Probable Edible and Medicinal Flora Used by Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Groups in the Bighorn and Wind River Basins of North Central Wyoming

Summary

The intent of this paper is to assist others with the objective of insights concerning the flora, food choices, and life styles of Native American hunter-gatherers of 2,000-12,000 years ago -particularly concerning the Wind River and Bighorn Basins of western Wyoming. The reason for full listings, rather than the shortened version found in archaeological reports, is to aid the student who would not have access to an extensive bibliography. Although it may appear to be redundant to state much the same use of a plant as another, such repeated consistency for the learner shows a consensus among the researchers. This hopefully will help students construct their own thoughts and independently compare, contrast, and evaluate the information. The following flora list represents vegetal species associated with prehistoric hunter-gatherer sites in the Wind River and Bighorn basins, of north central Wyoming. The archaeological sources for the list are primarily from Frison (1978), Guernsey (1989) (describing floral remains from the Legend Rock Petroglyph site, 48H04), Scott-Cummings (1991) (describing macrofloral remains from a prehistoric site near South Pass City, 48FR434, and Scott-Cummings et al. (2001). The latter report investigates the flora remains found in six pit house features ranging in time from the Early Archaic through the Late Prehistoric Periods. The pit house features were found in the Beaver Creek vicinity near Riverton, Wyoming, Also in this report are several contemporary flora counts from sites with evidence of hunter-gatherer occupations, including Miller Spring (48FR3309) and Onion Flats (48FR760). Different aspects of Miller Spring (in 1996) and Onion Flats (in 1997) have been researched as part of an educational archaeological learning program by students and staff at Wyoming Indian High School, with plant listings from those sites being submitted through that program.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Wyoming Archaeologist 2002

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Contact(s): Marcia Peterson

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