Journal article
On Bonfire Shelter (Texas) as a Paleoindian Bison Jump: An Assessment Using GIS and Zooarchaeology
American antiquity, Vol.70(4), pp.595-629
10/2005
DOI: 10.2307/40035867
Abstract
The Plainview/Folsom-aged bison Bonebed 2 at Bonfire Shelter, originally excavated in the 1960s, is argued to be the earliest North American bison jump (Dibble 1970; Dibble and Lorrain 1968). Yet, it is far older than all other known jumps, and well south of where the great majority of these sites are found. Dibble (1970) reasonably argued that its age and location was not compelling evidence against it being a bison jump. However, Binford (1978) observed that the skeletal composition of Bonebed 2 did not resemble a kill. To assess whether Bonfire Shelter could have been utilized as a jump and whether it was, we explore two lines of evidence bearing on the issue, a GIS analysis of the site and upland topography, and zooarchaeological analysis of the recovered bison remains. Although our GIS analysis indicates that Bonfire Shelter meets many of the criteria of a jump locality, our reanalysis of the faunal remains suggests this was not the primary kill locus, but instead a processing area to which high-utility portions of at least 24 bison were transported and butchered. Where the bison were killed, and how, is not known.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- On Bonfire Shelter (Texas) as a Paleoindian Bison Jump: An Assessment Using GIS and Zooarchaeology
- Creators
- Ryan M Byerly - Southern Methodist UniversityJudith R Cooper - Southern Methodist UniversityDavid J Meltzer - Southern Methodist UniversityMatthew E Hill - University of ArizonaJason M LaBelle - Colorado State University
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- American antiquity, Vol.70(4), pp.595-629
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- DOI
- 10.2307/40035867
- ISSN
- 0002-7316
- eISSN
- 2325-5064
- Number of pages
- 35
- Alternative title
- Bonfire Shelter as a Paleoindian Bison Jump; American Antiquity
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/2005
- Academic Unit
- Anthropology
- Record Identifier
- 9984269246702771
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