Dozens of pre-contact pit features have been recorded during excavations of the processing area at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, in Alberta, Canada. In 1990 a largely intact 1,600-year-old...
Description
Dozens of pre-contact pit features have been recorded during excavations of the processing area at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, in Alberta, Canada. In 1990 a largely intact 1,600-year-old roasting pit feature was located and left in situ as it was considered a good candidate for future display, should an opportunity present itself. In 2016 that opportunity was realized with the planned development of the new Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton. The feature was relocated, excavated, and enclosed in a plaster jacket using a technique commonly used by paleontologists for fossil recovery. After removal and transport, the final excavation of the feature was accomplished in the museum, allowing optimal excavation conditions that produced some unusual results. This methodology allows the preservation and long-term interpretation of archaeological material, providing an alternative to dismantling these features under standard archaeological research conditions.