatchewan (Bamforth 2011). Bison procurement was occurring during all seasons and evidence of bone grease production

(calcined bone, fire-cracked rock, etc.) increased substantially from earlier periods. Fawcett

(1985) has argued that the archaeological evidence for the increase in bone grease production suggest that human populations became less mobile and were attempting to increase the efficiency of their kills. This “industrial” bison hunting strategy seen in the northern Great

Plains coincides with the expansion of the large scale trade and exchange networks linked to large community development during the Middle Woodland period. Based on archaeological evidence that includes an increase in bone grease production (which is used to make pemmican – a dried form of bison used in trade) and the repetitive kills seen at specific locales, bison procurement strategies shifted to accommodate northern Plains groups participating in an exchange network that extended well into the Contact period (Bamforth

2011). Furthermore, the middle Holocene drying trend suggests that bison and people were responding to environmental changes that likely impacted forage and resource availability.

Just as bison hunting strategies may have been affected by Plains groups participating in extensive trade networks and responding to drying climatic conditions, the introduction of

the bow and arrow, as well as the acquisition of horses (for some groups), it would have also impacted hunting strategies, success rates, and social relations.

The Bow and Arrow. Based on archaeological evidence throughout the Intermountain

West, bow and arrow technology appears to have been accepted very rapidly, beginning approximately 1,500 years ago (Frison 1991). Although this change in technology was extremely important to prehistory in a general sense, it may not have resulted in an increase in bison procurement (Frison 1991). Evidence from bison kill sites does not indicate that bow and arrow technology was more efficient in penetrating and killing bison than dart and atlatl technology which hunters employed for thousands of years throughout the Holocene (Frison

1991).

However, bow and arrow technology did afford hunters with several advantages.

Smaller points and arrow shafts were easier to make, they conserved resources, they had a longer range, and proficiency was easier to attain. An individual can draw an arrow back in virtually any position: sitting, standing, or even kneeling. The hunter is less conspicuous with a bow and arrow, and when movements and noise are limited, an animal is more easily ambushed. Atlatl technology requires an individual’s body to be fully engaged in order to obtain the velocity needed to penetrate a bison hide. Therefore, the movement required to throw a dart point properly may alert the animal to danger. In addition, atlatl technology probably worked best with animals that were committed to a course of movement (such as a drive) or with animals that were watching something that distracted them from the movement of the hunter throwing the dart.

The Horse. During the 18th and 19th centuries, observations of some Plains groups reflect a pattern more closely related to the types of strategies used by Native American hunters throughout the Holocene. Large groups of people would leave their winter or summer villages and travel to areas where bison were likely to be present (based on intimate knowledge of bison behavior and the landscape). The hunting parties did not make their way to specific locations that were previous kill sites; rather, a hunt would be initiated on an encounter basis when the group came across a herd of bison. Although horses became available in the 1700s for some groups, such as the Pawnee, they were used for travel and transport purposes, and not necessarily as a strategic tool for specific hunts (Roper 1989).

For the equestrian post-Contact Shoshone-Bannock, who hunted large herds of bison across the Continental Divide after 1690, the behavioral characteristics of small bison herds would have had no effect on their hunting strategies. With the adoption of the horse, aboriginal groups were able to remove several hazards and risks associated with pedestrian hunting techniques, while also increasing the bulk return rates of bison. During the historic periods, methods of impounding and driving bison to jumps gradually became less desirable given the flexibility of hunting on horseback. Traditional pound and jump locations were eventually abandoned; however, the timing of their abandonment is unknown and was variable among groups. Ewers (1955) noted that the only tribes that were still using pounds and jumps with frequency in 1850 were the horse-poor Assiniboine and Plains Cree.

The bison “chase” on horseback became the new communal hunting strategy and offered several advantages over other traditional methods (Verbicky-Todd 1984). On horseback, hunters did not have to ensure that bison were in specific geographic locations, often taking several days to execute a hunt successfully, and vulnerable to unexpected

changes in the environment (e.g., wind direction). The hunt was more efficient with regard to time spent, as observed by early explorers, taking as little as 15 minutes (Verbicky-Todd

1984). The hunt was also less dependent on knowledge of bison behavior or individual aptitudes for bison calling, decoying, or frightening.

It is possible that the introduction of the horse is at least partially responsible for the loss of bison herds in Idaho after 1840, and the fur trappers were indiscriminate in the slaughter of bison. The archaeological record from the eastern Snake River Plain indicates that, despite the challenges associated with hunting smaller herds, pedestrian hunters were still successful during much of prehistory. Because bison hunting during the 19th century may have required drastically different techniques than prehistoric bison hunting, it is quite possible that there are strong contrasts between aboriginal subsistence patterns during the

Holocene and the subsistence activities recorded by ethnographers in the historic era.

Communal Hunting and Social Organization. In Great Plains prehistory, bison was the pivotal resource and provided a bulk of the food year-round as well as durable hides and bones for other necessities such as blankets, housing, and tools. Although other resources were needed to supplement the diet and to produce other necessities (e.g., clothing, shelter), bison was paramount. The linguistic records of ethnographic groups on the Great Plains attest to the importance of bison to prehistoric groups. Each group had several words for “bison” and they were distinguished by important aspects of their lives, such as male and female bison, young and old, or fat and lean (Brink 2008). Other groups had different words for the different methods of bison hunting. For example, the Omaha had words for single hunts by men, single hunts by families, communal drives, etc. (Brink 1992).

Communal hunts were of great importance to the subsistence of prehistoric groups and they also played a role in their safety, social organization, and their culture. Communal hunting methods would have required a group of well-organized people to live together during certain times of the year. This rendered groups less vulnerable to outside threats or potential rivals. Furthermore, living together in larger groups, sometimes comprising of several bands, would have facilitated the maintenance of cultural traditions (Verbicky-Todd

1984).

Due to the multi-faceted importance of communal hunting, pre-hunt activities were regularly practiced and hunting restrictions enforced in an effort to bring a successful hunt to the group (Verbicky-Todd 1984). Among Great Plains people, pre-hunt activities included ceremonies designed to: charm bison close to camp, summon bison to enter a trap, and invite submissive behavior in the bison to make acquisition less complicated. Activities included songs, charms, dances, mimicry, and offerings and prayers. The activities emphasized that the supernatural played a big role in the success of the hunt (McHugh 1979). Among Great

Plains groups, individual or small group hunting was prohibited during the preparations of a communal hunt (Verbicky-Todd 1984). This was to ensure that bison were not distressed and stunned by hunters that would set the bison herd into flight.

A cursory examination of the archaeological record of the Great Plains, as well as social and technological changes seen throughout the Holocene by Plains groups has revealed how communal hunting strategies may have changed over time. An examination of specific archaeological assemblages from several well-known bison drives on the Great Plains can provide additional comparative information relevant to the current analysis of the unique assemblage at Owl Cave.

Archaeological Evidence of Bison Drives on the Great Plains

Although the eastern Snake River Plain and the mountains and valleys of southeastern

Idaho represent a distinct ecological and archaeological context to that of the northern Great

Plains, archaeological evidence of bison drives, traps, and jumps in this area can provide insight to the characteristics that are necessary for a successful communal bison hunt.

Most of the known bison traps occur in the northern Great Plains and show evidence of use as early as 11,000 BP. These early sites indicate that people were driving bison into small, natural traps including arroyos, sand, mud, or timber and brush “pounds” (Chatters et al. 1995, Frison 1991, Reeves 1978, Stanford 1978). Using these types of strategies, smaller herds were easier to handle due to the fact that the animals needed to be kept close together and constantly manipulated to specific locations (Frison 1991). Once trapped, individual bison would attempt to escape and if one is successful, other animals in the herd will attempt to follow. Therefore, communal hunters during this time may have targeted smaller herds.

However, these types of strategies do not preclude the possibility that bison populations were quite abundant on the Great Plains during the late Pleistocene/early Holocene.

Bison hunting during the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene transition consisted of trapping bison in arroyos and in “pits.” Located in eastern Wyoming, the Agate Basin site is a Folsom and Plano-aged site that utilized the features within an arroyo to trap bison for at least a thousand-year period (Frison 1991, Frison and Stanford 1982). There are several documented bison bone beds within the site complex that have shown approximately 7-10 bison were taken at a time; however, due to the taphonomic processes seen within arroyos, these numbers could be higher. There is evidence of bison trapping at the Lindenmier Folsom

site, where nine individuals appear to be in a bison “pit.” The Carter/Kerr-McGee site is also located in an arroyo headcut and evidence of bison trapping occurs at the site from the late

Pleistocene well into the early to middle Holocene (Frison 1984). Bison trap sites with

Folsom components indicate that the hunters were successfully taking small numbers of bison on a regular basis. However, there is some evidence of larger kill sites during the early

Holocene as represented by the Olsen-Chubbuck site in Colorado.

