Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Head Smashed In





It's an archeological site, where thousands of years of remains of buffalo kills from days gone by have been found. This is a World Heritage Site which captures the reality of the buffalo hunt in the "dog days" of aboriginal culture before the horse and the gun. The clans gathered together every summer and autumn at kill sites like these, and would lure the buffalo into a chase area and driving lanes above a cliff. Using piles of rocks and brush as lined up barriers, and dressed in coyote skins for camouflage, the men would chase the hundreds of buffalo over the edge. They were so near sighted they never saw what was coming, and the wind was behind them so they never caught a whiff either! Down they would tumble 100 feet or so, and then the hunters would finish them off at cliff base. The hides and bones were stripped on location, so all the left over skulls and bones would be left on site, year after year. Remains of weapons and daily life also got left behind over the ages