Symbolism and Ritualistic Uses of the Bison Skull Among the Plains Indians of North America
Creators: name: St. Clair, Jacquelin E.
Publisher: name: The Wyoming Archaeological Society
Year: 2003
Subjects: subject: Wyoming
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/19431/wyoming
subject: Late Prehistoric
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/3245/late-prehistoric
subject: Late Archaic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/32/late-archaic
subject: Middle Paleoindian
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/8359/middle-paleoindian
subject: Crow/Hidasta
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/9569/crowhidasta
subject: Shoshone
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/66/shoshone
subject: Sioux
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/626/sioux
subject: Cheyenne/Arapaho
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/9574/cheyennearapaho
subject: Cooper
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/4749/cooper
subject: Ruby
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/132532/ruby
subject: Gull Lake
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/132535/gull-lake
subject: Vore
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/132533/vore
subject: Glenrock
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/132534/glenrock
subject: Fauna
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/4/fauna
subject: Arikara
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/123629/arikara
subject: Kiowa
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/152496/kiowa
subject: Pawnee
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/207/pawnee
subject: Kiowa Apache
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/169939/kiowa-apache
subject: Gros Ventre
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/117044/gros-ventre
subject: varved sediments
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/169937/varved-sediments
subject: Teton-Dakota
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/169938/teton-dakota
subject: Little Ice Age
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168342/little-ice-age
subject: Comanche
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/141851/comanche
subject: BLACKFOOT
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/148891/blackfoot
subject: Assiniboine
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/117083/assiniboine
subject: Ponca
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/132932/ponca
subject: Ritual
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/4067/ritual
subject: Ceremony
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/3531/ceremony
subject: Mandan
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/123628/mandan

description: Archaeological data show acts which may at first appear to involve merely the acquisition of food are, indeed, interwoven with spiritual beliefs and emotions. Bison kill sites have been investigated to gain information regarding hunting strategies and food appropriation. However, some of the sites have yielded additional information taking us beyond the procurement of food, widening our view to include religion, rituals and ceremonialism. The Cooper site (Bement 1999) offers early evidence of hunting ritual at a Folsom age (ca. 10,000 B.P.) bison kill site in the form of a red zigzag painted on the frontal bone of a bison skull. The Ruby site (Frison 1971), a Late Plains Archaic period bison pound, indicates the probable ritualistic function of a lenticular ceremonial structure. An arrangement of skulls at one end of the structure replicated the lens shaped form. The Vore site, a Late Prehistoric buffalo jump, supports the specialized treatment of skulls in several clearly circular ceremonial alignments, with most of the skulls exhibiting strikingly similar frontal openings of the brain cavity. This account will focus on ceremonial and ritualistic uses of bison skulls by addressing the following topics; 1) the importance of bison to Plains Indian subsistence, 2) rituals employing skulls and circles as sacred symbols, 3) ethnographic accounts of ritualistic practices involving bison skulls, 4) archaeological evidence for sacred uses of bison crania and 5) a detailed analysis of the Vore site skulls and their notable circular alignment. The combination of these topics should provide a unique and useful document for anyone conducting related studies in the future.