A Precise Chronology of Middle to Late Holocene Bison Exploitation in the Far Southern Great Plains

Abstract

In regions on the margins of the Great Plains grasslands, documenting the intermittent history of bison exploitation has presented challenges to archeologists. Chronologies based on archeological associations have long been useful in regional research, but can be imprecise and of inadequate resolution for constructing precise sequences of prehistoric events. Here, we present a record of directly dated bison from archeological contexts spanning the last 6000 years on the very southern extent of the Great Plains. This study includes 61 specimens from archeological contexts that were dated by XAD purified AMS radiocarbon, with reported errors of only 15-20 14C years for most dates. The resulting record of bison exploitation for this area defines four main periods (Calf Creek, Late Archaic 1 and 2, and early Toyah) during which bison were exploited. Several dates also indicate an early historic presence of bison; this period may represent a late facet of the Toyah horizon. This study adds significant chronological resolution to the regional record of bison in parts of Texas and begins to help correlate cultural chronologies with important climatic data. It also points to the research value of obtaining additional directly dated bison samples from temporally and geographically diverse archeological contexts in our study area and beyond.

Archaeological and Geological Test Excavations at Site 41HM61, Hamilton County, Texas

“…defines the end of the Early Archaic in this model, although subsequent dating of Calf Creek remains suggests that this period may extend as late as about 5700 cal B.P. (Lohse et al 2014c). One significant aspect of this revised sequence is that it redefines the Late Prehistoric period as consisting solely of the Toyah interval.…”

“…This decline is sharply reversed almost immediately starting with Temporal Interval K, the Toyah interval. Climatically, this period corresponds with the Little Ice Age, a sharp reversal of MCA warming and, additionally, the return of bison to the project area for the first time in about 1,500 years (Lohse et al 2014c).…”

“…Additionally, however, and in order to overcome some of the limitations of the Ft. Hood data, the regional record is reconciled with new models for understanding Middle Archaic to Late Prehistoric culture and chronology in central Texas based, on an analysis and review of select radiocarbon data from the region (Lohse et al 2014a) and also on a directly dated record of bison exploitation in central Texas (Lohse et al 2014b(Lohse et al , 2014c).…”

“…Another, perhaps more significant, aspect of this revised sequence is that it relies heavily on the directly dated record of bison presence and exploitation from Calf Creek times onward (Lohse et al 2014c). The presence of bison is largely in response to environmental conditions, specifically including the occurrence of cold climatic intervals that were severe enough to influence the available forage suitable to bison in this far southern reach of the Plains environmental province (Lohse et al 2014b).…”

“…This record of bison exploitation, which is examined in additional detail in Chapter 10 in this report, defines five specific intervals of bison presence occurring in three general time periods: Calf Creek (ca. 5950-5800 (Lohse et al 2014b(Lohse et al , 2014cWeinstein et al 2014). This record will continue to be adjusted as bison dating continues, and it is expected that modifications will occur, in particular, at the beginning and ending dates of bison periods.…”