Colorado State University Team Excavates Ancient Bison Kill Site
Thursday, May 28, 1998
FORT COLLINS--Colorado State anthropologists and students
have begun excavating an archaeological site in Windsor where
researchers believe bison were killed by Indians 2,000-4,000
years ago.
The bison bone bed, discovered in a developing subdivision,
contains unusually well-preserved bones and is one of only a few
bison kill sites in Colorado dating from the late Archaic period.
When bones and an arrowhead were found protruding from a newly
cut hillside last fall, a Colorado State team gained permission
to perform test excavations. The team determined the site was
historically significant and organized the comprehensive dig that
began this week.
"Bison bone beds are fairly common in the West, but finding
a bison kill site from this time period in Northern Colorado is
very rare," said Larry Todd, associate professor of anthropology
at Colorado State. "This is an opportunity to reconstruct the
late Archaic period. This site is also unique because of the
excellent preservation of bone, which will allow us to do
extremely accurate analysis. Our test excavations indicate the
site was buried with sediment soon after the kill event, which
kept the bones in pristine condition. They show cut marks, which
are clear evidence of human butchery."
Todd and his assistant, Chad Jones, an anthropology graduate
student, will lead a team of 15 undergraduate and graduate
students and volunteers in unearthing the layer of bones located
in what researchers think is an old creek bed where two drainages
converged. The area has been named the Kaplan-Hoover Bison Kill
Site, after Les Kaplan, the land owner and president of River
West Development Corp., and Gary Hoover, the owner of the company
constructing the new subdivision. The two men have given Colorado
State permission to excavate.
"We believe 30-50 bison were killed by Indian hunters who
drove them over the edge of a cliff or ran them into the arroyo,"
said Jones. "The bones not only show marks made by stone tools,
but also marks made by carnivores that may have scavenged the
site after the people left."
Colorado State students and anthropologists will work at the
site through July 16, recording every object larger than a
centimeter. Jones said that the careful excavation effort will
reveal more details about the kill event, but that researchers
also hope findings will give them broader insight into human
activities, animal life, climate and vegetation on the plains
thousands of years ago.
Excavation is just the beginning of the project for Colorado
State researchers. "Archaeological research takes six months to a
year in the lab for every month spent on the site," said Todd.
"So the excitement of discovery will continue long after the
excavation is complete. The collection of bones becomes a
reference library for anthropology students."
Through analysis of the bison bones and teeth, researchers
will learn about the composition and health of the herd,
including the ages and numbers of bulls, cows and calves.
Chemical analysis will help determine what types of grasses the
animals ate and how much grit was in their diet. These data will
indicate how dry the climate was at the time.
"When we have a well-preserved site like this, we're able to
get a highly accurate record of past rainfall and climate
patterns," said Todd. "This can aid in developing methods for
today's land management."
Anthropologists will also analyze the site to determine the
season of the kill. Studying the marks on the bones will indicate
how much meat and what cuts of meat were taken. The arrowhead
found at the site and other tools that may be uncovered will
offer further clues about the Indians' lifestyle.
"By looking at the type of stone used to make tools we can
guess where these Indians came from and which direction they were
moving," said Todd. "This can help in charting the flow of people
across the plains."
With new DNA testing technology, scientists can identify
similarities between the bison that were killed at the Kaplan-
Hoover site and bison found at other sites. This technology could
answer questions about the typical size of bison herds and how
they migrated.
Visitors are welcome to tour the Kaplan-Hoover Bison Kill
Site during designated hours. The site is open for visits from
9 a.m.-3 p.m. May 29-June 4; June 9-18; June 23-July 2; and July
6-16. The site is in the River West Housing Development, located
two-and-a-half miles east of the Windsor exit off I-25. Large
groups and people with special needs should call Chad Jones in
the Center for Human Paleoecology at (970) 491-5110 to schedule a
tour.
Funding for the excavation is provided by the College of
Liberal Arts and the department of anthropology.
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