Leland C. Bement

Beyond the Bone Beds

For those interested in the archaeology of prehistoric North America, author Leland C. Bement's Beyond the Bone Beds: Large-Scale Bison Kills in Northwest Oklahoma presents carefully researched technical data that will enlighten scholars, students, field researchers, and general readers alike. Bison are a keystone prey species of the grassland ecosystem, often migrating long distances. North American hunter-gatherers relied on large-scale bison hunting, which greatly influenced their culture. For over thirty years, senior research archaeologist Leland Bement has excavated and analyzed bison kill sites with his research teams, cataloging the faunal remains and associated artifacts. Embracing sites spanning 12,000 years of prehistory with artifacts from the Clovis, Folsom, Late Paleoindian, Late Archaic, and Late Prehistoric periods, the collection at the Courson Family Bison Research Center offers a uniquely broad palette for the study of these hunter-gatherers' relationships with and use of bison, and the development of hunting technologies. Bement has organized the sites, bones, and artifacts contained in the CFBRC chronologically. This important work makes possible the assessment of fluctuations in bison populations over the centuries, along with the influences of climate, human predation and changing hunting strategies. Bement presents his research with illustrative photographs, charts, and line art to engage both archaeological practitioners and well-informed laypersons. Beyond the Bone Beds offers its readers a new perspective on the prehistoric and later peoples of North America and their interactions with their environment.