May 5th, 2000
Hunter College,
Introduction to Archeology
Professor C.M. Tinsley
The Little Bison Basin Valley : A look at its history
This valley, future home of a ski resort and other activities, has a history of its own. It is divided into three major areas: The Poplar Region, The Bud Site, and the Gasville, areas which descend from North to South respectively. It is assumed that climatological conditions are similar to those found in the same area thousands of years ago, with some minor changes in temperature that may have increased due to the Green house effect and global warming.
These three sites were studied separately in the following order :
• Poplar Region o Three regions were
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In the upper levels we see a number of fragmented bone which may suggest that they began to eat more from each animal killed. Perhaps animals became scarce therefore they began to explore the taste of bone marrow.
[pic]we also noticed the different types of tools used to hunt from the lowest level to the most current level and retouched flakes prevailed during all periods we have determined by our excavations. This was a favorite weapon to hunt and perhaps used to hunt larger preys found in the area. The use of end scraper also prevailed for many years and it was probably used to tear up the skin to cover themselves in the cold winter time. Other tools were also found, but a significant lower number.
As time went by, some small populations seemed to have migrated north and settle in the Bud Site or perhaps migrated back and forth to Gasville as evidence suggests that humans lived in both places in the same period. This site was divided into two time periods. The lower level represents the oldest period whereas the upper level represents that most recent period. In comparing the amount of killing that took place between the periods, we can see, based on the evidence found, that a larger number of killings took place in the oldest period but I find no correlation to any cultural distinction or diet habit based on this evidence.
The fact that Bison are usually present in the region around May, it could
Early Neolithic remains found at Catal Hüyük showed similar pathology, in which porotic hypertosis affect approximately 41% of the population (Angel, 1971). In addition, transverse linear hypoplasia markers were common on teeth throughout the population, these are generally indicators of early childhood stresses such as disease or malnutrition (Angel, 1971). From these two sites, it can clearly be seen that the diet composition had a great effect on the health of Neolithic era humans. The excessive amount of skeletal markers that indicate malnutrition can suggest the Neolithic diet lacked the nutrients needed for humans to be healthy. The Alepotrypa skeletal remains had also shown high incidents of osteoarthritis generally located in the spine, this could be an indicator of a physically stress full lifestyle (Papathanasiou, 2005). The stress markers on these bones are very different from early hunter-gatherers who were generally free of dietary and activity influenced diseases (O’Keefe & Cordain, 2004). This comparison is fairly significant as Neolithic individuals had a very different lifestyle from that of the hunter-gatherers. Evidently, early Neolithic individuals likely participated in much more labor intense activities than hunter-gatherers during daily life. Regardless of the causes for dietary and stress related skeletal markers, it can be seen that the Neolithic populations experienced poor health in comparison to hunter-gatherers. Neolithic populations
A variety of animals were used in the subsistence strategy, including but not limited to: Bison, deer, elk, pronghorn antelope, various canids, marten, goose, frog, and clams (Buchner 1981, Millar 1981, Cole 2015). The Plains Bison was the primary food source for the Oxbow group, leading them to follow the seasonal round of the bison to some extent, especially at more southern sites. This said, no major bison kill sites associated with Oxbow have been found, only small scale kills, which gives rise to many questions, such as: did this group know how to run a large scale kill site? did they use different technologies? or were there not enough mammals to run a larger kill?, all of which are rather hard to answer given only the archaeological record. This nomadic hunting and gathering subsistence strategy also encouraged foraging for certain flora based foods, especially in times where bison were not able to be procured. Oxbow tools and associated artifacts reflect this subsistence strategy based lifestyle, with endscrapers, bifaces, bifacially worked flakes, and bone tools abundant in the record at this time-depth. Many of these aforementioned artifacts are found as grave goods in several of the burials at the Gray Site (Buchner 1981, Gibson
The Ipiutak culture relied heavily on chipped stone technology and carved bone, wood and ivory, for their technological needs. They still relied heavily on chipped stone, for knives, blades, arrow points, insert blades, knife side blades and harpoon blades. Chipped stone was heavily utilized in the making of harpoons as they were inserted into a good amount of harpoon heads. The Ipiutak culture had large artifact assemblages that were excavated from the sites. These assemblages had everything from needles, harpoon heads, shovels, snow knives, adzes, spear tips, snow goggles, elaborate animal carvings, carved chains, bands, lance heads, arrow heads, and engraving tools to name a few. The wide variety of hunting that was done at the Ipiutak
Hey! Do you want to know some super cool stuff about my Native American tribe?The name of my tribe is the Great Plains Cultural Region. The Great Plains Region is located in about the middle of North America. It was founded around the 16th century. The person who found the Great Plains was named Francisco Vázquez de Coronado. The area of the land they lived in was 1,300,000 km2 or 501,933 sq miles.
