LATE QUATERNARY BISON UTILIZATION AT LUBBOCK LAKE, SOUTHERN HIGH-PLAINS OF TEXAS

The history of bison utilization at the Lubbock Lake Landmark is a lon g one, spanning thousands of years and many cultures. Bison kill/butch ering locales are known for the Paleoindian through Middle Archaic per iods, when small cow/calf herds were butchered around or near the wate rway in the valley axis. Game animal processing stations containing mo dern bison remains are common from the Late Archaic through Historic p eriods, also centered along the waterway. These two modes of the procu rement pattern represent primary butchering activities (locales) and s econdary activities (stations). The basic butchering tool kit appears similar through time, composed primarily of amorphous lithic flake too ls and bone expediency tools. The role of bison in the subsistence bas e varied through time, ranging from a component of a broad-based meat- related subsistence, to a targeted large-game animal, to a component o f a mixed meat-plant subsistence. The repeated use of lubbock Lake thr ough time and available seasonality data indicate the Landmark to have been a well-known location within a seasonal round of activities rega rdless of social organization or climatic regime. The Lubbock Lake rec ord acts as the regional model, but additional research is needed to a ssess the model and reshape if where necessary.