Recent radiocarbon dating demonstrates that Bison bison was present in the central Ohio River Valley between AD 1450 and 1800. The association of this species with cultural material suggests that bison were exploited as a source of food and raw material by Fort Ancient peoples of the Madisonville phase. Bison sought access to the salt and sulphur spings at Big Bone Lick, Kentucky, making this an important locale for bison exploitation.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AdamsWilliam R.1949Archaeological Notes on Posey County, Indiana, Indiana Historical Bureau, Indianapolis.
2.
AllenJ. A.1876The American Bison Living and Extinct, Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 4, p. 10. Harvard University Press, Boston.
3.
CooperWilliam1831Notices of Big Bone Lick, Monthly American Journal of Geology, 1, pp. 158–174, 205–216.
4.
CramerZadok1814The Navigator, pp. 104, 225–230.
5.
CraneH. R. and GriffinJames B.1966University of Michigan Radiocarbon Dates, Radiocarbon, 8, pp. 256–285.
6.
CrawfordEllis1961Notes on the Rogers Site, Behringer/Crawford Museum, unpublished.
7.
ZcushingJohn P. (editor) 1909Lyell's Travels in North America, Charles F. Merrill Co., New York.
8.
EspelageRichard J.1980An Engraved Trapezoidal Pendant from the 33Ha66 Site, Ohio Archaeologist, 30, pp. 8–9.
9.
EssenpreisPatricia S.1978, Fort Ancient Settlement: Differential Response at a Mississippian-Late Woodland Interface, in Mississippian Settlement Patterns, SmithBruce D. (ed.), Academic Press, New York, pp. 141–167.
10.
EwersJohn C.1955The Horse in Blackfoot Indian Culture, Smithsonian Institute Press, Washington D.C.
11.
FordR. I.1974Northeastern Archaeology: Past and Future Directions, Annual Review of Anthropology, 3, pp. 385–413.
12.
GallineeAbbe1669Memoirs of Abbe Gallinee (1669–1670), Memoirs et Document Originaux, Paris.
13.
GreenThomas and MunsonCheryl Ann1978, Mississippian Settlement Patterns in Southwestern Indiana, in Mississippian Settlement Patterns, SmithBruce D. (ed.), Academic Press, New York, pp. 293–330.
14.
GriffinJames B.1943The Fort Ancient Aspect, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.
15.
GriffinJohn W. and WrayDavid E.1945Bison in Illinois Archaeology, Illinois Academy of Science Transactions, 38, pp. 21–26.
16.
GuildayJohn E.1963Evidence for Buffalo in Prehistoric Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Archaeology33(3), pp. 135–139.
17.
JilsonWillard Rouse1936Big Bone Lick, Standard Printing Co., Louisville.
18.
LowCharles F.1880Archaeological Explorations near Madisonville, Ohio, Journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, 3:1, pp. 40–68; 2, pp. 128–139; 3, 203–220.
19.
Mc DonaldJerry N.1981North American Bison, University of California Press.
20.
PerzigianAnthony J.TenchPatricia A., and BraunDonna J.1984, Prehistoric Health in the Ohio River Valley, in Paleopathology at the Origins of Agriculture, CohenMark N. and ArmelagosGeorge J. (eds.), Academic Press, New York, pp. 347–366.
21.
ShalerNathaniel S.1876On the Age of the Bison in the Ohio Valley, Memoirs of the Kentucky Geological Survey, 1:2, pp. 232–236.
22.
SheaJohn G.1852Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi Valley, Redfield, New York.
23.
SchultzC. B.WhitmoreFrank C.RayLouis L., and CrawfordEllis C.1967Big Bone Lick, Museum Notes No. 33.
24.
StarrFred S.1960The Archaeology of Hamilton County, Cincinnati Museum of Natural History, Cincinnati.
25.
TankersleyKenneth B.1982The Occurrence of Bison with the Fort Ancient People of Big Bone Lick and Vicinity, A paper presented at the spring meeting of the Ohio Archaeological Council, Columbus, Ohio.
26.
TankersleyKenneth B.1984Bone Artifact: Fossil or Modern, Ohio Archaeologist, 34:1, pp. 18–19.
27.
TankersleyKenneth B.1985The Potential for Early-Man Sites at Big Bone Lick, Kentucky, Tennessee Anthropologist, 10(1), pp. 27–49.
28.
WhitmoreFrank C.1965USGS Radiocarbon Dates, Radiocarbon, 7, p. 374.
29.
WilloughbyCharles C.1920Indian Village and Cemetery near Madisonville, Ohio, Papers of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, 8:1, pp. 47–81.