During the Archaic Era the climate became warmer and drier and many animals that lived through the Ice Age became extinct. During this time people who lived throughout North America had to adapt to new conditions. Archaic people hunted deer, elk, bighorn sheep and rabbits. The plants they ate were yucca, pinyon, ricegrass, amaranta, and goosefoot. To build their houses they had to lean poles around a shallow depression that they had dug into the ground, then covered them with brush and mud. Many of the artifacts archeologists found were atlatl, manos and metates, and alcoves. Atlatl is a spear thrower and manos and metates were used to grind grains, seeds, and
The Genesee River and its watershed is a major tributary to Lake Ontario. The river originates in the Allegheny Plateau in the town of Ulysses, Potter County, Pennsylvania, about fifteen miles south of the New York State border (GFLRPC, 2004). The river flows north through Allegheny, Livingston, and Monroe Counties and forming a portion of two borders between Livingston County and Wyoming or Monroe Counties. Letchworth State Park runs along the Genesee River encapsulating 14,350 acres of the watershed and contains the “Grand Canyon of the East” a gorge 550 feet deep and six miles long.
There artifacts were bows, arrows, ball clubs, jaw bone clubs, hatchet axe, spears, lances, and knives. These were their tools.
The Denver Basin began to form as early as 300 million years ago. The site is made up of paleozoic, mesozoic, cenozoic and sedimentary rock layers. The formation of the Denver Basin is known as “Colorado Orogeny”. Orogeny is a process in which the Earth’s crust is folded and deformed to create a mountain form. During this process, the Ancestral Rockies were formed. Other rocks formed during this time period include the Fountain Formation; which is most visible at Red Rocks and Boulder Flatirons. The Basin was most likely deepened in the Paleogene time, which was between 66 and 45 million years ago. In between that time period, the Laramide orogeny formed the modern day Colorado Rockies. The Denver Basin is centered in eastern Colorado. Around
The nomadic bison hunters were the early ancestors who occupied the northwestern Plains some 7,627 years ago. After one of Mount Mazama’s eruptions, they had to abandon their homeland in the northwestern Plains because there was little vegetation due to the thick layer of tephra while most winter food stores had been used up (Oetelaar and Beaudoin, 2016). They were forced to seek refuge to the east where the impact of ash fall was relatively small. Similarly, during the hot and dry Altithermal period (5,500-2,500 B.C.), it is thought that the Great Plains region was reduced to a desert or semi-desert, forcing groups of humans to emigrate elsewhere (Sheehan, 1994). The most significant shortage was the lack of water which created a vicious cycle in the ecosystem: no water meant plants couldn’t grow which meant animals had no vegetation to eat and then they died making matters even worse for humans as hunter-gatherers. People found areas where water and foraging were relatively sufficient such as the northern periphery of the Great Plains and the higher elevated regions
Animals trampled seeds and pulled ploughs. Other tools they made and used were rakes, hoes, flint-bladed sickles and winnowing scoops. Many of these tools and techniques are still used
Aquatic habitats in the Great Plains region were historically dominated by rivers and streams with associated wetlands and few natural lakes. Native fishes are typically riverine species that are in many cases adapted to strong current, turbid water, and a wide range of water temperatures. However, many species that require clear water and cool temperatures are found as relict populations in springs and headwater streams. The native and introduced fish fauna are an important link in food chains for many species and are significant economic resources for many communities.
About 50,000 artifacts were recovered when digging up this site (2). The Makah people actually sought out archaeologist to uncover these artifacts. These artifacts included wooden boards, nets, baskets, wooden tools, wooden boxes, bone and antler harpoons, and cordage that were all preserved. An animal bone recovered at the site indicated that they used whale
Archeologist took into consideration what function each tool served for. For example, an edge angle of a blade was used to chop off wood (Duvall & Venner, 1979). Blades with wider angles were used to skin
The diet of Paleolithic humans revolved around the area that each group lived in; the geography of the tribe influenced what plants and animals they could consume. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and small animals were commonly gathered by the women. Men during the Paleolithic age were in charge of hunting, typically bison, mammoths, and reindeer for a group living in Europe. Hunting and gathering was a staple to the sustainability of a group, carbohydrates, proteins and unsaturated fats led to a healthy diet. Although, the Paleolithic diet was wholesome it could not provide for a large amount of people, as there is a limited amount of food in any given geographic location. The life expectancy was quite low due to deaths during childbirth or childhood.
The climate of the Central Valley has seen various ups and downs in its past, especially in regards to temperature. Many of these changes can be seen by looking at sediment cores and fossilized vegetation. About 150 million years ago, the Central Valley was an inland sea that slowly filled over time