Class III Archaeological Survey Report: Madison Buffalo Jump State Park, Gallatin County, Montana

Author

Brandon J. Bachman, The University Of MontanaFollow

Year of Award

2016

Document Type

Professional Paper

Degree Type

Master of Arts (MA)

Degree Name

Anthropology (Cultural Heritage Option)

Department or School/College

Department of Anthropology

Committee Chair

Douglas MacDonald

Commitee Members

John Douglas, Dave Beck

Keywords

Montana, archaeology, buffalo jump, prehistoric, historic inscritptions, cultural resource management

Subject Categories

Archaeological Anthropology

Abstract

Through a cooperative agreement between the University of Montana (UM) Department of Anthropology and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, the University of Montana, between 17 May and 1 June 2014, conducted an archaeological inventory of the 640-acre Madison Buffalo Jump State Park. Douglas Macdonald, Ph.D. and Sara Scott, Ph.D. managed the project for each institution, respectively. Copious amounts of artifacts and features alike were recorded at Madison Buffalo Jump during the survey, including: 1) 3-4 drive lines used in the funneling of bison to jump locations; 2) bison bone concentrations below the kill/nick point on the face of the jump; 3) bone and artifact concentrations in the camp area in the creek valley west of the jump; 4) numerous lithic artifact concentrations within the gathering basin above the jump, marking the locations of prehistoric stone tool manufacture, including one possible petrified wood/chert quarry; 5) 78 stone circles in four locations surrounding the jump; 6) two probable fasting beds on a ridgetop north of the jump; 7) an Early Archaic projectile point produced from dacite sourced to the Cashman Quarry; 8) 14 additional sourced obsidian/dacite artifacts; 9) one bison bone fragment that confirms at Late Prehistoric age of the bison processing area (the only radiocarbon date yet assessed for the site); and 10) four locations of historic/modern inscriptions across the state park. Along with an overview of the current known prehistory/history of Madison Buffalo Jump, this report includes comprehensive details, maps, and descriptions of the archaeological artifacts and features that were recorded by UM during survey of the Madison Buffalo Jump.

Recommended Citation

Bachman, Brandon J., "Class III Archaeological Survey Report: Madison Buffalo Jump State Park, Gallatin County, Montana" (2016). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 10674.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/10674