Plains Flashcards
Why are keystone prairie species important (Bison, 5)
- Help to maintain the ecosystem
- Foraging aerates the soil with hooves and transports seeds
- Added nutrients from “bison pies”
- Wallowing creates water holes
- Clear vegetation patches in winter for other animal
Why were bison the staple species for Indigenous groups
Excellent source of protein
Regular and observable herd behaviour
When was the Early precontact period in the plains and which cultures begun in
- 13,000 – 7,500 BP
- Begins with Clovis and Folsom peoples
The plains was the home territory for what tradition
Plano
how did the plano point styles differ
differed based upon their attribute, how they were flaked, and then overlapping date ranges
What is the Farr site
Oldest intact Plano site in Saskatchewan
Describe the late precontact Period (point types, how many intact sites)
Lanceolate
No intact sites
Describe the middle precontact period (date, technology, behaviour)
- 7,500 – 1,350 BP
- Major shifts in behaviour
Atlatl use
Tipis
Bison jumps
What are Tipis and Tipi rings? When did they first appear? What do they determine
Structures created by covering long wooden poles with hide to
form a cone-shaped dwelling
7,500 BP
- Determine:
- Migrations
- Seasonality
- Household or group size
- Usage
What are bison jumps? When were they used
Driving bison herds over a cliff
6000 BP
What is the gray site
cemetery
acted as a boundary marker
What was the Besant culture (date, traits from which groups, when did they migrate, technology, introduced what to the plains, how did they hunt)
2100-1200
Traits of both Plains and Eastern Woodlands
Migrated during a global warming period for the US
Atlatls
Heavy usage of a type of stone (knife river flint)
Introduced pottery to the plains
hunted using bison jumps and ison pounds
Which period was the peak of bison hunting on the plains
Besant period
Describe the late precontact period (Date, tech, culture)
1350-250 BP
Adoption of bow and arrow
Avonlea culture
Describe the Avonlea (Date, Describe their pottery, subsistence)
1350-1100
Thought that three different regional variations exist for decoration
Bison was still important but they had a more varied diet
Did Besant and Avonlea coexist
Sites were mostly re-used and they didnt really get along or coexist
What were the two variations of side-notches in arrow heads
Older prairie side-notch which uses smaller arrowheads associated with old woman pottery
Plains using an angular point associated with Mortlach style pottery
Were there numerous distinct groups within the plains region at European contact?
Yes
Describe the social life of the plains region at European contact
Social life based around bands
Bannds and nations were responsible for their own affairs
There were alliances
Describe the relationship between Assiniboine and Cree at European contact? Blackfoot? Migration?
Alliance
Frequently in conflict with Blackfoot
Practiced seasonal migrations
Which groups used which side notch points
- Prairie Side Notched points and Old Women’s pottery viewed as ancestral Blackfoot groups
- Plains Side Notched points and Mortlach pottery viewed as ancestral to Assiniboine groups
What were the spiritual practices at the time in the plains
Rock art and stone alignment
what are stone alignments
- Figures or shapes made from placing stones on the landscape
- Medicine wheels
- Effigies
