Besant beginnings at the Fincastle site : a late middle prehistoric comparative study on the northern plains

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Date
2010
Authors
Foreman, Christine
University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science
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Volume Title
Publisher
Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Geography, 2010
Abstract
The Fincastle Bison Kill Site (DlOx-5), located approximately 100 km east of Lethbridge, Alberta, has been radiocarbon dated to 2 500 BP. Excavations at the site yielded an extensive assemblage of lithics and faunal remains, and several unique features. The elongated point forms, along with the bone upright features, appeared similar to those found at Sonota sites within the Dakota region that dated between 1 950 BP and 1 350 BP. The relatively early date of the Fincastle Site prompted a re-investigation into the origins of the Besant Culture. The features, faunal and lithic assemblages from twenty-three Late Middle Prehistoric sites in Southern Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas were analyzed and compared. The findings show that Fincastle represents an early component of the Besant Culture referred to as the Outlook Complex. This analysis also suggests a possible Middle Missouri origin of the Fincastle hunters, as well as the entire Besant Culture.
Description
xii, 183 leaves : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 29 cm
Keywords
Excavations (Archaeology) -- Alberta -- Fincastle Kill Site , Excavations (Archaeology) -- Great Plains , Prehistoric peoples -- Alberta -- Fincastle Kill Site , Indigenous peoples -- Alberta -- Antiquities , Dissertations, Academic
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