| The purpose of this study is to empirically address evidence relevant to variability in hunter-gatherer subsistence strategies on the eastern Great Plains between 8500 and 5000 cal BP. Various scenarios have been proposed to explain ways in which Plains Archaic groups adjusted to middle Holocene climate change (e.g., increased diet breadth, more intense use of existing resources). However, few models of subsistence change for this time period attempt to understand possible fluctuations in the availability of highly-ranked faunal resources. Given the importance of large fauna to Plains subsistence strategies throughout prehistory, any model of Plains Archaic subsistence must consider the paleoecology of bison. Stable isotopes (delta13 C, delta18O, 87Sr/ 86Sr), skeletal biometry, and tooth morphology allow local bison populations to be defined according to dietary preferences, herd-level biometric trends, and movement patterns. In the eastern Great Plains during the middle Holocene, it is suggested that bison herds were local grazers who did not move large distances seasonally or annually. These animals also exhibited consistent seasonal landscape-use patterning that would have made them amenable to human procurement strategies. As would be expected if highly-ranked bison were locally available to hunter-gatherers, most middle Holocene archaeological assemblages examined in this study were bison kill or processing sites. These animals were commonly procured during the cold season through both encounter hunting and small, multianimal kills. In most cases, carcasses were processed for meat and high-return marrow resources. Hunter-gatherers occasionally utilized non-bison fauna (e.g., small mammals, mussels, aquatic fauna, birds) that nutritionally complemented seasonal variability in large mammal resources. This study shows that bison hunting was an important aspect of Early Plains Archaic subsistence strategies in the eastern Plains. However, the decision to utilize bison would not have required a highly mobile lifestyle. Despite having local access to desirable faunal resources, middle Holocene hunter-gatherers transported high quality tool-stone long distances and maintained large burden-bearing canids suggesting, at times, a significant degree of human movement across the eastern Plains landscape. |
