Bonebeds and other myths: Paleoindian to Archaic transition on North American Great Plains and Rocky Mountains

Abstract

Paleoindian bison bonebeds form a highly visible and heavily researched archaeological record on the North American Great Plains and Central Rocky Mountains. By and large these archaeological manifestations represent kill and processing sites of large scale, possibly communal procurement activities. However, bonebeds account for only a very small portion of all archaeological sites. We argue that disproportional visibility and research effort devoted to these types of sites has resulted in a highly skewed view of prehistoric lifeways, that is, of a life focused on the hunting of single animal species. Our research shows that approximately 98% of sites are not bonebeds, and thus leads to the question of “What is the faunal evidence from the rest of the sites?” This paper presents a preliminary examination of Paleoindian age faunal remains from non-bonebed contexts on the western North American Plains and adjacent Rocky Mountains. We show that no evidence exists for bison-focused subsistence systems. Instead a broad-based strategy similar to that conceptualized for the Archaic likely formed the bulk of Paleoindian subsistence strategies. In this context we reexamine the nature of the Paleoindian to Archaic transition.