Bickering over Bison Bones: Radiocarbon and Stable Isotope Analysis to Determine Number of Individuals at the Haynie Site (5MT1905)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Haynie site (5MT1905) is an ancestral Pueblo village that was intermittently occupied from approximately AD 700 to 1280. The formation of this village is extremely complex, as it includes multiple occupations and significant modern disturbance. The Crow Canyon Archaeological Center has conducted research at Haynie since 2017, focusing on reconstructing its occupational history, connections to local and regional networks, its role as a community center through time, and human-environment interactions. Excavations in two pit structures likely dating to the 10th and 11th centuries yielded bison (Bison bison) remains, which are rare for the Colorado Plateau. These remains are found in a few different horizontal and vertical depositional contexts. However, when the skeletal elements are considered together, the Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) equals one. Are there multiple bison individuals represented in these pit structures or a single individual? We use high-precision AMS radiocarbon dating—providing stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope values—on multiple bison specimens to answer this question. Our analysis provides insights into the extent of depositional mixing at Haynie, whether people were intentionally placing bison remains in the same location over time, and whether these bison were locally procured or not.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37990.0