landon p. karr university of exeter

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.

Thank you!Landon P. Karr

University of Exeter

lpkarr@gmail.com