Arky Midterm 2: (5)Late middle mckean, Middle to late period transitions

mckean complex: lithic technology, subsistence, environment

lithics

• mckean point

• duncan point

• hanna point

mckean, duncan and hana all happen AT THE SAME TIME, they all overlap

• some use of atlatl

subsistence

• mostly bison hunting

environment

• increasingly severe winters

• warming is now over

what is the chronological order for the development of the mckean points

• it is argued that it went from mckean to duncan to hanna

• controversy around this because all these points are pretty similar

  • it is another case of were the tools just different because they were used for different things

• the points seem to coexist together

mckean

• covers a wide variety of points (the general look of all 3 points is the same)

• this is a landslip point

• distinct base notch

• this is the ONLY point in middle precontact with no side notches or corner notches

  

duncan

initially called the mckean stem because it looks exactly like the mckean point, just with a stem

base notch is still here

hanna

• base notch and side notch

Mckean sites! theres a couple (fences, pit houses, hunting evidence, diverse faunal) 8 total

cactus flower: this is the biggest one for understanding mckean, possible evidence for tipi here too, ambushed prey

scoggin: this is the only time we see a fenced enclosure for bison procurement

Mckean: possible pit house

dead indian creek: possible pit house

EfPm-2: possible evidence for tipi structures!!!!

billy big springs: kehoe identified four cultural components based on diagnostic projectile points (no absolute dates), which he attributed to a possible Paleoindian occupation and several phases of the Archaic and Late Precontact periods. Projectile points here show evidence for ambush hunting.

St. Marys river site: St. Mary River Bridge site, probably functioned as base camps that centralized resource-procurement where resources were diverse including bison, sheep, elk, deer, beaver, and salmonids were used throughout the Precontact sequence!!!!

mckean sites in the northern front: Lewis front

• 28 mckean sites here

Cactus flower site (occupations, site type, hunting style, artifacts,

• 10 occupations here (people came again and again, we see this from soil)

• this is a campsite

• prey was ambushed here

• we see distinct circular patterns of artifacts

• bone tools present

  • antler hammers, awls, bone scrapers, bone and shell beads)

Where did mckean first appear

• northwest wyoming (yellowstone), then south plains, then central

What are the proposed models for mckean expansion, and which is right

• 3 proposed models for mckean origins

  • it could have developed out of the oxbow phase

  • it might have been a culture that came from the mountains and foothills down to the plains

  • or it couldve been an indigenous insitu development that started to adapt and expand

subsistence: were they adaptable to local resources

• mckean tended to be highly adaptable to local resources

  • we know because of diversification

mckean subsistence, diversification and where

• they mostly ate bison in the north, but they were a little more diverse in the south and in the central plains

  • in the south and central plains they ate plant remains and charred seeds

roasting pits are local to

central and south

Bison procurement, how did they hunt?

• hunted in an opportunistic manner, less planning

  • traps, jumps, creeks and depressions

• their kills are either small herds or solitary animals

what is scoggins

• this is the only time we see a fenced surround used in bison procurement

mckean habitation, evidence, structures (__ and __)

• there is variable evidence for dwellings, we see this because there is already a shaky foundation for whether the points are even different or not

• increased use of rock shelters

• possible pit houses in (structures dug into the ground with a covering over it)

  • mckean

  • dead indian creek

they used multiple different types of dwellings

mckean burials (2 sites)

graham site

• cremations

• bundle burials

• no grave goods

gray site

• no grave goods

• simple, shallow burials

mckean trade

• dentalium shells (from mollusks those snail things) are found, and these are from the pacific coast

mckean perishables, where and in which does does this happen

• stuff is preserved in rock shelters

• we have found stuff preserved in the mummy cave site and leigh cave (both rocky caves)

  • we found preserved dart foreshafts, hide clothing, moccasins

similarities with mckean and oxbow

• they both used an opportunistic hunting style and targeted small herds or lone animals

• they overlapped time wise

• they overlapped with point styles

  • they are both projectile points

  • they are both land slip points (lanceloate)

differences with mckean and oxbow

• oxbow had connections to the east

  • copper found in graves came from the east

  • the east had complex burials, which we also saw in oxbow

  • the shells in the oxbow burials were from the east

• mckean had connections to the southwest

  • we see that boiling pits came from south (idk)

  • but mainly we see dentalium shells which suggests trade with pacific coast

• oxbow is an in situ development on the plains

  • we see this because we see that oxbow coincides with bitterroot, lusk, gowen

• whereas mckean was first found in yellowstone basin and then expanded from there

• oxbow was happening in the hypsithermal (warming), while mckean started in neoglacial (more severe winters)

• oxbow smashed the hell out of their bone while mckean didnt

oxbow has tons of burial evidence (bundle burials, ochre, grave goods)

mckean has only 2 sites with not a lot of evidence (no grave goods, no ochre, shallow)

Reading notes! our 2 main sites are

• billy big springs

• st marys river

billy big springs

• excavations showed projectile points and central hearth structures which suggests that billy big springs was used for ambush hunting

  • ambush hunting?

