See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271645715 Animal Remains From the Midway Site (21BL37), Beltrami County, Minnesota Article · January 2005 CITATIONS READS 0 102 2 authors, including: James L Theler University of Wisconsin - La Crosse 47 PUBLICATIONS 426 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Mill Coulee View project All content following this page was uploaded by James L Theler on 01 February 2015. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. ,ANIMAL REMAINS FROM THE MIDWAY SITE (2lBL37), BEI:fRAMI COUNTY, MINNESOTA Jonathan D. Balcer Department ofAnthropology The University ofTennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996
[email protected] James L. Theler Department of Sociology and Archaeology University ofWisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, Wl 54601 .
[email protected] Excavations at the Midway Site, located in the city ofBemidji, Minnesota produced an extensive vertebrate faunal assemblage, with over 23,000 remains representing a minimum of 116 individual animals from 55 different taxa. Despite the lack ofa detailed analysis ofthe cultural remains, the faunal data provide impor tant information on Woodland subsistence strategies in northern Minnesota. Although fish are numerically most abundant, large mammals, including moose, white-tailed deer, elk, black bear, and caribou, likely provided the bulk of the animal protein in the local diet. Evidence indicates a multi-season use ofthe site, with a fall-winter deer harvest, use ofmoose (probably along with wild rice) during the winter, and spring harvest of riparian animals, spawning fish, and turtles. The representation of large mammal skeletal ele ments suggests an off-site processing of the animal carcasses, with the retention of only specific elements.