Figure 5.1. Olsen-Chubbuck “fossil arroyo” (Wheat et al. 1972).

The number of bison at the Olsen-Chubbuck site far exceeds the single digit numbers of the preceding sites, as approximately 200 bison were stampeded into a narrow, deep arroyo during a single event (Figure 5.1).Tooth eruption schedules indicate that animals of all ages were taken, and both sexes, and may indicate a late summer or early fall kill (Wheat et

al.1972). Although the deeply incised “fossil arroyo” was extremely efficient at killing a large number of bison, the geographic feature wasn’t necessary conducive to butchering all the animals that were dispatched. At the Olsen-Chubbuck site, the bison in the bottom of the arroyo were left intact or only partially butchered, leaving a loss of significant meat products

(Wheat et al. 1972).

Similar to the Olsen-Chubbuck site, excavations at the Horner site in northwest

Wyoming revealed the presence of 68 individuals within a bone bed dated to roughly 10,000 years ago (Frison 1991). However, the topography at the Horner site does not lend itself to a natural trap. The bison bone is found in a shallow depression that was formed by the meandering Shoshone River on top of a cobble terrace (Frison 1991). Interestingly, the edges of the bison bone bed are abrupt and suggest that despite the lack of a natural trap, there could possibly have been an artificial structure to contain the bison into one area (Frison

1991). There would have been timber available in the immediate area to construct a corral- like feature. Furthermore, productive grasslands within 12 kilometers of the site and the availability of water at the Shoshone River would have made the area ideal for bison procurement and allow hunters to take advantage of regular movements of the herds (Frison

1991).

It is not until approximately 5,500 BP when larger kills were represented in the archaeological record (Frison 1991). These sites were repeatedly used for generations and represented large, organized efforts of communal hunting. After 2,000 BP, not only did the number of jump sites on the Great Plains increase considerably, but the size of the kills increased as well. Just as smaller herds were potentially targeted in communal hunting that utilized natural trap features during the early Holocene, larger herds may have been targeted

for the characteristic “bison jump” of the late Holocene. Larger herds are more easily stampeded over a bluff. Brink (1992) postulates that the increase in the number and size of bison kill sites implies human population growth, a heavier reliance on pemmican and jerky, as well as trade of these items to agricultural towns in the Mississippi Basin.

Interestingly, despite similar ecology and topography to the northern Great Plains, large-scale bison kills on the southern Great Plains have not been identified (Bemant and

Buehler 1994, Byerly et al. 2005, Wedel 1986). Some have argued that this contrast is due to

“soft-technology” or expertise in long-term driving of bison in the northern Great Plains

(Barsh and Marlor 2003). Brink (1992:13) asserts that successful bison jumps were not only an exceptional amount of work, but they were also the “culmination of thousands of years of shared and passed-on tribal knowledge of the environment, the lay of the land, and the behavior and biology of the buffalo.” One example of this is Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump located in southwestern Alberta, Canada.

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is located at the southern terminus of the Porcupine

Hills in Alberta, Canada. The rolling nature of the hills and surrounding landscape made an ideal place for bison to graze as well as prehistoric hunters to manage and hunt herds with success (Brink 2008). The jump site offered advantages other than just a steep cliff; at this location people had the ability to conceal themselves and manipulate the herd. It is suspected that Head-Smashed-In was used hundreds of times and more than 100,000 bison were killed over a 6,000-year period (Brink 2008).

The deepest and oldest bison bones and associated tools at Head-Smashed-In were excavated approximately 10 meters below the current ground surface and date to approximately 5,800 BP (Brink 2008). Currently, the cliff edge is 10 meters above the

ground surface. At the time of deposition of the earliest jumping events, the fall would have been approximately 20 meters. This fall would have been high enough to kill most of the bison, or at least severely maim or injure them.

Located in northeast Wyoming, the Vore Buffalo Jump Site is one of the largest known bison procurement sites on the Great Plains. Although the site could technically be considered a jump, portions of the topographic feature acted as a trap (Reher and Frison

1980). This unique feature consists of a 65 meter diameter sinkhole within gypsum deposits near the Black Hills. The feature is located on the top of a gentle rise in country of moderate relief, and is difficult to see until almost directly upon the sinkhole (Reher and Frison 1980).

The earliest documentation of bison procurement at the site dates to 500 BP and lasted for about 300 years. These deposits contain associated side-notched and tri-notched projectile points characteristic of the Late Prehistoric period (1,800 BP – 500 BP).

Approximately 10% of the site was excavated, and based on the number of bison encountered, it is estimated that the sinkhole may contain as many as 20,000 bison (Reher and Frison 1980). Based on faunal analyses and stratigraphy, five separate kill events were documented, and all occurred in the fall with one exception, which happened in the late spring. There is evidence of at least one drive lane that begins one kilometer away from the sinkhole feature. Unfortunately, farming activities have removed portions of the drive lane features, and could possibly have removed other potential drive lanes from other directions than the southwest (Frison 1991, Reher and Frison 1980).

Due to the unique feature at the site, environmental data was accurately obtained from the stratigraphic deposits. The sinkhole feature acted as a sort of rain gauge that produced laminations or varves that represent the level of precipitation within a given year; thicker

laminations would indicate more precipitation (Reher and Frison 1980). Interestingly, the five jump events occurred, on average, four years after periods of maximum precipitation.

One explanation of this pattern could indicate that higher precipitation improved the grasslands in the area, which then improved breeding conditions (Frison 1991). With an increase in bison populations, spurred by a high precipitation year, hunters may have decided to communally hunt to take advantage of the increase in available resources, as is evident by the deposits at the Vore Buffalo Jump Site.

Archaeological evidence of communal bison hunting on the Great Plains is numerous, and suggests bison have been available from the terminal Pleistocene/early Holcene transition up until the Historic period. Although fluctuations in climate on a seasonal and decadal level may have impacted the strategies employed by aboriginal hunters, the overall patterns suggest that when bison were available, aboriginal hunters were utilizing communal hunting strategies to obtain them. This examination of bison hunting in the archaeological record on the Great Plains can provide insight on the similarities to the techniques and strategies representing the mass kill of bison at Owl Cave. However, it is important to discuss the context of bison procurement on the eastern Snake River Plain and surrounding river valleys to fully understand the uniqueness and potential significance of the Owl Cave deposits.

Figure 5.2. Location of excavated sites with bison remains in southeastern Idaho.

Archaeological Evidence of Bison Hunting in Southeastern Idaho

The temporal distribution of bison assemblages obtained from archaeological investigations at several locales in southeastern Idaho suggest that bison have been procured by human foragers within the region for at least the last 9,000 years. Coupling archaeological evidence with the paleoclimatic environmental data presented in Chapter II demonstrates that there would have been fluctuations in bison availability, but they were indeed used by aboriginal inhabitants of this region. The archaeological and paleoclimatic evidence challenges Steward’s (1938) assertion that prehistoric populations in the region did not acquire significant amounts of bison because herds were small, and unevenly distributed, and/or because of the extreme challenges that pedestrian hunters had to face while trying to procure bison. A synopsis of excavated sites with documented bison remains in southeastern

Idaho is presented in the pages to follow. Locations discussed in the text are shown in Figure

5.2.

Wilson Butte Cave. Located on the Snake River Plain in south-central Idaho (see

Figure 5.2), Wilson Butte Cave was excavated in the late 1950s by Ruth Gruhn.

Archaeological deposits in the cave produced dates of 14,500 to 15,000 RCYBP from the lowest layers, and a series of consecutive occupations throughout the Holocene into the

Protohistoric Period (Gruhn 1961, 2006). The faunal assemblage at the site included a large sample of small mammal and bird remains believed to have been deposited by roosting raptors in the cave. Analysis of these remains was used to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental conditions of the area surrounding the site (Gruhn 1961). The faunal assemblage attributed to cultural processes consists of some deer and antelope remains, but bison made up a majority of the identifiable large mammal bones. The earliest radiocarbon date associated with bison

at Wilson Butte Cave is 6,830 ± 300 RCYBP and these deposits are interpreted as short visits by bison hunters (Gruhn 1961). However, after 4,000 RCYBP archaeological deposits reflect a period of more intensive use of the cave, as characterized by an abundance of bison remains in these later deposits. Gruhn (1961) postulated that bison hunting in the sagebrush grasslands that surround the cave was the most important economic activity during this time.