    • shown by projectile points

  • cooking and tool production may have also occured

    • evidence for this is the hearth

northern front: lewis front, what was in the sites

• sites had stone alignments

• could have been a base camp

  • suggested from projectile point sightings

• we see a lot going on near bighorn sheep habitats

regional economic hunting showed connections to which faunals on the uplands and wetlands

• upland hunting of bighorn sheep

• wetland is bison and elk

how did the emergence of a distinct cultural identity start in mckean

a marker of social identity was stone circles

What are the hypothesis for the origin of pelican lake and which is the better one and why

hypothesis with western influence: tunaxa tradition

• the grouping was mckean, pelican lake and avonlea

  • the point styles adapt in this order

• they say they developed in situ on the northwestern plains

hypothesis with eastern influence: Napkiwan tradition

• the influence was from the east by obxow besant and old womens phase

• they said that they were migrants to the plains from the east/southeast

we go more with tunaxa because we see more western influence from the northwestern plains in the pelican lake

• pelican lake seems to have developed from mckean/oxbow

What was the new technology of the pelican lake phase peoples:

• we see a lot of bison action

• we see bison points and bison jumps

• intensification of bison hunting

• we see a different hunting and subsistence pattern

  • reuse of landscape for kills

What were the pelican lake points, what type of points are they

• think Christmas tree

• points are straight and triangular

• these are atlatl and dart points

what is the later variation of pelican points called, what are its characteristics

• bracken shoulder points

• these are more shouldered

b is a bracken shoulder points

where are pelican points distributed

• moreso in northern plains (colorado, rocky mountains, alberta)

• these points are more numerous than all other points

pelican lake seems to overlap with

basant

what is the origin of pelican lake and what is the evidence

• origin seems to be an in situ development from mckean (tunaxa)

• most convincing evidence is that mckean is located lower than pelican geographically, this is an arky strat that suggests mckean is older

• mckean and oxbow are both the middle to late archaic period and these overlap. we start to think that pelican is an insitu development from mckean because when pelican points show up, both mckean and oxbow points start to disappear.

subsistence and hunting, kill sizes, change in killstyle

there is intense bison hunting

• we see an increase in kills in this time because there is good grass after the hypsithermal, which can support more bison and healthy bison, so there is larger herds.

in the bison hunting that we do see, there is innovation in the form of bison pounds, jumps were already a thing

we see large communal kills on a regular basis, especially since there are larger herds

they start to get into a groove and see what works, so they reuse landscapes for kills.

pelican lake shelter

• only evidence is really teepee lodge

pelican lake campsites, campsite size, whats found at the campsites

• the campsites are smaller, seems to reflect how they move in smaller groups

• at the campsite we see a lot of fbr, roasting pits and boiling pits and mittens (dumps of fbr that isnt useful anymore)

what are the 3 pelican lake sites and what types of sites are they

bow bottom site, highwood site, bracken cairn

• bow bottom is the only campsite and highwood and bracken cairn are both burial sites

bow bottom site, site type, artifacts, point styles, occupation time + proof

• this is a campsite that is by the bow river

• there are at least 18 buried stone circles near the bow river, with lots of artifacts in the stone circle (circle mold in rock center to hold teepee)

• most points here are pelican lake points, side notches show western influence

• this is likely a winter occupation

  • high density of artifacts usually means winter

  • few faunal remains suggests this is winter

highwood site, what was found

• burial site

• along the edge of highwood river

• lots of red ochre stains

• falls within pelican lake phase

what was found in highwood burial site graves, what artifacts

• 2 children

• de fleshed burial bundles

  within the graves we find:

  • pelican lake point

  • bison teeth and bear claws

  • shell beads (evidence from the west)

  • native copper fragments

Bracken cairn site, location, burial type, characteristics of land, practices

• burial pit covered with earth and ochre

• overlooks frenchman river, Saskatchewan

• the burials are secondary bundle burials, we see 5 individuals buried here

• cairn is on top of the burial land

• heavily heavily soaked with red ochre

Bracken cairn grave goods (everyday items and decorative items)

• we see lots of grave goods

  we see more everyday stuff like pelican points and stone tools

  but we also see decorative items like

  • tooth pendants

  • beaver teeth

  • deer antlers

  • bone beads

  • native copper

What influence and connection do we most commonly see in this phase

• we see connection to the west 2 ways

  • we see shell beads in the highwood grave goods which are found in the west

  • side notches on the pelican points which are connections to the west

what are the key characteristics of the pelican lake burial complex

• graves are in high spots overlooking water

• lots and lots of red ochre present

• we see secondary bundle burials, and more than one individual buried at a time

• sometimes rock cairns are placed over the pits

What are the common grave goods pertaining to the pelican lake burial complex

• native copper

• pelican points

• stone tools

• animal teeth

• shell pieces