An Early Archaic Bison Kill Site from Harding County, South Dakota
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St. Cloud State University theRepository at St. Cloud State Culminating Projects in Cultural Resource Management Department of Anthropology 12-2019 Faunal Analysis of the Licking Bison Site (39HN570): An Early Archaic Bison Kill Site from Harding County, South Dakota Monica Margaret Bugbee Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/crm_etds Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Bugbee, Monica Margaret, "Faunal Analysis of the Licking Bison Site (39HN570): An Early Archaic Bison Kill Site from Harding County, South Dakota" (2019). Culminating Projects in Cultural Resource Management. 30. https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/crm_etds/30 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Anthropology at theRepository at St. Cloud State. It has been accepted for inclusion in Culminating Projects in Cultural Resource Management by an authorized administrator of theRepository at St. Cloud State. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Faunal Analysis of the Licking Bison Site (39HN570): An Early Archaic Bison Kill Site from Harding County, South Dakota by Monica Margaret Bugbee A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of St. Cloud State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Cultural Resources Management Archaeology December, 2019 Thesis Committee Mark Muñiz, chairperson Matthew Tornow Michael Fosha 2 Abstract The Licking Bison Site (39HN570) is located in Harding County, South Dakota and dates to 5570±30 14C yr BP (6406-6301 cal yr BP), during the Early Archaic period. The site was discovered in 1994 and excavated between 1995 and 2000 by the South Dakota State Archaeological Research Center (SARC). The Early Archaic corresponds with a period of warm and dry climatic conditions on the Northern Great Plains often referred to as the Altithermal. Archaeological sites from this time are relatively rare compared to both earlier and later periods. The Licking Bison Site is one of only two known bison kill sites from the Early Archaic of the region, and as such it has the potential to provide valuable information on prehistoric ways of life during the arid climatic conditions, as well as providing data about bison evolution. The faunal collection, housed at SARC, was analyzed to identify the species of bison, herd demographics (age, sex, MNI), and season of death. The excavated portion of the bonebed contained at least twenty-two individual bison killed and butchered by Early Archaic peoples in a single late fall kill event. The herd most likely consisted of predominately adult females, juveniles, and calves. Analysis of metacarpals shows at least four adult females and one adult male in the assemblage. The species of bison could not be identified due to a lack of well-preserved crania, but postcranial metrics suggest a possible slight trend towards Bison bison-sized individuals. 3 Acknowledgements Completion of this project would not have been possible without generous technical, financial, and emotional support from many people. First and foremost, I would like to thank my committee Dr. Mark Muñiz, Dr. Matthew Tornow, and Mike Fosha, without their help, this project would not have been possible. I would especially like to thank Dr. Muñiz for his guidance and his patience, it was very much appreciated. I owe a great deal of gratitude to my former employer, the Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, SD for allowing me the time to complete my schoolwork, use of the comparative collection and facilities, and for encouraging and supporting me through the process. In particular, I would like to thank Jim Mead for his guidance, Sharon Holte teaching me how to use 3D scanning equipment and software, and my long-time officemate and friend Justin Wilkins for his continued support. I sincerely thank the staff at the South Dakota Archaeological Research Center, especially Michael Fosha, Katie Lamie, Renee Boen, and volunteers Rich Berg, Allan Johnson, Laura Clark, and everyone else who helped sort and catalog bone from the Licking Bison site. I am incredibly grateful for the assistance, the space provided for me to complete data collection, and for the endlessly useful mounted bison skeleton delivered directly to the center of my workspace. I would also like to thank Tracy Murphy and Bridget Ambler for constant encouragement, and Bruce and PJ Maynard for their generous support. I am also grateful to the South Dakota Archaeological Society for awarding me the Justin Runestad Scholarship, and to St. Cloud State University for granting me a Graduate Research Award, which funded the purchase of measurement equipment used in this project. To all my friends and family who supported me along the way, I thank you! 4 Table of Contents Page List of Tables ............................................................................................................. 7 List of Figures ............................................................................................................ 8 Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 11 2. Background ................................................................................................................ 13 Geographic Area ........................................................................................... 13 Environmental Context ................................................................................. 13 Culture History............................................................................................... 17 Pre-Clovis ......................................................................................... 20 Paleoindian ......................................................................................... 20 Early Archaic ..................................................................................... 24 Middle Archaic ................................................................................. 28 Late Archaic ....................................................................................... 30 Brief Review of Bison Studies on the Great Plains ....................................... 31 Bison Evolution and Taxonomy .................................................................... 35 Bison Ecology ................................................................................... 38 Research Locality........................................................................................... 39 3. Methods...................................................................................................................... 45 Research Design............................................................................................. 45 Data Collection and Analysis......................................................................... 46 Measurements ................................................................................................ 52 5 Chapter Page 4. A Brief Description of Taphonomy and Preservation ............................................... 64 5. Results ........................................................................................................................ 69 Number of Identified Specimens .................................................................. 69 Minimum Number of Individuals .................................................................. 69 Probable Number of Individuals .................................................................... 73 Age by Fusion ............................................................................................... 74 Skulls.............................................................................................................. 76 Pathologies .................................................................................................... 85 Non-Bison Fauna .......................................................................................... 85 6. Sex Distribution ........................................................................................................ 86 Skulls ............................................................................................................. 86 Metapodials ................................................................................................... 86 Limb Bones ................................................................................................... 90 Carpals and Tarsals ....................................................................................... 92 7. Bison Species Identification ...................................................................................... 102 Longbones ...................................................................................................... 102 Astragali ........................................................................................................ 107 8. Seasonality ................................................................................................................. 109 Mandibular Dentition ..................................................................................... 110 Maxillary Dentition ........................................................................................ 119 Absence of Fetal Remains ............................................................................. 125 9. Conclusions and Future Research ............................................................................