Bison and Veratic Rockshelters. Located in Idaho’s Birch Creek Valley, north of the

Snake River Plain (see Figure 5.2), Bison and Veratic rockshelters were excavated by Earl

Swanson in the 1960s. The deeply stratified cultural deposits found in these excavations provide a record of human use over the last 10,000 years. Excavations at the rockshelters produced bison bone in all stratigraphic levels at the site; however, a relative increase in numbers is seen in deposits dating between 3,300 RCYBP and the Late Prehistoric period

(Swanson 1972). The minimum number of individuals (MNI) was calculated for each stratigraphic level for bison, mountain sheep, and deer in both rockshelters. Bison far surpasses the totals for all species with a cumulative MNI of 170, whereas mountain sheep and deer were found to total MNIs of 80 and 45, respectively (Swanson 1972). Projectile points and game processing tools comprise approximately 85% of the artifact assemblage, leading Butler (1978) to conclude that the two rockshelters served primarily as short term hunting camps throughout their lengthy occupations during the Holocene. Clearly, the Birch

Creek rockshelters reflect emphasis on big game hunting, a pattern also seen in Weston

Canyon Rockshelter located south of the Snake River Plain.

Weston Canyon Rockshelter. Located in the Bannock Range of southeastern Idaho, south of the eastern Snake River Plain (see Figure 5.2), Weston Canyon Rockshelter was excavated in the early 1970s by Delisio and Miller, and then again in the 1990s by Brooke

Arkush. These excavations revealed a well stratified sequence of cultural deposits ranging from 8,000 to 2,000 RCYBP (Arkush 1999, Delisio 1971, Miller 1972). Along with a significant assemblage of projectile points and game processing tools, the excavations also yielded a faunal assemblage dominated by approximately 300 mountain sheep. In addition to mountain sheep, other large mammal remains, such as elk (n=16), deer (n=8), and bison

(n=9) were also noted in the deposits. Considering the faunal assemblage, it appears the site was used for specialized big-game hunting repeatedly for a 6,000-year period (Arkush 1999,

Miller 1972).

Baker Cave IIII. Located in the Wapi Lava Flow of the eastern Snake River Plain in south-central Idaho (see Figure 5.2), Baker Caves I/II/III were excavated by Mark Plew, Max

Pavesic, and Mary Anne Davis in the 1980s to prevent the loss of archaeological data being impacted by looting (Plew et al. 1987). Baker Caves I and II produced a limited amount of cultural material. However, Baker Cave III appears to have been occupied throughout the

Late Prehistoric period and bison is the only large mammal recovered at the site. At least 17 individuals are represented in the faunal assemblage, and the presence of fetal bones indicates they were harvested in a late winter kill (Plew et al. 1987). A reexamination of the

Baker Cave bison material indicated that the assemblage contains a significantly larger amount of bison and represents at least 37 individuals (Breslawski and Byers 2014).

The Rock Springs Site. Located on a stream terrace in Arbon Valley, south of the eastern Snake River Plain (see Figure 5.2), the Rock Springs Site was excavated by Brooke

Arkush in the mid-1990s (Arkush 2002). Inventory of the surrounding site area revealed the presence of strategically placed hunting blinds at high points above a narrow draw. It appears this topographic feature was used to drive animals, which restricted them and allowed for

easier dispatch (Arkush 2002). Excavations revealed the presence of seven distinct bison bone beds and a collective MNI of 17 adult bison. Several of the bone beds contained fetal remains, suggesting a late winter/early spring kill. However, one bone bed contained adult bulls and cows, suggesting an early fall kill. Radiocarbon dates indicated that these kill and butchering events occurred between A.D. 1,050-1,750 (Arkush 2002).

10BV93. Located in the Willow Creek Hills, on the eastern edge of the eastern Snake

River Plain, southeast of Idaho Falls, Idaho (see Figure 5.2), 10BV93 was excavated by Jerry

Galm and Stan Gough in the late 1980s (Gough 1990), as part of a cultural resource investigation in advance of powerline installation. Investigations at 10BV93 indicate that a small number of bison were killed and butchered in this locality. Faunal analyses indicates that the kill/butchering was a single event with an MNI of five (Gough 1990). A radiocarbon date of 4,260±60 RCYBP was obtained from a fragment of bison bone (Gough 1990).

Wahmuza. Located near the Fort Hall Bottoms, near the southern margin of the eastern Snake River Plain (see Figure 5.2), the Wahmuza Site was excavated by Richard

Holmer and staff and students from Idaho State University (Holmer et al. 1986). The

Wahmuza Site is distinguished in southeast Idaho archaeology because excavations revealed several distinct house floors. The site is located on the current Fort Hall Indian Reservation ay a location identified by Steward (1938: Preface) as a Native Village Site. Archaeological investigations clearly demonstrate it is a residential base that is situated on a sandy knoll overlooking the confluence of two spring creeks. Seven radiocarbon dates were obtained from the excavated deposits at Wahmuza and suggest the site was occupied approximately

2,000 BP and well into the Protohistoric period. The faunal assemblage includes large mammals, such as deer; small mammals, such as rabbits and marmots; as well as waterfowl

and fish. A small amount of bison remains are also present in all levels of the site (Holmer et al. 1986), indicating a consistent reliance.

Challis Bison “Jump”/Quill Cave. Located near Challis, Idaho, in one of the broad alluvial valleys that border the northern edge of the eastern Snake River Plain (see Figure

5.2), the Challis Bison Jump/Quill Cave complex was excavated in the summer of 1970 by B.

Robert Butler and students at Idaho State University (Butler 1971). The site is comprised of bison bone beds located at the base of a talus slope on an alluvial fan above the Salmon

River. Originally, Butler (1971) interpreted the site as a bison jump with two steep escarpments serving as drives lanes. Due to poor preservation of the faunal remains, a definitive MNI could not be determined; however Butler (1971) suggested that 20-30 individuals were jumped at this location in a single event and dates to 1,030 RCYBP. A reexamination of the site, and more specifically the deposits within Quill Cave (at the base of the escarpment just in front of the kill area) have revealed an earlier date of the kill deposits of approximately 1,270 RCYBP (Cannon et al. 2003).

Aviator’s Cave. Located on the Idaho National Laboratory in southestern Idaho,

Aviator’s Cave is a collapsed lava tube that was excavated in the late 1980s by E. Skip

Lohse. The site shows areas of discrete activity over the span of a couple thousand years

(Lohse 1989). The preservation of the artifacts is excellent and did not show signs of historic disturbance from visitors. Stone features, sagebrush mats, twisted rabbit furs, a dentalium shell, Late Prehistoric period projectile points are among the artifacts identified within these areas of activity on the cave floor. In addition, approximately 56 diagnostic elements were identified as bison (Pace, personal communication 2013).

Cold Storage Lava Tube Caves. Of the hundreds of lava tube caves that have been documented on the eastern Snake River Plain, many of them contain cultural deposits.

However, only a few of these caves with cultural deposits show evidence of storage. These caves contain unique features that allow a constant ambient temperature of approximately

2°C and usually have visible ice or frozen sediment deposit accumulations in the deeper portions of the caves (Henrikson 2002). Excavations of the storage features within these caves indicate that aboriginal hunters were placing bison meat in between sagebrush stalks to freeze for a period of time, and then returning to extract the meat with elk antler tines and handstones (Henrikson 2002).

Located on the open sagebrush steppe of the eastern Snake River Plain, southeast of

Big Southern Butte (see Figure 5.2), Bobcat Cave is a lava tube cave system that was excavated by Suzann Henrikson in the mid-1990s. Limited test excavations at Bobcat Cave produced 29 identifiable bison or large-artiodactyl remains (Henrikson 1996, 2003).

Radiocarbon dates from charcoal within the sagebrush features indicate that episodic storing events were occurring between 4,360±70 and 4,110±70 RCYBP (Henrikson 2003).

Scaredy Cat Cave is located on the sagebrush steppe of the eastern Snake River Plain within a kipuka surrounded by Holocene-aged lava flows (see Figure 5.2), and was excavated in the early 2000s by Suzann Henrikson. The surface assemblage includes 20 bison bones, and test excavations revealed 33 bison or large-artiodactyl remains (Henrikson 2003). At least five separate storage events in Scaredy Cat Cave have been dated between 8,100 –

3,800 RCYBP (Henrikson 2003). Similarly, Tomcat Cave, excavated by Suzann Henrikson in the early 2000s, produced 25 identifiable bison or large-artiodactyl remains and represents at least two separate storage events occurring between 2,400 – 1,250 RCYBP (Henrikson

2003). Located just east of the Great Rift zone of the eastern Snake River Plain in the sagebrush steppe, Alpha Cave investigations also revealed bison storage (Henrikson et al.

2006). A total of 109 surface elements and 34 excavated faunal remains were identified as bison or large-artiodactyl remains. A radiocarbon sample of a sagebrush feature produced the date of 4,300 ± 60 RCYBP (Henrikson et al. 2006).

