Abstract

In 1995 the writer completed a study of seasonally sensitive bison dentition and/or fetal/newborn remains from 29 sites located throughout southern Alberta and northern Montana. Those remains represent a minimum of 357 individual bison for which the time of year or season in which they died can be inferred. This presentation focuses on the seasonality evidence from the five largest site samples examined. Those five samples collectively represent a minimum of 174 bison for which season of death can be inferred. Three of these five sites are located in Southern Alberta, and two in Northern Montana. Cultural phases represented include Pelican Lake, Old Women's, Saddle Butte and Highwood. Evidence from these sites strongly indicates the presence of two well defined and re-occurring patterns in the seasonal use of bison kills within the plains of southern Alberta and Northern Montana. Ethnographic analogues and other types of archaeological evidence both corroborate the patterning observed in this seasonality data, as well as providing a basis for further interpreting its significance in understanding the dynamics of prehistoric culture history, settlement, and subsistence within the region.