By Josh Hoffman @JoNoHoffman Country 95 @Country95

U of L Archaeological Find 2nd Most Interesting Discovery of 2015

Feb 26, 2016 | 11:13 AM

LETHBRIDGE:  An associate professor at the University of Lethbridge is finally being recognized for an archaeological discovery thousands of years in the making.

Dr. Shawn Bubel’s decade worth of work on a 2,500 year old bison kill site north of the Montana border was the second most interesting story of 2015 according to scientific website Western Digs.

In addition to the scattered remains of over 60 bison, Bubel’s crew found more than a hundred stone points, most of them fashioned from a type of rock found only in North Dakota, a thousand kilometers away.

Beneath the initial layer of animal fragments and tools, even more rare finds were discovered: eight arrangements of bison bones found standing on end, perched in precise, almost sculptural patterns.

Bubel directed the project at the Fincastle Grazing Reserve since 2003.

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“We discovered these quite some time ago, so to get the recognition now seems a bit odd to tell you the truth. It’s also really rewarding too and I’m really happy for the students because they worked extremely hard over the past decade.

What is so fascinating about Bubel’s discovery is there were seven upright bones deliberately arranged in the earth at the kill site.

The reason for why exactly the hunters positioned the bones like this is still unknown today.

Bubel says their findings provide insight to how our ancestors hunted and processed food. 

“But then we also see that more ceremonial component or spiritual component which is really hard to find in the archaeological record because many of these things decompose.”

Bubel explains the discovery is significant because features like this have not been seen at any other site in the Great Plains region.