Based on this evidence, the practice of storing bison in cold caves on the Snake River

Plain has been occurring repeatedly for the last 8,000 years (Henrikson 2003). Storage of bison meat in cold storage caves could represent a resource patch, and storing activities may have been in response to seasonal or climate changes and associated fluctuations in resource availability (Henrikson 2003). Although we know very little about the seasonal migratory patterns of Snake River Plain bison, the mean Carbon 13 value of cold storage specimens indicates that bison were including some C4 plants in the diet (Henrikson and Guenther

2012). If grass productivity was sufficiently high during periods coinciding with cold storage events, as indicated by the isotopic analyses, the eastern Snake River Plain may have supported resident bison herds with more localized migratory patterns (Henrikson and

Guenther 2012). While Atriplex (or shadscale) isn’t nearly as appealing as bluebunch wheatgrass to bison, it could have been consumed as winter forage along with other palatable and nutritious plants such as winterfat in surrounding valleys to the north and south of the

Snake River. Based on the results of the isotopic analyses (Henrikson and Guenther 2012), the possibility that bison may have been absent on the eastern Snake River Plain during certain periods of the Holocene should be taken into consideration.

An examination of the MNI (where available) at sites containing bison on the eastern

Snake River Plain, represents relatively small numbers of bison being taken throughout the

Holocene. Similar to the Great Plains, archaeological evidence for bison hunting on the eastern Snake River Plain would been affected by a variety of factors including climate, bison populations, or shifts in technologies that made larger amounts of bison desirable for acquisition. What is unmistakable is that Owl Cave is an exception to this pattern.

Table 5.1. Temporal distribution and Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) of bison from excavated sites in southeastern Idaho. Site Radiocarbon MNI Reference Years Before Present Birch Creek Rockshelters 10,950 – 100 <14 Swanson (1972) (170) Owl Cave ~8,000 70 Butler (1968) 150 Miller and Dort (1978) Wilson Butte Cave 6,850 – 120 5 Gruhn (1961) Weston Canyon Rockshelter 5,000 – 200 9 Miller (1972) Arkush (1999) 10BV93 4,260 5 Gough (1990) Challis Bison “Jump”/Quill 1,030 20-30 Butler (1971) Cave 1,270 – 100 11 Cannon et al. (2003) Baker Cave III 930 – 810 17 Plew et al. (1987) 37 Breslawski and Byers (2014) Rock Springs 865 – 895 17 Arkush (2002)

The number of bison taken at Owl Cave approximately 8,000 years ago is a significant outlier when considering bison acquisition in eastern Idaho, and even in the Great

Plains, through time. The implication of communal hunting and a mass kill this early in time, especially on the Snake River Plain, is paramount. The ethnographic record demonstrates that communal hunting requires a large group of well-organized people to successfully acquire a large amount of bison. The characteristics necessary for a successful bison drive as noted in

ethnographic observations on the Great Plains have pointed to several important areas of inquiry regarding the archaeological record. The decision to communally hunt was reliant on several factors and the success rates of these hunts were dependent on a variety of natural phenomena that would opportunistically align with experienced and knowledgeable human groups. With these factors in mind, evidence suggests that environmental conditions on the eastern Snake River Plain during the early Holocene were supporting not only bison herds, but human populations, and that these groups were willing and able to invest in communal hunting strategies.

A renewed interest in archaeological sites containing evidence dating to the early

Holocene in the Intermountain West have led several researchers to explore new methods rather than reexamining existing information. Although questions regarding bison availability and paleoenvironmental conditions present during this time period can be addressed with existing collections and possibly future excavations at the Owl Cave, other avenues can be used to validate the archaeological evidence for successful communal hunting. This fresh approach to understanding the possibility of an early Holocene bison drive at Owl Cave will be conducted using Geographic Information System (GIS). Therefore, an examination of the specific characteristics existing at Owl Cave the within the surrounding landscape are presented in Chapter VI.

CHAPTER VI

OWL CAVE: GIS METHODS, ANALYSES, AND RESULTS

As outlined in Chapter V, literature on prehistoric hunting strategies has been consulted to identify some of the necessary characteristics for a successful bison drive

(Byerly et al. 2005, Cooper 2008, Frison 1991, Verbicky-Todd 1984). Many criteria must be met to encourage the use of a communal hunting strategy for the procurement of bison.

However, it is difficult to understand these criteria solely through an archaeological context.

Other resources such as Geographic Information System (GIS) applications can inform the analysis and produce meaningful information.

Geographic Information Systems has proved to be a useful tool in research; however, it is important to understand concepts and issues of “space” in the archaeological world.

Visual representations can be extremely beneficial to interpretation, and offer an efficient method of communication over verbal and statistical methods (Arnold 1982). GIS is an integrated technology, one in which an individual can interact with and understand spatial information, between time and space, as well as natural and anthropogenic landscapes

(Connolly and Lake 2006). The five basic functions of GIS are described as data acquisition, spatial data management, database management, spatial data analyses, and spatial data visualization.

Data acquisition for GIS can come in many forms. Spatial data accessible for GIS applications is available in the form of topographic maps, aerial photography, and geophysical data, and can usually be accessed through governmental and state databases

(McPherron and Dibble 2002). Data acquisition can also come from primary data collection and data entry. For example, an archaeologist can record the position of surface artifacts within an archaeological site boundary. When they get back to the lab, they can enter the collected positional data into a database or spreadsheet that can be converted into spatial dimensions within GIS. Various topographic maps or geophysical attributes, such as rivers and soils, can be added to understand more about the distribution of those artifacts (Connolly and Lake 2006). Another practical use of data acquisition is the use of aerial photography, as it can provide information not available on topographic maps or involve data that would take a significant amount of time to collect in the field (Connolly and Lake 2006).

The analysis of spatial data can provide archaeologists with proxy data that can help us understand past environments and landscape use. Locational, spatial, viewshed, and movement analyses can all contribute to this path of inquiry. Innovative ways of viewing spatial data in three dimensions may give insight to how people used their landscape

(Connolly and Lake 2006). Furthermore, GIS has the abilities to create hard-copy representations of the spatial data. This visual display of mapable data is one of the most important features of GIS because it allows an individual to understand a large amount of information in clear ways (Kvamme 1989).

GIS offers many available tools that are easily accessible and applied to collected data or research questions; however, if unguided or misguided, the application of these techniques may not be appropriate to apply in specific cases (Connolly and Lake 2006).

Researchers that understand and utilize GIS regularly may become dependent on the quick and easy answers provided from one click, and stray away from more in depth analytical questions (Connolly and Lake 2006). These criticisms probably represent the extreme cases in which a researcher is using a tool that they don’t know how to apply to their research question, and one in which a researcher refuses to use any other tools to answer their research question. This does not represent a reality for most, and these criticisms should be kept in mind when researchers decide to use GIS as a tool, however it is important to understand the possible misapplications. The future of GIS in archaeology can be seen as optimistic and many researchers feel that integrating developments in archaeological theory into GIS-based studies will provide a more useful tool used in addressing research questions.

GIS Analysis of Owl Cave

One study that exemplifies innovative ways to use GIS to answer archaeological research questions is the work conducted by Byerly and colleagues (2005) at Bonfire

Rockshelter in southeastern Texas. Byerly and colleagues (2005) modeled bison jumping at

Bonfire Shelter using GIS as a tool to evaluate the plausibility of a successful bison jump.

During the course of this study, researchers derived a list of six features that most often occur at bison jump sites to test the validity of Bonfire Shelter as a jump site using GIS applications

(Byerly et al. 2005, Cooper 2008, Frison 1991, Verbicky-Todd 1984). These include:

Ideal grazing conditions or water sources must be located in proximity to the jump or trap location. As discussed in Chapter II, the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene may have provided more productive grasslands for large herbivores than later periods characterized by drier, warmer climate. Although, paleoclimatic data necessary to understand

this transitional period on the eastern Snake River Plain is limited, the studies that have been completed do support this general pattern. At Contact, European observations of aboriginal activities on the Great Plains noted there was typically a large tract of grassland within the vicinity of the trap or jump location where bison would routinely gather (Forbis 1960,

Wissler 1910). Interestingly, a lake or body of water at which the bison were accustomed to drink was also common in this “gathering area” (Schaefer 1978). Shallow pluvial lakes, located approximately 20 kilometers north-northwest of the Wasden site, may have been an attraction for game of all sizes on the eastern Snake River Plain (Figure 6.1).

Long-distance bison driving is essential to the use of jumps or trap locations. On the basis of the topography at known jump sites on the Great Plains, drives of 25-30 kilometers are not impossible (Reeves 1978, Reher and Frison 1980). European observations of

Blackfoot bison hunts in the 1790s on the Great Plains reported that often times driving bison took place over several days before they reached the anticipated location of acquisition

(Verbicky-Todd 1984).

