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

在大卫J.梅尔策博士的监督下，朱迪思库珀将分析在大平原上史前晚期野牛杀戮地点收集的数据。在过去的两千年里，北方平原上大规模的野牛杀戮是很常见的。猎人们把牛群赶下悬崖，或者把它们困在畜栏里。狩猎活动大多发生在秋天，那时人们为北方平原的严冬收集食物。相反，在同一时期的南部/中部平原，大型野牛的杀戮是罕见的。相反，猎人们以少量的野牛为目标，往往导致一只野牛死亡。然而，在更早的时期，猎人在这两个地区进行了大规模杀戮。为什么史前晚期的猎人在南部/中部平原放弃大规模猎杀野牛，尽管他们的北方平原同时代人继续处决它们？奇怪的是，野牛的骨头经常在南部/中部平原的史前晚期居住地发现，这表明，尽管没有大规模的杀戮，野牛发挥了同样重要的饮食作用。为什么野牛的骨头在住宅区如此普遍，而杀戮地点却如此罕见？目前，还没有对南部/中部平原上缺乏大型野牛杀戮地点做出充分的解释。这项研究将定义并试图解释史前晚期野牛在大平原上狩猎的差异。具体来说，作者将测试这些差异是否是由考古保存的变化造成的（例如，大规模的杀戮发生在南部/中部平原，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在秋天期间不需要大量的野牛杀戮），技术（例如，南方/中原的猎人没有大规模杀戮所必需的武器），或社会组织（例如，南方/中原群体更定居，严重依赖园艺）。为了验证这些假设，将从政府记录和公开资料中收集有关野牛杀戮地点和大平原环境的现有数据，并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。研究的总体目标有三个方面：（a）确定野牛采购随时间和空间的变化，（B）解释野牛狩猎策略在环境方面的差异;以及（c）确定大平原上气候、野牛和人类之间的关系。该项目将产生最新的考古和环境数据综合，其他研究人员也可以通过数字媒体获得这些信息。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。研究的更广泛影响包括纳入未充分利用的政府网站记录。此外，拟议的研究将整合地理信息系统的创新应用，这些可能被用来解决类似的问题在未来。最后，这项研究将大大有利于大平原土著美国人。借由唤起对史前原住民族群多样性的关注，本研究将提供一个更复杂和细致入微的文化历史观。

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.