Plant Gathering As A Setilement Determinant At The Pilgrim Stone Circle Site

Bitterroot, Lewisia rediviva, in southwestern Alberta: cultural versus natural dispersal

“…Of several records along the west side of the Missouri River valley from Three Forks to Helena, Montana, an important example is one of abundant L. rediviva at the Pilgrim archaeological site and its environs, in the Limestone Hills west of Townsend (Davis 1983;Davis et al 1982). The site is 8 km west of the Missouri River, and present abundance of Bitterroot and Wild Parsley (Musineon divaricatum) supports the hypothesis that their harvest was a major determinant of the archaeological site's location (Aaberg 1983). This site is 100 km closer to the Alberta locality than is Yellowstone Valley, but it is still distant enough to leave the occurrences markedly disjunct.…”

Facilities and Hunter-Gatherer Long-Term Land Use Patterns: An Example from Southwest Wyoming

“…Archaeological studies also have shown that hunter-gatherers often place their campsites and pit ovens near the patches of concern. Research at the Pilgrim site in Montana has demonstrated a pattern of repeated occupation of a location with constructed stone circles associated with the uncommonly high density of two important root species, bitterroot and wild parsley (Aaberg 1983). Ovens for baking camas also have been recorded near camas fields in the Pacific Northwest and in the Snake River region of northwestern Wyoming (Reeve 1986;Thorns 1989).…”

“…The periodic use of overall locales containing the slab-lined basins is probably related to the depletion and regeneration of the resource patch within the particular locale. The plant species most likely procured in conjunction with the slab-lined cylindrical basins are perennials which require as long as three or four years to produce mature taproots of sufficient size to justify harvesting (Aaberg 1983). Individual plants might not produce seeds until they are as much as 5 to 10 years old (Thorns 1989:46).…”