Changing environmental conditions beginning at 11,000 RCYBP resulted in retreating lake levels and by 7,000 RCYBP, the onset of the middle Holocene, they were gone completely (Minckley et al. 2004). The environment during the early Holocene would have been more patchy than during the terminal Pleistocene. The distribution of projectile points from the Plano tradition indicate that people were still taking advantage of a large animal resource base at or near the pluvial lake complex (Long 2007), while the numerous

Plano points found in association with the bone bed at Wasden suggest that the sagebrush steppe habitat surrounding the site was used as well.

Figure 6.1. Location of the Wasden Site in relation to the maximum extent of the pluvial lake complex.

An examination of the digital raster graphic (DRG) reveals the presence of intermittent streams in the area surrounding the Wasden site (Figure 6.2). Presently, there is a lack of a perennial water source in the immediate vicinity of the site; however, based on paleoenvironmental data, existing intermittent stream channels may have been more permanent during the early Holocene suggesting a potential for a more productive resource patch. Furthermore, ephemeral ponds dispersed across the steppe may have provided seemingly contiguous resource patches, highly productive for both game and humans

(Henrikson 2002)

Figure 6.2. Location of intermittent stream channels within the vicinity of the Wasden Site.

The bison herd must be large enough to ensure enough momentum is gained to drive the bison into a trap feature. As discussed in Chapter II, preliminary faunal analyses of the bison bone bed estimate 150 individuals were dispatched in two separate mass kill events at Owl Cave (Miller and Dort 1978). Although these numbers are significantly lower than the number represented in a majority of the Late Prehistoric Great Plains bison jumps (Frison

1991), they do indicate that eastern Snake River Plain bison herds were sizable, at least during the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene.

A long, flat, and relatively straight path is needed for a drive lane. These conditions allow the herd to gain momentum, and provide little opportunity for escape. Knowledge of the topography to establish natural drive lanes was crucial to successfully drive a herd to a jump or trap location. Sometimes natural drive lanes were enhanced with other materials such as rocks, brush, or bison dung (often burning), to help ensure bison ended up at the critical trap or jump location. These human-constructed elaborations along drive lanes acted

as visual “walls,” which bison were inclined to avoid despite their ability to easily breach these types of features (Verbicky-Todd 1984). At Head-Smashed-In, approximately 500 rock cairns were constructed along a 12 kilometer drive lane (Brink 2008, Reeves 1978). Butler

(1978) noted rock piles on the bluff above the bison kill area at Challis Bison “Jump”/Quill

Cave. A considerable amount of effort was required for the construction of these features and they represent a long-term investment by groups to communal hunts at a particular strategic location (Barsh and Marlor 2003).

The height of the piles of materials constructed to enhance the drive lanes was variable, although many on the Great Plains are described as generally about a meter high.

Sometimes they were smaller, described as being “about knee high” (e.g., Fidler 1793), and sometimes they were large enough to conceal a squatting individual. The shapes of the drive lanes observed historically were variable; however, most exhibited a V-shaped construction pattern, which acted to constrict bison into a smaller lane as they approached the jump terminus of the drive. In some cases, there were two or three parallel lanes (Malouf and

Conner 1962) and in other cases there were multiple lanes, sometimes crisscrossing, that could be used to push bison into singular or multiple jump-off or trap locations (Medicine

Crow 1978). The length of documented drive lanes is also variable and likely a result of topography and distance between large grassland tracts or bison gathering areas and the jump or trap locations.

A drive lane complex normally consists of two parts. One part is designed to bring the herd into position for the final full-speed drive, and the other is the final drive lanes that usually consisted of the stone and/or organic piles guiding bison to the target location (Frison

1991). Archaeological evidence of existing drive lanes indicates that bison were carefully

driven to the beginning of the final drive lanes, some distance away from the target location.

Then the hunters changed strategies of carefully maneuvering the herd to initiating an outright panic. This would get the herd moving as quickly as possible and into the long, flat area between the final drive lanes. A quick turn of a right angle at the end of the final drive lane would be used to keep the bison from seeing the jump or trap location (Frison 1991).

The hunters would strive to keep the herd panicked, yet controlled, in tight formation, and pushed at top speed (Frison 1991).

Despite the availability of basalt from eroding outcrops, a survey of the area surrounding the Wasden site was unsuccessful in identifying rock piles that could have potentially served as guided drive lanes leading to the collapsed tube (Miller, personal communication 2008). However, the absence of such visible features on the current ground surface does not necessarily rule out the possibility that hunters used drive lanes at Owl

Cave. Cattle grazing and wheat grass cultivation have impacted the ground surface within the plow-zone (12 inches), and could have obscured or dispersed any rock features that may have been present. It is also possible that taphonomic processes, such as aeolian deposits, have buried or partially buried these features, leaving them difficult to distinguish on the current ground surface. Additionally, if the faunal assemblage indeed only represents two hunting events, there may have been a lack of incentive to construct more permanent features such as rock cairns seen at other drive locations in which the evidence shows repeated use over hundreds or thousands of years. Rather, earth, brush, and bison dung may have been more economical for construction of enhancements to the natural drive lanes leading to Owl Cave due to lighter weight and more ready availability. Due to the organic nature of these features, they would be absent in the archaeological record.

A regional digital elevation model (DEM) indicates that the landscape surrounding

Owl Cave is characterized as relatively flat with some gently rolling terrain (Figure 6.3). The regional DEM is not sufficiently detailed to fully reveal small changes in elevation on the eastern Snake River Plain. Consequently, a detailed topographic data collection of the immediate site vicinity was undertaken to examine the microtopography of the study area and test the feasibility that Owl Cave functioned as the final jump off or drop in destination for a bison drive.

Field Methods. To assess the possibility of drive lanes leading to Owl Cave, an intensive survey was undertaken in the area surrounding the collapsed lava tubes to collect data regarding elevation, slope, and other natural geographic features. Three field visits were carried out between July 2008 and November 2009. In July 2008, approximately 200 elevation data points were taken using a Total Station Leica TCR110 in a 50 meter grid within a 0.5 km squared area around the three collapsed tubes. In November 2009, approximately 250 elevation data points were taken to define the physical configuration of all three cave rims and interiors. In addition, 7,500 elevation data points were extrapolated from

18 square kilometers surrounding the collapsed tubes, using Owl Cave as a source point, from the United States Geographic Survey (USGS) Kettle Butte, Idaho, and Butterfly Butte,

Idaho, 7.5’ topographic maps. A 10-foot contour interval on the topographic maps provided additional detailed elevation data, and was used to create a high-resolution DEM. With the combination of the regional DEM and the high-resolution DEM from the intensive mapping of the surrounding area, the “natural” drive lanes can be tested more thoroughly using tools available in GIS.

Figure 6.3. Regional Digital Elevation Model showing the location of Wasden on the eastern Snake River Plain, USGS.

Digital Elevation Model (DEM) Analysis. One of the various tasks of GIS that is beneficial to archaeologists is the creation of digital elevation models (DEMs) by interpolation algorithms. The most basic, and sometimes most useful, result of a created

DEM is a visualization of the topography and data in relation to terrain (Wheatley and

Gillings 2002). However, there are several interpolation algorithms and it is crucial to understand how they work with regards to the data, so the best suited algorithm can be applied to a particular research question (Connolly and Lake 2006, Hageman and Bennett

2000). Misuse of interpolation algorithms can result in a misinterpretation of topographic data. The main concept of interpolation is that two points that are closer together will be more similar than two points further apart, so unknown locations can be estimated on known values in the area (Hageman and Bennett 2000). Four interpolation models, Ordinary

Kriging, Universal Kriging, Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW), and Triangulated Irregular

Network (TIN) will be discussed below.

Ordinary Kriging assumes that the variation within a given area is the result of a constant trend; a random, spatially correlated component; or random noise (Hageman and

Bennett 2000). This type of interpolation is not recommended for the creation of a DEM in an area that has sharp breaks in the landscape (Connolly and Lake 2006, Hagemen and

Bennett 2000). Universal Kriging can be used with a data set that considers more variation; however, it is not well-suited for extreme variation such as the cliffs and ridges that are avoided in Ordinary Kriging algorithms. The Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) algorithm calculates the unknown elevation at a point by computing an average value from a fixed distance (Hagemen and Bennett 2000). The result of this interpolation algorithm has a more smoothing effect than Ordinary and Universal Kriging algorithms (Hagemen and Bennett

2000, Wheatley and Gillings 2002), and works well with well-spaced data points (Connolly and Lake 2006). However, using IDW can be problematic because there is no easy way to assess how accurate the model is and how well it reflects the data set, due to the smoothing factor (Connolly and Lake 2006). Using a Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) algorithm can produce more accurate stream channels, ridges, and cliffs because it captures the overall landform rather than a set of data points that is represented in contour lines (Hagemen and

Bennett 2000, Wheatley and Gillings 2000). A representation of TIN is an unrealistic, triangular imprint that represents accurate data, despite the need for a pleasing visualization of a landscape model (Connolly and Lake 2006).

