Reconstructing a 600 Year Old Ceremonial Event from the Northern Plains: Analysis of Phytoliths from within a Modified Bison Skull

Summary

While numerous ethnographic accounts indicate the use of plants in the creation of ceremonial bison skull altars within many areas of the Great Plains, few examples of this practice has been identified from archaeological contexts. Analysis of phytoliths from soils (n=2) obtained from within and beneath a ceremonial bison skull (AD 1339 and 1397) recovered from the Crepeele site (DiMe-29), southwestern Manitoba, led to the identification of phytolith assemblages dominated by C4 grasses. Samples obtained from stratigraphic control samples (n=24) produced phytolith assemblages composed primarily of C3 grasses, more common to Northern Plains environments. Contradictions between phytolith types found within and beneath the bison skull feature and surrounding soil profile suggest that C4 plant materials were placed beneath the ceremonial bison skull during the creation of this altar. Results of this research indicate that bison and maize (Zea mays spp. mays) played both a dietary and spiritual role within pre-contact foraging societies inhabiting the Northern Great Plains approximately 600 years ago.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage