Bison Economies on the Late Prehistoric North American High Plains

Abstract

This paper explores variability in Late Prehistoric bison faunal assemblages from sites in western Kansas, NE Colorado, and central Nebraska (A.D. 1000–1350). Relationships among occupants of these sites have been a topic of debate for decades, and archaeologists have typically relied on ceramic typologies as a means of separating people, places, and phases. The resulting segregation of sites from different river drainages, however; makes it difficult to assess Late Prehistoric economic variability among related groups who exploited a range of natural environments. As we move away from classificatory and descriptive discussions of artifact assemblages and into considerations of past lived experiences, we may reexamine economic variability in the context of food choice, animal habitat, and shifting migrations of Plains farmers. This study is part of a larger project to establish baseline patterns of bison consumption and use through time among Late Prehistoric and Historical occupants of the North American High Plains. Zooarchaeological methods employed by archaeologists focused on farming communities often differ from methods employed by archaeologists trained on hunter-gatherer bonebeds. In order to facilitate comparisons and to speak to a wider audience about the interactions between hunter-gatherers and farmers and the intersections between hunting and gathering and farming, I argue for broader methodological research protocols that transcend the Plains and are applicable for studying animal use among a variety of middle-range societies.