Depending on the landscape that is the basis for creating a DEM, a different type of interpolation algorithm should be chosen to reflect a necessity of more detail of a complex landscape, or a smoothing effect to show a more accurate portrayal of the topography.

Sometimes a smoothing effect seen in the DEM is important for landscape visualization, however if it offers inaccurate data regarding slope and aspect, it cannot be used for spatial analysis (Connolly and Lake 2006, Wheatley and Gillings 2002).The best way to ascertain which interpolation algorithm is best suited for the data set, is to compare multiple algorithms from a data set to actual elevations at known points (Hagemen and Bennett 2000).

Considerations to the type of data, the assumptions of the algorithms, desired accuracy, and processing time will allow an archaeologist to make a qualified decision and create an accurate DEM (Connolly and Lake 2006). Once an interpolation algorithm is chosen and a

DEM is created, there are multiple ways in which to use this type of dataset to inquire about archaeological questions.

The high-resolution DEM for the purposes of this study was created using the inverse weight distance (IWD) interpolation algorithm (Figure 6.4). The IWD algorithm is the most appropriate interpolation method given well-spaced data points on a 50 meter grid (Connolly and Lake 2006). To reduce error, the 200 newly collected data points collected in July 2008 were cross checked with elevation data from the 7.5’ topographic maps (Connolly and Lake

2006).

Using the point data that formed the basis for the high-resolution data DEM, the degree of slope was extrapolated and classified into five categories for the 18 km area surrounding

Owl Cave (Figure 6.5). White and light grey represent relatively flat ground, intermediately sloped areas are represented in dark grey, and heavily sloped terrain represented by black. If slope is reclassified into two categories, white representing less slope or “flat” areas, and black indicating more slope or “non-flat” areas, the picture becomes less cluttered (Figure

6.6). However, dichotomization of the elevation renders the intermediately sloped areas as

“non-flat.” The degree to which these “non-flat” (10 feet slope value or less) areas may affect a potential bison drive lane is unknown. However, such dichotomization of elevations results in the majority of the area being classified as white, thereby providing a compelling case for various potential drive lanes.

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Figure 6.4. High-resolution Digital Elevation Model created from point data collected in the field and from USGS topographic maps

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Figure 6.5. Slope classified into five categories.

Figure 6.6. Slope classified into two categories.

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Least-Cost Pathways Analysis. Thirty-five arbitrary starting points (500 meters apart) for potential drive lanes originating at the margins of the DEM were created for further analysis.

These starting points represent the source of a drive lane (path) and Owl Cave is defined as the target. In least-cost pathways analysis, the path costs, or the amount of effort with regard to distance, direction, and slope are measured from the source points to the target (Figure

6.7).

When path costs are shown as a value from high to low (in terms of relative costs incurred), a pattern of least cost becomes clear (Figure 6.8). The least-cost pathways, represented in black, tend to radiate from the northern source points, while the southwestern and eastern routes, rendered in grey, clearly become more costly pathways. The highest cost pathways are those that originate on the southwestern side of Kettle Butte, as rendered in white. Thus, based upon slope and elevation, the least-cost pathways for potential drive lanes originate from the north of Owl Cave. Interestingly, the paths originating from the 12 most northern and northwestern starting points all converge at one point and continue to the target for approximately 1,350 meters (see Figure 6.8). Based upon the relative cost incurred along the 35 paths that were created using the least-cost path tool in GIS, eight routes

(approximately 20 percent) were selected for further analysis based on the smallest percentage of high cost and cardinal direction (Figure 6.9).

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Figure 6.7. Least-cost pathways from 35 arbitrary source points, to the target, Owl Cave.

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Figure 6.8. Relative cost pathways, valued high to low from the 35 arbitrary source points. Note the 1,350 meter converged path from the northern and northwestern routes just north of the Wasden site.

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Figure 6.9. Least-cost pathways selected for further analysis.

Bison must be unable to see the trap feature until they are directly upon it, giving them little opportunity to escape. This criterion is a key component to a successful bison jump or trap. The animal’s propensity to perceive danger is difficult to test empirically.

Nevertheless, inferences about the visual perspective available to a herd of bison can be made by a spatial tool in GIS known as viewshed analysis. A viewshed analysis provides information regarding the visibility of a target of choice on a raster dataset (such as a DEM) from a single or multiple observation points. The height of the observer at a given location can also be accounted for within this type of analysis. After the analysis is run, the output is a raster dataset (graphical representation using arrays of pixels): each cell or pixel contains one of two values, where 0=Not Visible and 1=Visible.

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For the purposes of this analysis, the target is established as the collapse crater of Owl

Cave and to assess the overall visibility of this feature, 10 random observer points were generated in GIS along the eight least-cost pathways that were selected for further analysis.

The average height of bison at eye-level is 5.5 feet. This figure is an average of male and female differences, as well as differences in the height of Bison antiquus and Bison bison.

Along each of the eight routes, a viewshed analysis was conducted at each of the 10 randomly generated observer points to determine at what points the collapse crater at the entrance of Owl Cave would have been visible to the leaders of the herd (e.g., Figures 6.10-

6.12). For each observer point, the analysis output is a raster dataset and cells are coded to

“0” or “1” and are visually represented as “not visible” in grey and “visible” in white. A consideration to the feasibility of each path is given below with regard to when a bison herd would have seen the rim of Owl Cave along the potential drive lane.

Path 1

Path 1 originates from the northwest and is approximately 4,511 meters in length (Figures

6.10-6.12). The path trajectory is southeasterly, until approximately 3,000 meters from the starting point when it changes to directly due south, and then approximately 150 meters before the target, it makes a turn due west until it reaches the cave depression. At observer point (OP) 101, which is approximately 385 meters from the starting point, the cave depressions are not visible. However, the ridge to the west of the caves is visible in OP 102-

104. The cave depressions are not visible along the entire path, camouflaged by the ridge to the west of the depressions and some topography to the north as well (Table 6.1). This path has a high probability of success in getting a herd of bison to the collapse crater’s edge, and will be considered for further analysis.

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Figure 6.10. Viewshed analysis of Path 1 at observer points 101, 102, and 103.

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Figure 6.11. Viewshed analysis of Path 1 at observer points 104, 105, 106, and 107.

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Figure 6.12. Viewshed analysis of Path 1 at observer points 108, 109, 110 (with aerial photograph included).

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Table 6.1. Viewshed analysis results at observer points along Path 1.

Observer Point Meters from Meters from Cave rim or Starting Point Owl Cave depression visible? 101 385 4126 Not Visible 102 806 3705 Not Visible 103 1087 3424 Not Visible 104 1619 2892 Not Visible 105 1995 2516 Not Visible 106 2877 1634 Not Visible 107 3068 1443 Not Visible 108 3989 522 Not Visible 109 4223 288 Not Visible 110 4297 214 Not Visible

Path 2

Path 2 originates from the north and is approximately 3,147 meters in length (Appendix A).

The path continues to run south until it has a change in trajectory to a southwesterly approach approximately 380 meters from the target, and at 150 meters the path continues due west. At

OP 201-209, the cave depressions are not visible. However, at OP 210, approximately 43 meters away, the rim becomes visible. At this distance, and if the herd were large enough and had the momentum as previously discussed, there would not be enough time for the herd to avoid the danger of the depression. Path 2 also has a high probability of success and will be considered for further analysis.

Path 3

Path 3 originates from the northeast and is approximately 3,780 meters in length (Appendix

A). The path trajectory is in a southwesterly direction, until approximately 2,000 meters from the starting point when the direction changes to due south. Similar to Paths 1 and 2, the trajectory changes southwesterly at 380 meters from the target, and then due west at 150

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meters to the target. Also similar to Path 1 and Path 2, this route has a high probability of success, and will be considered for further analysis.

Path 4

Path 4 originates from the west and is approximately 2,709 meters in length (Appendix A).

The path continues along an eastern trajectory toward the target for its entirety. At OP 406, the cave depression becomes visible, which is approximately 1,263 meters from the target, and then again at OP 408-410, between 845 and 36 meters from the target. Due to the visibility of the cave depressions so early along the path, it may not have been suitable to drive bison along this route. Furthermore, the cave depressions are visible during the last 845 meters of the path, and this would have given bison ample time to shift direction and the possibility of the herd ending up at the final procurement location would be slim to none.

