landon p. karr university of exeter
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Bone Marrow and Bone Grease Exploitation at the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village: Human Cultural Adaptive Strategies on the Northern Plains. Landon P. Karr University of Exeter. The Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village. The Middle Missouri Region. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Bone Marrow and Bone Grease Exploitation at the Mitchell Prehistoric
Indian Village: Human Cultural Adaptive Strategies on the Northern
Plains
Landon P. Karr
University of Exeter
The Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village
The Middle Missouri Region
• Map depicts the Mitchell site in relation to hundreds of other Middle Missouri Tradition sites over an area of more than 200,000 square miles
Mitchell•
Adapted from Johnson 2007
The Initial Middle Missouri Complex• The Initial Middle Missouri
is a cultural complex defined by sedentary, earthlodge dwelling farmer/hunter villagers largely reliant upon maize cultivation and bison procurement.
• The Initial Middle Missouri is largely confined to North and South Dakota with minor outgrowths in adjacent states.
From Lehmer 1971
The Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village
The Thomsen Center Archeodome
The Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village
Fragmented Bone Deposits
Bone Marrow and Bone Grease Extraction Process
• Death of Animal
• Bone Fracturing (allows access, increased surface area)
• Cleaned Bones (remove periosteum)
• Scraping, Boiling (separate fat from bone)
• Collection
• Use, Preservation
Methodology
• 1) Identifying three (3) collections of fragmented bone material from distinct temporal contexts: Early, Middle, and Late
• Early Context: – Unit 9, Layer 19. Avg. 125.6 cmbs
• Middle Context: – Unit 9, Layer 10. Avg 64.8 cmbs
• Late Context: – N1302 E204, Layer 2, Level 2. Avg. 10.5 cmbs
Methodology• 2) Separating Bone by
Element Type• Diaphyseal Shaft
• Appendicular Cancellous
• Axial Cancellous
• Miscellaneous Cancellous
• Ribs, Jaws, and Verterbral Spines (low fat quality and low fat:effort yield)
• Whole and Partial Bones (Complete Epiphyses)
• Other bones (birds, rodents, cranial fragments, etc)
Methodology
• 3) Sorting elemental types by size (0-19mm, 20-29mm, 30-39mm… 90-99mm, 100mm+
Methodology
• 4) Weighing bone sorted by elemental type and size.
Methodology• 5) Diaphyseal fragments assigned
‘Freshness Fracture Index Scores’--a score assigned on a scale from 0-6 that takes into account three critical factors in determining freshness of breakage: 1) helical fracture pattern, 2) angle of fracture to the cortical surface, and 3) smoothness of fractured surface.
• 6) Fragments examined for evidence of gnawing, cutmarks, dynamic impact scars, rebound scars, etc. Very little evidence of gnawing is evident on the bone material, while cutmarks and impact scars are common.
Real Weight by Size Class
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
0-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90-99 100+ Whole & Part
Mas
s (g
)
Size (mm)
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
0-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90-99 100+ Whole & Part
Mas
s (g
)
Size (mm)
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
0-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90-99 100+ Whole & Part
Mas
s (g)
Size (mm)
Early
Middle Late
Relative Element Weight by Size
Class0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
0-19 20-2930-3940-4950-5960-6970-7980-8990-99 100+
Size (mm)
Miscellaneous Cancellous
Axial Cancellous
Appendicular Cancellous
Dense Diaphysis
Ribs, Jaws, and Vertebral Spines
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
0-19 20-2930-3940-4950-5960-6970-7980-8990-99 100+
Size (mm)
Miscellaneous Cancellous
Axial Cancellous
Appendicular Cancellous
Dense Diaphysis
Ribs, Jaws, and Vertebral Spines
Early
Middle Late
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
0-19 20-2930-3940-4950-5960-6970-7980-8990-99 100+
Size (mm)
Miscellaneous Cancellous
Axial Cancellous
Appendicular Cancellous
Dense Diaphysis
Ribs, Jaws, and Vertebral Spines
Late
State of Bone When Fractured
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Early Middle Late
Mineralized
Dry
Fresh
Freshness Fracture
Index Scores0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Zero One Two Three Four Five Six
FFI Score
Num
ber o
f Spe
cim
ens
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Zero One Two Three Four Five Six
FFI Score
Num
ber
of S
peci
men
s
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Zero One Two Three Four Five Six
FFI Score
Num
ber
of S
peci
men
s
Early: 1.59
Middle: 1.52 Late: 1.51
Implications• The presence of intensive bone fat exploitation
activity suggests significant research potential for the artifactual collections from Middle Missouri region and the several hundred village sites that it encompasses.
• Bone marrow and bone grease exploitation was an evolving cultural activity in the Lower James River valley during the Initial Middle Missouri period (approximately 800-1000 years before present).
• Regional intra- and/or intercultural trade networks and subsistence stresses may explain the importance of bone marrow and bone grease exploitation at the Mitchell site.
Conclusions• A practice documented ethnographically in the 17th-19th
centuries is confirmed by the archaeological record of the 11th century.
• Extensive evidence for bone marrow and bone grease exploitation and lack of taphonomic evidence rules out taphonomic agencies as possible explanations for vast fragmented bone deposits.
• Bone marrow extraction at the Mitchell Village site is demonstrated consistently throughout the occupation of the site.
• Bone grease exploitation is shown to have increased dramatically over the course of the cultural occupation of the Mitchell site. Nearly no such activity was taking place at the beginning of the occupation of the site, while by the end of the occupation. nearly all bone fats were being intensively exploited.
