Investigating Resource Structure and Human Mobility: An Example from Folsom-Aged Bison Kill Sites on the U.S. Southern Great Plains

Abstract

Modern and prehistoric bison teeth from the Southern Plains are analyzed to assess the interrelatedness of Bison antiquus - an extinct form of the North American buffalo - and human movements between 10,800 and 10,200 years ago. This study uses Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP/MS) to examine the down-tooth distribution of trace elements in enamel of modern Bison bison from Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas to define the geographical limits and concentrations of specific minerals. In addition, Bison antiquus teeth from Early Paleoindian locales on the Southern Plains are analyzed. The modern bison enamel provides an elemental map upon which the movements of extinct herds are assessed. Bison antiquus herd movement and structure can be linked to human adaptive strategies on the Southern Plains. Human hunting tactics shifted from a moderately specialized approach to highly specialized bison hunting around 11,000 B.P. The presence of predictable migratory and residential bison herds in the Southern Plains was likely a catalyst for specialized bison hunting.