A Reexamination of the Nature and Context of the Finley Paleoindian Bison Bonebeds in Southwest Wyoming

Summary

The Finley site is in the western Killpecker dunes in the Green River valley in southwest Wyoming, and consists of at least two Cody age bison bonebeds. For modern Paleoindian researchers, Finley still poses important questions and offers several potential avenues for research. The prior work with the Finley faunal remains, as well as our current investigations, demonstrate that the site is associated with an enormous collection of bison remains that are thought to have been killed on site or nearby. Our reexamination of the site combines a taphonomic-based zooarchaeological analysis of the bison remains from both components with additional field-based investigations of the geoarchaeological context of the bonebeds. This work is being undertaken in order to 1) improve our understanding of the natural and cultural formational histories of the deposits, 2) evaluate prior interpretations concerning site function and season of occupation, and 3) evaluate how the Finley site improves our understanding of regional Paleoindian chronostratigraphy and paleoenvironments. Ultimately, our goal is to evaluate the validity of the prior interpretations of the site and consider the importance of the site to understanding the Paleoindian occupation of North America.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20328