Prehistoric Bone Grease Production in Wisconsin's Driftless Area: a Review of the Evidence and Its Implications

University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 12-2009 Prehistoric Bone Grease Production in Wisconsin's Driftless Area: A Review of the Evidence and Its Implications Jonathan Douglas Baker University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Baker, Jonathan Douglas, "Prehistoric Bone Grease Production in Wisconsin's Driftless Area: A Review of the Evidence and Its Implications. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2009. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/508 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Jonathan Douglas Baker entitled "Prehistoric Bone Grease Production in Wisconsin's Driftless Area: A Review of the Evidence and Its Implications." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Anthropology. Walter E. Klippel, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: David G. Anderson, Michael H. Logan Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Jonathan Douglas Baker entitled “Prehistoric Bone Grease Production in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area: A Review of the Evidence and Its Implications.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Anthropology. ______________________________ Walter E. Klippel, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: ______________________________ David G. Anderson ______________________________ Michael H. Logan Accepted for the Council: ______________________________ Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures on file with official student records.) PREHISTORIC BONE GREASE PRODUCTION IN WISCONSIN’S DRIFTLESS AREA: A REVIEW OF THE EVIDENCE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS A Thesis Presented for the Master of Arts Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Jonathan Douglas Baker December 2009 Copyright © 2009 by Jonathan Douglas Baker All rights reserved. ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my wife, Stephaine Michelle Baker, who has provided infinite support and encouragement over the past fourteen years. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my family for their unwavering support of my academic pursuits. In particular, my parents, Steven and Colleen Baker, have always encouraged me to follow my interests in archaeology. Over the past decade, my wife Stephaine Baker has put up with many sleepless nights, tons of dirty field clothes, numerous dead animals, malodorous comparative specimens, and even moved to Tennessee, all with very few complaints. Without her endless support this thesis may have never reached fruition. I would like to thank my committee members Drs. David Anderson and Michael Logan, and particularly my chair Dr. Walter Klippel, for reading drafts of this document and providing invaluable comments and suggestions regarding my research on bone grease production in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area. Dr. Klippel also obtained the modern white-tailed deer from Tennessee that was used in the bone grease production experiment. I would like to thank Dr. James Theler (University of Wisconsin-La Crosse) for encouraging my interests in zooarchaeology and specifically for convincing me to take on the study of bone grease production in the Driftless Area. Dr. Theler also provided unpublished data on faunal remains from the Preston and Gottschall rockshelters and assisted in securing the faunal materials that were analyzed in this study. Robert Boszhardt (Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center) provided data on excavations at the Krause Site and the Sanford Archaeological District and his early encouragement is largely responsible for my pursuit of a career in archaeology. Dr. Constance Arzigian (Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center) supplied data on recent and past excavations at the Long Coulee Site. Wendy Holtz-Leith (Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center) also iv supplied data from the excavation of Feature 205 at the Sanford Archaeological District. Lindsay Maass provided data on the bird remains from Feature 205 at the Sanford Archaeological District. Elizabeth Tereba-Leith and Luther Leith analyzed the floral remains from Feature 438 at the Krause Site. A number of volunteers in the Zooarchaeology Laboratory at the University of Tennessee spent considerable time measuring the size of the bone fragments from the bone grease assemblages and their help is much appreciated. Landon Karr gave me a copy of his unpublished manuscript on bone grease production at the Mitchell Village Site in South Dakota. Dr. Alan Outram and Claire Saint-Germain both supplied me with copies of their publications related to bone grease manufacturing. My brother, Josh Baker, obtained the white-tailed deer from Wisconsin for the grease production experiment. Naturally, any errors or omissions in this paper remain the sole responsibility of the author. v ABSTRACT The evidence for bone grease processing in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area is addressed. A four-fold methodology for the identification of grease production is developed. This methodology includes an examination of: (1) bone fragment size, (2) fracture patterns, (3) overall taphonomy, and (4) archaeological context. The methodology is applied to the analysis of eight Driftless Area faunal assemblages and is also used to reevaluate previous accounts of grease production. Based upon the analysis, evidence for grease manufacture is present and ubiquitous at seven Archaic/Woodland sites. Evidence for grease production is also present in five Oneota assemblages from the La Crosse area. Grease production is interpreted through a behavioral ecology framework, with particular reference to the prey-as-patch model. This model implies that increases in carcass processing intensity are associated with reductions in kill frequencies. It is suggested that in certain circumstances, the predictions of the model maybe inaccurate. These inaccuracies are highlighted by evidence from Archaic and Woodland sites that indicates grease production was not related to lower kill rates, but instead associated with intensive fall harvests and processing white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). At this time, processing multiple animals simultaneously could have produced large quantities of grease and lowered production costs. The grease was stored for use during the spring and winter, when deer were lean and very low in fat content, and few other fat or carbohydrate sources would have been available. Grease production on the Oneota sites occurred in a different cultural context. Here, bone grease manufacture was sporadic and associated with fall-winter seasonal vi indicators. This means that grease production occurred when the La Crosse area Oneota appeared to have abandoned their villages to pursue American bison (Bos bison) in the prairies of Minnesota. It is suggested that certain individuals (particularly, the young, elderly and sick) likely stayed behind. Faced with more limited hunting abilities, large mammal kills may have been uncommon. Consistent with predications of the prey-as- patch model, these individuals intensively processed the carcasses of single animals, including bone grease manufacture. Here, fat would have been a critical winter resource and used to supplement stored agricultural products. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES........................................................1 Introduction ............................................................................................1 History of the Problem...........................................................................5 Research Objectives...............................................................................8 Research Framework ...........................................................................12 II. ETHNOGRAPHIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS .....18 Introduction ......................................................................................18 Ethnographic Evidence Regarding Grease Production........................18 Ethnographic Descriptions of the Grease Production Process.............23 Archaeological Accounts.....................................................................27 Criteria for the Identification of Archaeological Grease Production...38 1.) Fragment Size.....................................................................39 2.) Fracture Patterns/Determination of Fracture Agent ...........43 3.) Other Taphonomic Considerations.....................................47 4.) Context................................................................................50 III. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND .............................................................53

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