This path has been eliminated from further analysis.

Path 5

Path 5 originates from the south and is approximately 2,170 meters in length (Appendix A).

It follows the western edge of Kettle Butte and loses elevation as it approaches the cave depressions. While the loss in elevation may make the herd move fast, the rim of the cave becomes visible at OP 505, approximately 1,267 meters away from the target. Furthermore, it is visible at OP 507-510 between 861 and 114 meters. Similar to Path 4, this would have given the bison ample time to shift direction. This path has a low probability of success and has been eliminated from further analysis.

Path 6

Path 6 originates from the southeast and starts at the eastern edge of Kettle Butte and is approximately 2,908 meters in length (Appendix A). The path trajectory continues northwest

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along the edge of Kettle Butte and drops in elevation rapidly. The cave depressions become visible at OP 607, approximately 1,372 meters from the target, and continue to be visible at

OP 609, approximately 921 meters from the target. For approximately 450 meters, the cave depressions are visible to the bison herd. It is not likely this path would be successful as a potential drive lane and has been eliminated from further analysis.

Path 7

Path 7 originates from the east and is approximately 2,591 meters (Appendix A). The path follows a westerly trajectory for the entirety of the route. The target location becomes visible at OP 705, approximately 1,225 meters from the cave depressions. It continues to be visible for 467 meters until OP 707. Continuing west on this route, the cave depressions become camouflaged again. However this route is not likely to be a successful drive due to the exposure of the cave depressions so early along the route. This would have given a herd enough time to perceive danger and shift their trajectory to avoid injury or death. This path has been eliminated from further analysis.

Path 8

Path 8 originates from the north and is approximately 2,944 meters in length (Appendix A).

This path has a southerly trajectory and converges with Path 1, Path 2, and Path 3 approximately 1,480 meters from the starting point. The cave depressions are not visible at any OP along the potential drive lane. The target location would have been camouflaged by topography just north of the depressions. This path has a high success rate as a potential drive lane and is considered for further analysis.

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In summary, Paths 1-3 and Path 8 have the highest probability as successful drive lanes. The least-cost pathway analysis determined their trajectories and the viewshed analysis demonstrated that the cave depressions are not visible along these paths until the observer point is within 60 meters of the target location. Furthermore, these four paths converge at a common point and continue on the same path for approximately 1,350 meters. The convergence area strongly suggests if driving bison from the north or northwest, it would have been ideal to approach the crater depression using the natural topography present within this corridor. A similar corridor or area of convergence was identified in the GIS analysis of the Bonfire Shelter (Byerly et al. 2005).

Paths 4 and 7, originating from the west and east, respectively, are not likely to be successful drive lanes because the cave depressions become visible approximately halfway on each route, approximately 1,240 meters from the jump location, giving bison ample time to change direction. Path 5 and 6 are also not likely to be successful drive lanes, because although the cost was not high due to slope, the cave depressions were visible from the higher elevations on Kettle Butte, again creating opportunities for the bison to veer away.

Another critical consideration to the visibility of the cave depressions are the time of procurement. Miller and Dort (1978) assert the two separate events were close in time and, based on the presence of fetal bone, both events occurred in late winter or early spring.

During this time of year, the cave depressions could well have been camouflaged with drifted snow, thereby further obstructing the collapsed tube from the bison (Figure 6.13). Other weather considerations include fog or bright sunlight during specific times of the day.

Furthermore, if there was the potential for cairns with burning vegetation along these proposed drive lanes; it could have also further obscured the cave depressions.

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Figure 6.13. Snow drifts around Owl Cave. Photograph taken by Sue Miller.

The cliff face orientation must be orientated in the same direction as the wind.

Although bison have poor eyesight, they have a keen sense of smell (Lott 2002). Therefore, to be effective, such drives must place bison downwind from the hunters, in order to prevent giving the herd a chance to perceive danger. If prevailing winds during the early Holocene were similar directions that occur today, we can begin to assess potential drive lanes in relation to wind direction. The three collapsed tubes at the Wasden site are not clear-cut cliff faces, but their orientation tends to be north and northeast. Typically, the prevailing winds in the area originate from the south or southwest. If bison were driven to the caves from the north or northwest the bison would have been downwind from the hunters and therefore Owl

Cave could have served as a successful bison jump.

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Figure 6.14. Owl cave ceiling to the wind-blown sediments that make up the floor are approximately 10 meters in depth. Photograph taken July 2007.

The edge of the cliff must be steep and sharp enough and the height of the cliff must be great enough to ensure that bison are at least severely maimed by the fall. It is important that the bison are not able to climb back up the edge of the jump or trap and put the hunters in immediate danger. The current ceiling of Owl Cave is approximately ten meters above the windblown sediments comprising the floor (see Figure 6.14). This drop is sufficient enough that the fall into the collapsed tube would have injured or trapped the bison, and possibly even killed some of these animals. The fall would have been even greater at the time of the bone bed deposit approximately 8,000 years ago, which is approximately 12 meters below the existing surface.

Once in the cave, the trapped bison would likely attempt to escape at any cost.

Therefore, it would have been advantageous to dispatch the bison as quickly as possible.

Based on the number of Plano projectile points found in association with the bone bed (with

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some of the projectile points actually lodged into bison bone), it is probable that hunters perched around the rim were dispatching live and injured animals.

Discussion

Digital elevation models of the region, site, and surrounding area applied in GIS have preliminarily tested some of the criteria for a successful bison jump or trap. The least-cost pathways were calculated and the preliminary tests indicate the most likely drive lanes were originating in the north and continuing along southerly trajectories, with a change in direction approximately 380 meters from Owl Cave, and then again at 150 meters. Drive lanes at known sites have a quick change in direction closer to the jump location in an attempt to keep the bison confused. The four likely paths that should be considered for further analysis demonstrate this unique characteristic.

The routes originating from the north may also be highly successful given the concept that the sagebrush steppe south of pluvial Lake Terreton may have been more productive in comparison to other areas of the sagebrush steppe on the eastern Snake River Plain (Long

2007). Recognizing of the importance of water, it is postulated that large game would have been more abundant in the areas immediately adjacent to well-watered habitats such as the pluvial lakes or the Big Lost River corridor. In turn, the increased availability of game and other resources in these areas would afford a higher ranking in models of diet breadth and path choice for aboriginal foragers. If this area was indeed more ecologically productive, then larger herds of bison would have been traveling and grazing in the areas in between Owl

Cave and the productive and highly ranked habitats surrounding Lake Terreton.

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Although an examination of bison drive characteristics and the GIS analyses provided in this chapter do not unequivocally demonstrate that the bone bed was the result of a deliberate bison drive, it has attested to the viability and strong likelihood of such a strategy.

According to the GIS analyses, the landscape was conducive to driving large herds of bison.

When considering the prey choice models that reflect the high return rates associated with bison, it is likely aboriginal hunters would have taken advantage of the natural trap feature to acquire these animals.

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CHAPTER VII

SYNTHESIS

Although the evidence suggests that bison were consistently taken by aboriginal hunters on the eastern Snake River Plain throughout the Holocene, quantitative faunal analyses indicate that bison were taken in modest numbers and rarely rivaled the mass kills represented in the archaeological record of the Great Plains. However, Owl Cave is an exception to this pattern. Dated at approximately 8,000 RCYBP, the bone bed suggests a successful communal bison hunt making Owl Cave one of the earliest mass bison kills in

North America utilizing this strategy. This thesis reexamined the evidence offered by the original researchers of a mass kill and pursued new avenues of inquiry, including tools available in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), to assess the validity of these original claims. This thesis also explored the implications of these original claims in the regional archaeological context of the Snake River Plain. An early mass kill in southern Idaho appears to be both unique and significant, offering insights into aboriginal subsistence strategies, bison population densities, and paleoenvironmental conditions during the early Holocene.

The distribution of Plano-age projectile points in the region clearly demonstrates that human populations were expanding beyond the shores of Lake Terreton and perennial water courses into the sagebrush steppe between 10,000 and 7,500 RCYBP. This expansion

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coincided with the deposition of the bison bone bed in Owl Cave (Long 2007). The proximity of the pluvial lake complex, located roughly 25 kilometers north of the Wasden Site, suggests bison herds were likely present and within driving distance to Owl Cave. The relatively large number of bison remains identified in the bone bed, suggest that bison population densities may have been higher on the eastern Snake River Plain during the early Holocene than in later periods.

The understanding of prey population densities and encounter rates is critical to the predictive power of prey choice models currently postulated for the eastern Snake River

Plain (cf. Henrikson 2004). If the distribution of Plano projectile points can be used as a proxy for human foraging behavior (and hence prey densities), the sagebrush steppe environment surrounding the Wasden Site may have had higher than average return rates compared to other sagebrush steppe environments on the eastern Snake River Plain.

