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Seasonality of the Scottsbluff and Lipscomb Bison Bonebeds: Implications for Modeling Paleoindian Subsistence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Lawrence C. Todd ,
Jack L. Hofman  and
C. Bertrand Schultz
Lawrence C. Todd
Affiliation:
Zuni Archaeology Program, Pueblo of Zuni, P.O. Box 339, Zuni, NM 87327
Jack L. Hofman
Affiliation:
Oklahoma Archeological Survey, 1808 Newton Drive, Rm. 116, Norman, OK 73019
C. Bertrand Schultz
Affiliation:
Nebraska Academy of Sciences-University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Morrill Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0339
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Abstract

The Scottsbluff and Lipscomb bison bonebeds initially were excavated in the 1930s. Although only brief, preliminary reports have been published on the two sites, they since have been cited widely in discussions of Paleoindian hunting practices on the western Plains. The Scottsbluff and Lipscomb sites both represent mass deaths associated with Cody Complex and Folsom artifacts respectively. Analysis of eruption and wear of the lower dentitions indicates that the Scottsbluff bison died during late spring to summer, and those at Lipscomb died only slightly later in the year (late summer to early fall). Thus, although often cited in the “yet-another-bison-bonebed” category, these two sites exhibit a pattern of seasonal mortality that is different from the generally reported tendency for Paleoindian kills to have taken place in the late fall or winter.

Résumé

Résumé

Los dos estratos de huesos de bisonte encontrados en Scottsbluff y Lipscomb fueron excavados inicialmente en los años 30. Aunque solamente se publicaron reportes breves y preliminares sobre los dos sitios, aquéllos han sido extensamente citados en discusiones sobre las prácticas de caza durante el período Paleoindio en el Llano occidental. Los dos sitios de Scottsbluff y Lipscomb representan muertes en masa asociadas con artefactos de los complejos Cody y Folsom, respectivamente. El análisis de la erupción y el desgaste de las denticiones inferiores indican que los bisontes de Scottsbluff murieron entre el final de la primavera y el verano, en tanto que los de Lipscomb murieron sólo un poco más tarde en el año (entre el final del verano y el principio del otoño). Por lo tanto, aunque estos sitios se hallen citados frecuentemente en la categoría de “otro estrato más de huesos de bisonte,” éstos exhiben un patrón de mortalidad estacional distinto de la tendencia generalmente reportada para la caza paleoindia, que supuestamente ocurrió entre el final del otoño y el invierno.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 55 , Issue 4 , October 1990 , pp. 813 - 827
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1990

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