Minnesota Prehistory

Itasca Bison Kill Site

The Itasca Bison Kill site is located in Clearwater County of north central Minnesota. The site, located in the forested zone, is dated from 7,000 to 8,000 b.p. This is one of a few Archaic sites that have been excavated in Minnesota. A unique geographical feature in the valley, on a tributary of Nicollet Creek, provided an easy place to ambush bison. It is thought that anywhere from 25 to 100 people seasonally occupied this site during the fall and spring. It is probably a transitional site as the Archaic people moved between summer and winter camps. They apparently spent the summer in the prairie region to the west, and wintered in caves and wooded areas to the east.

Artifacts found in lake marl below peat deposits and on the adjacent slope suggest that the site was used in the fall for bison hunting, as the animals migrated to their wintering grounds, and in the spring to hunt turtles and fish. Activities evident in the camp were meat processing, bone and stone tool manufacturing, hide preparation, and woodworking.

The faunal remains discovered included bison, birds, turtles, amphibians, fish, and several mammal species. Among the latter, a dog skull was found and is thought to be the earliest evidence of such in Minnesota.

Projectile points include bifaces and side-notched points that resemble those recovered from bison kill sites in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska.

Tools found at this site consisted of end and side scrapers, knives, choppers, perforators, gravers, hammer stones, and grinding stones.

Bibliography

Shay, C. Thomas, The Itasca Bison Kill Site, An Ecological Analysis, Minnesota Prehistoric Series, Minnesota Historical Society, 197.

Skaar, Kent, The Archaic in Minnesota, Student Paper.