Bison antiquus Right Tibia

KO-118 $133.00

Bison antiquus, right distal tibia found associated with other skeletal elements during excavation of the Ayer Pond, Orcas Island Pleistocene site in the Pacific Northwest in 2003.

Age: 12,000 years (late Pleistocene). The skull of this specimen is considered to be one of the finest and largest found to date. Significantly, the bones suggest human activity in this region about 800 years before the Clovis era. The evidence supplied by the bones is consistent with butchering by humans and inconsistent with carnivore activity (e.g., wolves would have typically damaged the nasals, bears would not typically have broken the humerus at its thickest point, and there would have been far more surface damage to the bones). The skull is also available, either with a stand (BC-313-ST) or without (BC-313). The right metatarsal (KO-119) is also available.

The right distal tibia displays two deep V-section chopmarks, suggesting blows from a heavy object. It has been suggested that the bison was butchered by humans, with the more desirable, meaty portions taken elsewhere and the unwanted sections of the carcass left on top of a frozen pond, eventually settling to the bottom where they were preserved and kept out of harm's way until their discovery by workers who were digging a pond.