Observations on the Butchering Technique of some Aboriginal Peoples Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6

Abstract

This study is based on the bison, deer, and antelope bone from a fortified earth lodge village (32ME15) in the Garrison Reservoir Area. The site was excavated by River Basin Survey parties in 1950 and 1951, under the supervision of G. Ellis Burcaw and Donald D. Hartle respectively. The animal bone from this site is of particular interest because it permits a comparison to be made between the methods used on the smaller food animals and those used on the bison. In a previous study an attempt was made to compare the methods used on antelope and on bison, but the methods were those of very different peoples who were widely separated both geographically and temporally and the differences could as easily have been due to culture as well as the size of the game. Since this material is from a single component site, any difference in technique can safely be attributed to the size of the game.