Papers by K.C. (Kristen) Carlson
Plains Anthropologist, 2021
Quaternary International, 2013
This paper focuses on the development of large scale bison hunting across the North American Grea... more This paper focuses on the development of large scale bison hunting across the North American Great Plains. Prehistoric hunters were not merely opportunistic. An understanding of topography, environ- ment, bison behavior, and migration patterns was necessary to perform complex, large scale bison kills. In turn, these kills required the existence of social complexity whereby multiple groups of hunters worked in unison toward a successful kill event. On the southern Plains of North America, evidence suggests large scale bison hunting arose as mammoths and other megafauna became extinct 11,000 radiocarbon years ago. We review this evidence in light of new site discoveries.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2018
Stable carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) isotope ratios from bison bone collagen recovered fr... more Stable carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) isotope ratios from bison bone collagen recovered from Paleoindian bison kill sites provide a record of the B/A, YD, and EH climates in the North American southern Plains. This record is compared to the stable C isotopes derived from previously published, dated paleosols from the region. Together these data sources define a local response of the southern Plains grassland structure to the changing climatic conditions , specifically temperature and precipitation, during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition, including a Clovis drought and late Folsom warmup and drying.
The Archaeology of Large-Scale Manipulation of Prey, 2018
The research reported in this chapter compares southern and northern Plains' early Paleoindian pe... more The research reported in this chapter compares southern and northern Plains' early Paleoindian period communal bison hunting using bison bone stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes from samples selected from well-dated context. The isotopic results are then used to reconstruct levels of bison mobility and the environment. This research focuses on the early Paleoindian time period, 11,100-10,000 radiocarbon years before present (bp), when large-scale bison hunting is prevalent across the northwestern and southern Plains, enabling an interregional comparison. Large-scale kill events may exist prior to this period; however, the archaeological record of such events is sparse (Kornfeld, Frison, and Larsen 2010).
Plainview: The Enigmatic Artifact Style of the Great Plains, 2017
Plains Anthropologist, 2012
Badger Hole, 34HP194, is a Folsom-age arroyo bison kill along the north side of the Beaver River ... more Badger Hole, 34HP194, is a Folsom-age arroyo bison kill along the north side of the Beaver River floodplain in northwestern Oklahoma. Badger Hole joins the Cooper and Jake Bluff sites to define one of the highest density Folsom site concentrations in this area of the southern Plains. Together these sites suggest the possible existence of a bison hunting complex that is structured on bison migration, arroyo occurrence, and seasonally specific intercept patterns. A preliminary definition of the Beaver River bison hunting complex is provided based on recent results of limited excavation at the recently discovered Badger Hole site.
Conference Presentations by K.C. (Kristen) Carlson
Society for American Archaeologists 84th Annual Meeting, 2019
Introduction The summer 2016 field school at the Ravenscroft site in the Oklahoma panhandle concl... more Introduction The summer 2016 field school at the Ravenscroft site in the Oklahoma panhandle concluded four years of excavation of at least two late Paleoindian bison kills. In 2005 and 2006, a steep sided arroyo was excavated, Rav 1. This first arroyo was within 200 meters of the second arroyo, Rav II, where excavations began in 2013. Here we summarize the findings of the largest and most recently excavated of the two arroyo trap kills, Rav 2. The most significant discovery of this summers excavations were the heavily weathered bones buried deep within the bone bed, which point to two kill levels in the same arroyo. These kills are separated by a distinctive layer of gley as well as an obvious break in weathering patterns. Gley is a distinctive gray soil which results from the biological decomposition process of the remaining flesh and entrails of the bison left to decompose over time.
1 was laid out as a 3x4m block. Block 2 was a 2x2m square, and Block 3 was a 2x1m square. The thr... more 1 was laid out as a 3x4m block. Block 2 was a 2x2m square, and Block 3 was a 2x1m square. The three block locations were chosen based on geophysical analysis conducted by Adam Wiewel and Morgan Beyer from the Midwest Archaeological Center in March 2018. Excavation pits were selected from ground truth anomalies located during the geophysical survey. All anomalies produced archaeological material listed to the left. The excavation produced 746 artifacts. Additional bulk samples collected from Feature 2, a storage pit, will increase the artifact count after further analysis. Artifacts recovered include bison bone (Bison bison), unidentified bone, pottery sherds, flakes, projectile points, and stone tools. Potsherds were decorated with Oneota and Central Plains Tradition styles and sometimes both on the same vessel, all from locally made materials. Projectile points were either notched or unnotched. Unnotched projectile points were the most common at the site and the majority of points were found in Block 2. Stone tool sourcing will inform the origin of the stones used for both the pipe depicted above and the stone tools. Ceramic analysis will further elucidate the cultural interaction at the site, and faunal analysis will focus on the hunting strategies of this group. A new sequence of dates across the site is a top priority to determine if this site was continually occupied.
After the extinction of megafauna across North America hunters adapted to the largest remaining p... more After the extinction of megafauna across North America hunters adapted to the largest remaining prey animals on the plains, bison. This analysis focuses on the study of bison remains from the Jake Bluff Kill site in northwestern Oklahoma. Jake Bluff is one of the most recent accepted Clovis kill sites in North America, and one of the few mass kill events of bison associated with Clovis hunters. Through the use of stable isotope and morphometric analysis we demonstrate the changes in bison condition and diet during the transition from the Clovis time period to the Folsom time period at an arroyo trap kill complex (Beaver River Complex) on the southern Plains.
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Papers by K.C. (Kristen) Carlson
Conference Presentations by K.C. (Kristen) Carlson