Analysis of Site Formation Processes at the Rex Rodgers Bison Bonebed

Abstract

A reanalysis of bison remains from the Rex Rodgers site (41BI42 Area 2) indicates that the previous interpretation of the site as a well-preserved single event kill of a small herd of bison is in need of revision. A taphonomic analysis of approximately 330 identifiable bison bones from the site suggests that, although the animals were likely killed by prehistoric hunters approximately 11,500 cal B.P. as previously believed, extensive post-depositional alterations to the bonebed make many of the previous interpretations about human actions at the site problematic. The Rex Rodgers material probably reflects the end products of at least one, and possibly two, bison kills. A tooth eruption study suggests the bison died sometime between late fall and late winter. Taphonomic analyses identified culturally derived surface modifications to some limb and axial elements that show car-casses were partially skinned, butchered, and disarticulated prior to abandonment of the site. Following site abandonment, fluvial transport, severely altered the composition, condition, and structure of the bonebed. Unfortunately, the result is that much of the evidence for the prehistoric use of the bison at the site has been largely blurred to the modern observer.