Before Yellowstone: Native American Archaeology in the National Park

by Douglas H. MacDonald

Since 1872, visitors have flocked to Yellowstone National Park to gaze in awe at its dramatic geysers, stunning mountains, and impressive wildlife. Yet more than a century of archaeological research shows that the wild landscape has a long history of human presence. In fact, Native American people have hunted bison and bighorn sheep, fished for cutthroat trout, and gathered bitterroot and camas bulbs here for at least 11,000 years, and twenty-six tribes claim cultural association with Yellowstone today.In Before Yellowstone, Douglas MacDonald tells the story of these early people as revealed by archaeological research into nearly 2,000 sites—many of which he helped survey and excavate. He describes and explains the significance of archaeological areas such as the easy-to-visit Obsidian Cliff, where hunters obtained volcanic rock to make tools and for trade, and Yellowstone Lake, a traditional place for gathering edible plants. MacDonald helps readers understand the archaeological methods used and the limits of archaeological knowledge. From Clovis points associated with mammoth hunting to stone circles marking the sites of tipi lodges, Before Yellowstone brings to life a fascinating story of human engagement with this stunning landscape.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Archaeology, Science

238 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 2, 2018

Reviews

[Chrisl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, up to date science packaged in an attractive paperback with many photographs. Wonder if the University of Washington Press will sell enough copies to recover production costs.?

If you have an interest in archaeology of North America, you might find some attention catching concepts, like stone surrounded "fasting beds" ... and examples of "ice-patch archaeology"

Library of Congress cataloged this to be shelved in the history section, Dewey 978.7, but it would be more aptly shelved in the Dewey 500s section with other archaeology books. Historically a couple dozen tribes have links to Yellowstone, notably Blackfeet, Crow, Nez Perce, Shoshone ...

Here's a quote from the first paragraph of "Obsidian Cliff" (the title of chapter three) :
"While there are still many unresolved mysteries about the first peoples in Yellowstone, one thing is for certain: ever since they arrived, they really like Yellowstone obsidian for making stone tools."

" ... Obsidian Cliff in 2014. We observed millions of stone artifacts that attest to the vast amounts of stone tools produced ... over the past 11 millennia. Rivers of worked obsidian are present at the cliff, ... The ground is covered with literally billions of flakes, the by-products of the manufacture of millions of stone tools. ... the entire ground surface for thousands of acres at the cliff is covered by flakes from stone tool manufacture. In every direction around the cliff, there are thousands of stone tool production sites."

... "One of the most remarkable occurrences of Obsidian Cliff obsidian ... Mound City site on the Scioto River south of the city of Columbus, Ohio ... Hopewell culture ... presence of copper pounded into bighorn shapes and bighorn sheep motifs on Hopewell pottery ... obsidian and other exotic goods were buried with the remains of important Hopewell Native Americans ... sourced obsidian ... more than 90 percent of it came from Obsidian Cliff.

"Inside one Hopewell Mound at Mound City in Ohio, there is a platform upon which was found Obsidian Cliff obsidian bifaces, a copper sculpture in the shape of a bighorn sheep horn, as well as mica from North Carolina, shark teeth from the Gulf of Mexico, and strips of copper from the Great Lakes region."

The index is relatively useful. The bibliography included other archaeology books I've read, or now want to read.

[Nancy Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough survey of the known archaeological sites in and around Yellowstone National Park.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Native American hunter-gatherers of Yellowstone mark an important chapter in the prehistory of the peoples of our planet.”

I’m so glad this book was at our cabin in YNP. It was a wonderful way to tie Yellowstone to its original Native American roots. I learned so much from this book, and have such appreciation for the people who come before us and the sites of this region. Highly recommend!

[Sam Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superb analysis of early Native American culture and settlement in Greater Yellowstone region. Makes me want to go into the back country and find some of these sights.

[Will DeMan]

I'm a sucker for paleoindian history, so this was a true treat.

[Zack · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was great to learn so much about the archeological sites around the park. Most of the literature on Yellowstone is unfortunately pretty sparse on that front.

Unfortunately, anything else that was about the park, but not archeology, was full of errors. It was jarring to be cruising through so much good info and then be stopped short by an error in simple park geography.

Probably the best modern archeology book on the park, but the sample size on that is pretty small.