Hoofprints of the Past Museum is pleased to have Spencer R. Pelton present Bison Hunting in Hole-in-the-Wall Country: Results of the Wold Bison Jump
This presentation provides an overview of prehistoric bison hunting on the northern Plains, reconstructs the events that occurred at the Wold Bison Jump, and then contextualizes those events relative to other bison jumps across the Plains.
Driving bison off cliffs during large scale hunts (or “bison jumping”) was a widespread practice among Native Americans living on the northern Plains of Montana, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, but less so among groups living in Wyoming. In fact, the Wold Bison Jump, located on the Hole in the Wall Ranch west of Kaycee, WY, is one of a very few number of bison jumps in Wyoming. The University of Wyoming conducted research at this bison jump in 2013 and 2014, finding evidence for a single, rather catastrophic bison jump event and potentially tying the jump to the ancestral Crow.
Spencer Pelton received his PhD from the University of Wyoming in 2018. He has worked on archaeological sites in Wyoming for the past six years, most recently at the Powars II Paleoindian ocher quarry, the La Prele Clovis site, and the Sisters Hill Paleoindian site. Spencer lives in Douglas, WY with his wife Hallie and their dog Cashew, where he works for Transcon Environmental as a senior archaeologist.
At 1:30 before the presentation the Hoofprints of the Past Museum Board will hold a brief meeting and annual report on the museum’s 2018 activities. Coffee and cookies will be served.