Aboriginal Seasonal Subsistence and Land Use on the Northeastern Plains: Insight From Ethnohistoric Sources

Abstract

Over the past 2,000 years aboriginal land use in the northeastern Plains reflects Plains cultural influences, plus those deriving from the Subarctic and Eastern Woodlands culture areas. This suggests the diffusion of ideas and technology as well as population mobility. While postcontact aboriginal societies were profoundly affected by the European colonial experience, records of their diverse land use strategies have utility in modeling the equally complex precontact situation. In this article there is an emphasis on exploring seasonal shifts in bison exploitation by people of diverse ethno-linguistic affiliation and economic orientations, and how such bison predation affected habitat selection. By extension, these observations will aid in modeling expectations of precontact archaeological site distribution and function.