Doctoral Dissertation: Bison Hunting on the Late Prehistoric Great Plains: Seeking an Explanation for Variability in the Kill Record

在大卫·j·梅尔泽博士的指导下，朱迪思·库珀将分析收集到的大平原上史前晚期野牛死亡地点的数据。在过去的两千年里，大规模的野牛杀戮在北部平原上很常见。猎人把牛群赶下悬崖边缘，或者把它们困在畜栏或畜栏里。狩猎活动大多发生在秋天，当人们为北方平原严酷的冬天收集食物时。相反，在同一时期的南部/中部平原，大型野牛被杀的情况很少见。相反，猎人瞄准少量的野牛，往往导致一只动物死亡。然而，在较早的时期，猎人在这两个地区进行了大规模的杀戮。为什么南部/中部平原的史前晚期猎人放弃了大规模猎杀野牛，而北部平原的同时代人却继续猎杀野牛？奇怪的是，在南部/中部平原的史前晚期居住地经常发现野牛骨头，这表明，尽管没有大规模的杀戮，野牛在饮食中扮演着同样重要的角色。猎杀地点如此稀少，为何野牛骨在居民区如此普遍？目前，对于南部/中部平原大型野牛杀戮地点的缺乏，还没有一个充分的解释。这项研究将定义并试图解释大平原上晚期史前野牛狩猎的差异。具体来说，作者将测试这些差异是否源于考古保存的差异（例如，南部/中部平原发生了大规模的杀戮，但它们的特征随着时间的推移而被破坏）、环境（例如，南部/中部平原的温和气候使得秋季的大规模野牛杀戮变得不必要）、技术（例如，南部/中部平原的猎人没有大规模杀戮所需的武器）或社会组织（例如，南部/中部平原的猎人没有大规模杀戮所需的武器）。南部/中部平原的群体更久坐不动，严重依赖园艺)。为了验证这些假设，将从政府记录和公布的来源中收集有关野牛捕杀地点和大平原环境的现有数据，并将其汇编成一个统一的数据库。这些数据将使用地理信息系统（GIS）进行分析，这是一种专门为地理数据设计的计算机系统。这项研究的总体目标有三个：(a)确定随着时间和空间的变化，(b)从环境角度解释野牛狩猎策略的差异；(c)确定大平原上的气候、野牛和人类之间的关系。该项目将合成最新的考古和环境数据，并通过数字媒体提供给其他研究人员。事实上，该项目的结果将对其他科学的研究人员有用，从而鼓励跨学科的数据共享和合作。这项研究的更广泛影响包括纳入未充分利用的政府场地记录。此外，拟议的研究将整合GIS的创新应用，这些应用可能用于解决未来类似的问题。最后，这项研究将极大地造福大平原上的美洲原住民。通过唤起人们对史前土著群体多样性的关注，这项研究将为他们的文化历史提供一个更复杂、更细致的认识。

Under the supervision of Dr. David J. Meltzer, Judith Cooper will analyze data gathered on Late Prehistoric bison kill sites on the Great Plains. During the last two millennia, mass bison kills were common on the Northern Plains. Hunters drove herds over cliff edges, or trapped them in pounds or corrals. Hunting events mostly occurred in the fall, when groups gathered provisions for the harsh Northern Plains winter. Conversely, at the same time on the Southern/Central Plains, large bison kills were rare. Instead, hunters targeted small numbers of bison, often resulting in the death of a single animal. And yet, during earlier time periods, hunters executed mass kills in both regions. Why did Late Prehistoric hunters on the Southern/Central Plains abandon mass bison kills, even though their Northern Plains contemporaries continued to execute them? Oddly, bison bone is often found at Late Prehistoric residential sites across the Southern/Central Plains, suggesting that, despite the absence of large kills, bison played an equally important dietary role. How is bison bone so widespread at residential sites when kill sites are so rare? At present, an adequate explanation for the paucity of large bison kill sites on the Southern/Central Plains has yet to be offered. This research will define and seek to explain the differences in Late Prehistoric bison hunting across the Great Plains. Specifically, the author will test if the differences resulted from variation in archaeological preservation (e.g., large kills occurred on the Southern/Central Plains, but their signature was destroyed over time), environment (e.g., the mild climate of the Southern/Central Plains rendered large bison kills during the fall unnecessary), technology (e.g., hunters on the Southern/Central Plains did not have weapons necessary for mass kills), or social organization (e.g., Southern/Central Plains groups were more sedentary and relied heavily on horticulture). To test these hypotheses, existing data on bison kill sites and Great Plains environment will be gathered from government records and published sources and compiled to produce a unified database. These data will be analyzed using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a computer system designed specifically for geographic data. The overall goals of the research are threefold: (a) to identify changes in bison procurement over time and space, (b) to explain differences in bison hunting strategies in terms of the environment; and (c) to define the relationship between climate, bison, and humans on the Great Plains.The project will generate an up-to-date synthesis of archaeological and environmental data, which will be made available to other researchers through digital media. In fact, the project results will be useful to researchers in other sciences, and thus encourage interdisciplinary data sharing and collaboration. Broader impacts of the research include the incorporation of underused government site records. Also, the proposed research will integrate innovative applications of GIS and these may be used to address similar problems in the future. Finally, this research will greatly benefit Native American populations indigenous to the Great Plains. By calling attention to the diversity amongst prehistoric aboriginal groups, this research will provide a more complex and nuanced perception of their culture history.