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BACHEEISHDÍIO (PLACE WHERE MEN PACK MEAT)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2017

Edward W. Herrmann*
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
Rebecca A. Nathan
Affiliation:
Crow Tribal Historic Preservation Office, Crow Agency, MT 59022; Anthropology Department, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
Matthew J. Rowe
Affiliation:
School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719
Timothy P. McCleary
Affiliation:
General Studies Department, Little Big Horn College, Crow Agency, MT 59022
*
(edherrma@indiana.edu, corresponding author)

Abstract

Bacheeishdíio (“Place Where Men Pack Meat”), now called Grapevine Creek in English, is the subject of Crow oral traditions that document the cultural significance of the landscape and celebrate centuries of bison hunting in the drainage. We report an ongoing, community-based project that integrates archaeological field training and research goals into a collaborative indigenous archaeology project supporting the expressed goal of the Crow Tribal Historic Preservation Office to prepare a district-level nomination for the Grapevine Creek drainage basin. This paper describes findings from field investigations that document buffalo jump locales, a previously unreported bison bonebed, and associated archaeological features in the drainage, grounding Crow oral traditions that document buffalo jumps and large-scale bison hunts firmly into the landscape. We take a holistic approach that incorporates multiple lines of evidence to assess the archaeological record associated with bison jumps and bison hunting on the Crow Reservation in southern Montana. Results of this project include an enriched understanding of the Grapevine Creek archaeological record, greater awareness of buffalo hunting strategies on the northwest Plains, and, through field training, enhanced cultural resource management capabilities for the Crow Tribal Historic Preservation Office.

Bacheeishdíio (‘lugar donde los hombres empacan carne’), actualmente conocido como Grapevine Creek, Montana, es el eje de tradiciones orales de los crows que documentan el significado cultural del paisaje y celebran siglos de caza de búfalos en la cuenca. Presentamos un proyecto en curso con base comunitaria, que integra el entrenamiento de campo arqueológico y los objetivos de investigación en un proyecto de colaboración de arqueología indígena. Este proyecto apoya el objetivo propuesto por la Oficina de Preservación Histórica Tribal Crow (Crow Tribal Historic Preservation Office) de preparar una nominación a nivel de distrito para la cuenca de drenaje de Grapevine Creek. Este trabajo describe los resultados de investigaciones arqueológicas de campo que documentan lugares de despeñadero de búfalo, un yacimiento de huesos de bisontes no declarado previamente y rasgos arqueológicos asociados en la cuenca de drenaje, conectando firmemente con el paisaje las tradiciones orales crows que documentan despeñaderos de búfalo y cacerías de bisontes a gran escala. Empleamos un enfoque holístico que incorpora múltiples líneas de evidencia para evaluar el registro arqueológico asociado con despeñaderos de bisonte y caza de bisonte en la reserva crow en el sur de Montana. Los resultados de este proyecto incluyen una comprensión enriquecida del registro arqueológico de Grapevine Creek, una mayor conciencia sobre las estrategias de caza de búfalos en las llanuras del noroeste y, a través del entrenamiento de campo, mejoras en las capacidades de gestión de recursos culturales de la Oficina de Preservación Histórica Tribal Crow.

Type
Reports
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by the Society for American Archaeology 

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