Archaeological evidence suggests that aboriginal populations were indeed utilizing this transitional area. Favorable paleoenvironmental conditions in the area surrounding the pluvial lake complex likely resulted in greater prey densities and appeared to have encouraged communal hunting by aboriginal populations. Although bison have already been identified as the highest ranked resource on the Snake River Plain (with a return rate of 1,450 kcal/kg), under the more optimal conditions of the early Holocene, the opportunity for a mass kill and resulting return rates would have far exceeded the energy expenditure (i.e., pursuit and handling time) involved in communal hunting efforts.

Fluctuations in climate on a seasonal and decadal level occurred on the Snake River

Plain throughout the Holocene, likely impacting the specific strategies employed by aboriginal hunters. However, the overall patterns suggest that when bison were available,

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hunters were probably utilizing communal hunting strategies to obtain them. The examination of bison hunting in the archaeological record on the Great Plains has provided general insights on communal hunting techniques.

In absence of ethnographic observations of bison driving on the eastern Snake River

Plain, Great Plains ethnographic observations were consulted. As previously noted, the ethnographic record is not a direct comparison to aboriginal hunting strategies; however, a review of firsthand observations of bison hunting in the northern Great Plains from the 1790s to the 1870s has demonstrated that even though traditional methods of communal hunting were very difficult and required a well-organized, large group of people (Verbicky-Todd

1984), they were still practiced frequently.

The evidence clearly shows that aboriginal hunters decided to communally hunt when bison herds were large, and executed the hunt in locations possessing specific topographic features. These locations improved the rate of success due to characteristics that increased the density of animals in a concentrated area, and maximized the number of animals taken.

Aboriginal hunters were indeed driving bison as a regular strategy within their seasonal round. Not only did groups rely on knowledge of topographic features, they also possessed a thorough understanding of bison behavior. Recognition of behavioral characteristics allowed the hunters to utilize more effective ways to acquire these animals communally. Aboriginal hunters took advantage of the natural tendencies of bison to increase their proficiencies in maneuvering herds toward jump or trap locations.

Based on ethnographic and archaeological data, characteristics of successful bison drives were compiled and analyzed specifically for Owl Cave. Digital elevation models of the region, site, and surrounding area applied in GIS were employed to test the criteria for a

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successful bison jump or trap. Least-cost pathways were calculated, and the initial tests indicate that likely drive lanes are located to the north of Owl Cave. Indeed, all of the routes

(or least-cost pathways) originating from the north, northwest, and northeast, converge into a single path approximately 1,350 meters in length, indicating that this area was the most conducive to driving bison into the trap feature afforded by the local topography. Viewshed analyses along these northern routes indicate that the cave depressions were concealed from the bison until it was too late for the herd to escape. Future investigations should focus on this converged drive lane area and additional inventories should be conducted in an effort to identify drive lane enhancements, such as rock piles, and other archaeological features.

Based on the GIS analyses, the landscape surrounding in addition to the unique depression feature, suggest that the site is conducive to driving large herds of bison. Coupled with diet breadth models that indicate the high return rates associated with bison, it is likely aboriginal hunters would have taken advantage of a natural trap feature, such as Owl Cave, to acquire these animals, especially when they were available in relatively substantive numbers.

In this context, successful communal hunt not only required a large group of organized people, but it also solely hinged on the availability of prey at the right time, and in the right place, and it is likely that these conditions were consistently present around Owl Cave during the early the Holocene.

Although the research presented in this thesis provides insights into a number of archaeological questions, it is essential that the bison drive hypothesis at Owl Cave be further tested. It is my hope that additional investigations of the existing bison assemblage will be carried out. Zooarchaeological analyses of the existing collection can address site-specific questions regarding the distribution of elements, herd composition, and butchering patterns.

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The Owl Cave assemblage also has the potential to address broad scale research questions associated with paleoecology and bison taxonomy. Future investigations must take the entire site assemblage into consideration to effectively assess the role of the Wasden Site in the aboriginal seasonal round and to broaden the understanding of resource utilization on the eastern Snake River Plain during the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene. These efforts would generate a more robust picture of the Owl Cave deposits and guide future research at the site.

Intact deposits still remain at the site and have tremendous potential to answer questions that cannot be addressed with the existing collection or from the GIS analysis presented here. In Owl Cave, the remaining intact deposits are positioned in the western area of the cave depression. Intact deposits containing the bison bone bed may also be present in the surrounding collapsed lava tubes at Wasden, and although Coyote Cave and Dry Cat

Cave were preliminarily tested during the original investigations, their potential has not been fully realized. In combination with my work, information gleaned from extant collections and any future investigations conducted at these collapsed tubes may tell us even more about how the site was used in communal hunting strategies during the terminal Pleistocene/early

Holocene transition.

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APPENDIX A:

VIEWSHED ANALYSES FOR PATHS 1-8

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Viewshed Analysis Path 1 – 4,511 meters (origin from northwest) Observer Point Meters from Meters from Cave rim or Starting Point Owl Cave depression visible? 101 385 4126 Not Visible 102 806 3705 Not Visible 103 1087 3424 Not Visible 104 1619 2892 Not Visible 105 1995 2516 Not Visible 106 2877 1634 Not Visible 107 3068 1443 Not Visible 108 3989 522 Not Visible 109 4223 288 Not Visible 110 4297 214 Not Visible Viewshed Analysis Path 2 – 3,147 meters (origin from north) Observer Point Meters from Meters from Cave rim or Starting Point Owl Cave depression visible? 201 96 3051 Not Visible 202 425 2722 Not Visible 203 1452 1695 Not Visible 204 1573 1574 Not Visible 205 1867 1280 Not Visible 206 1919 1228 Not Visible 207 2066 1081 Not Visible 208 2584 563 Not Visible 209 3026 121 Not Visible 210 3104 43 Visible Viewshed Analysis Path 3 – 3,780 meters (origin from northeast) Observer Point Meters from Meters from Cave rim or Starting Point Owl Cave depression visible? 301 550 3230 Not Visible 302 655 3125 Not Visible 303 903 2877 Not Visible 304 973 2807 Not Visible 305 1339 2441 Not Visible 306 1547 2233 Not Visible 307 2378 1402 Not Visible 308 3085 695 Not Visible 309 3489 291 Not Visible 310 3689 91 Visible

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Viewshed Analysis Path 4 – 2,709 meters (origin from west) Observer Point Meters from Meters from Cave rim or Starting Point Owl Cave depression visible? 401 308 2401 Not Visible 402 545 2164 Not Visible 403 665 2044 Not Visible 404 1209 1500 Not Visible 405 1269 1440 Not Visible 406 1446 1263 Visible 407 1687 1022 Not Visible 408 1864 845 Visible 409 2191 518 Visible 410 2673 36 Visible Viewshed Analysis Path 5 – 2,170 meters (origin from south) Observer Point Meters from Meters from Cave rim or Starting Point Owl Cave depression visible? 501 30 2140 Not Visible 502 104 2066 Not Visible 503 177 1993 Not Visible 504 840 1330 Not Visible 505 894 1276 Visible 506 1044 1126 Not Visible 507 1309 861 Visible 508 1392 778 Visible 509 1508 662 Visible 510 2056 114 Visible Viewshed Analysis Path 6 – 2,908 meters (origin from southeast) Observer Point Meters from Meters from Cave rim or Starting Point Owl Cave depression visible? 601 362 2546 Not Visible 602 413 2495 Not Visible 603 554 2354 Not Visible 604 730 2178 Not Visible 605 826 2082 Not Visible 606 1152 1756 Not Visible 607 1536 1372 Visible 608 1897 1011 Visible 609 1987 921 Visible 610 2131 777 Not Visible

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Viewshed Analysis Path 7 – 2,591 meters (origin from east) Observer Point Meters from Meters from Cave rim or Starting Point Owl Cave depression visible? 701 245 2346 Not Visible 702 620 1971 Not Visible 703 1008 1583 Not Visible 704 1155 1436 Not Visible 705 1366 1225 Visible 706 1633 958 Visible 707 1833 758 Visible 708 2170 421 Not Visible 709 2249 342 Not Visible 710 2429 162 Not Visible Viewshed Analysis Path 8 – 2,944 meters (origin from north) Observer Point Meters from Meters from Cave rim or Starting Point Owl Cave depression visible? 801 546 2398 Not Visible 802 766 2178 Not Visible 803 954 1990 Not Visible 804 1405 1539 Not Visible 805 1613 1331 Not Visible 806 1981 963 Not Visible 807 2214 730 Not Visible 808 2280 664 Not Visible 809 2670 274 Not Visible 810 2735 209 Not Visible

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