We are open June 1 through August 22 from 8 am to 6 pm.
We are open June 1 through August 22 from 8 am to 6 pm.
Contact Information
Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation P.O. Box 369 Sundance, WY 82729 Telephone: (307) 266-9530Contact Information
Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation
P.O. Box 369
Sundance, WY 82729
Telephone: (307) 266-9530
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The Horrific Sand Creek Massacre Will Be Forgotten No More ... See MoreSee Less
The Horrific Sand Creek Massacre Will Be Forgotten No More
www.smithsonianmag.com
The opening of a national historic site in Colorado helps restore to public memory one of the worst atrocities ever perpetrated on Native Americans- Likes: 23
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- Comments: 1
Trust the government.....
Here is our artifact for the week thanks to Molly Heron!
Although cutmarks and flaking on bones at mass kill sites like the Vore sinkhole are typically the result of subsistence-based butchering, some can also be the result of bone tool production. Bone was a desirable material due to its durability, minor flexibility, and ability to be polished and shaped into specific tool types. The most common way bone tools are identified in the archaeological record is by the amount of polishing on one end of a bone – this polishing is a clear indicator of use-wear. However, such polishing only occurs after the bone tool is repeatedly used over a long period of time. It is far more challenging to differentiate a bone tool preform or an expedient bone tool because it was used for a short duration. The three bones photographed below were all excavated from the Vore site during the 1972-1973 field seasons. These bones each have specific indicators of prehistoric modification. The cutmarks (circled in green) were made on a rib with a very sharp stone tool; the flaking on the distal end of a long bone fragment and the caudal side of a rib (indicated by green arrows) could have been the result of a stone chopper or intentional pressure flaking. What do you think these bone modifications indicate: butchering or tool making?
Research of the Vore collection is funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in part by donations from supporters to the Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation.
... See MoreSee Less
Interesting, thanks
This week, three curation technicians at UWAR – Jolie Magelky, Erin Kelley, and Aubrey Edwards – share how this week they began the process of making a 3D model of one of the skulls from the Vore collection: Photogrammetry is a process that helps archaeologists create accurate and fully textured 3D models from photographs. Before we started photographing, we put our Canon DSLR on a tripod, placed the skull on a white, rotating circular platform that allows us to rotate the skull slowly and photograph from all angles, and set up two soft-boxed lights on either side of the skull. We worked together to slowly rotate the skull 15 degrees at a time, photographing at each rotation. A circle is 360 degrees, so we photographed the skull from 24 different perspectives. We lowered our camera on the tripod approximately three inches and photographed the skull again from another 24 perspectives. We continued this process for two more camera angles and then carefully turned the skull over and repeated the four-angle photographic process. We took approximately 200 photos in total of the skull; the next step in the photogrammetry process is to offload those photos to our computer and launch our software. We will continue to share updates on this process which typically takes a few weeks to complete.” Research of the Vore collection is funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in part by donations from supporters to the Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation. ... See MoreSee Less
I also do photogrammetry for Bonnie Pitblado so if you need any help.
Are you using 3DF Zephyr or something else? I didn't have a lot of luck with 3DF Zephyr.
Interesting
This week Erin Kelley shares the Artifact of the Week post on the topic of proper storage of artifacts. Before the University of Wyoming’s Anthropology building was built, archaeological collections, including much of the Vore collection, were stored in the basement of the Arts and Sciences building, which had a dirt floor and was not up to current curation standards. When not appropriately stored, artifacts can be subjected to non-curation-friendly critters such as insects. After being excavated, this skull likely had some residual organic matter, which served as food for the group of dead bugs we found during our cleaning effort (look closely at these photos and you’ll see lots of bodies!). Approximately 12 ounces of insect carapaces, or bodies, were removed from the sinus cavities of this crania (see the photo of the tray). While that might not seem like much, remember that these carapaces weigh almost nothing alone! This skull has now been thoroughly cleaned, and it will be permanently housed in a sealed bag inside a specially made box in the UW Repository to prevent further contamination. Research of the Vore collection is funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in part by donations from supporters to the Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation. ... See MoreSee Less
Are they not fly pupae? Which would have done better in the fresh corpse, and then the remains dried nicely in the basement, loosening them to fall out over time and movement? If they were other insects (such as beetles) there would be an awful lot of frass and fewer insect skins
This week, Blake Griffen shares an Artifact of the Week. While cataloging the Vore collection, the curation technicians are always searching for and noting bone modifications. Among these, two modifications are the most common – excavation damage and indicators of butchery. The most obvious way to tell if a bone was broken at the time of a jump event or during excavation is by looking at the color of the modification compared to the rest of the bone. Excavation damage breakage patterns have jagged white edges, whereas butchering leaves smoother break patterns with edges the same color as the rest of the bone. These morphological differences occur due to the histological anatomy of mammalian bones. Fresh or living bones bend and eventually crack and break much as a living tree branch does, leading to the term “Green Stick Fracture”. In contrast, once a bone has lost its living components, it becomes brittle and is likely to break jaggedly. The bones excavated from the Vore Site, where the bones were covered in sediment for hundreds of years, are extremely brittle and can fracture under direct pressure from an excavator. The photographs here show two fragmentary ribs from the Vore site, one with a section broken during excavation (note the white cortical margin around the cancellous bone), and the other with both a green break (green arrow) and a break that likely occurred during excavation (red arrow). Research of the Vore collection is funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in part by donations from supporters to the Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation. ... See MoreSee Less
Send us a message. Fill out the form and click on the submit button.
Check out our Facebook Feed! Like our page so you don't miss current updates.
The Horrific Sand Creek Massacre Will Be Forgotten No More ... See MoreSee Less
The Horrific Sand Creek Massacre Will Be Forgotten No More
www.smithsonianmag.com
The opening of a national historic site in Colorado helps restore to public memory one of the worst atrocities ever perpetrated on Native AmericansTrust the government.....
Here is our artifact for the week thanks to Molly Heron!
Although cutmarks and flaking on bones at mass kill sites like the Vore sinkhole are typically the result of subsistence-based butchering, some can also be the result of bone tool production. Bone was a desirable material due to its durability, minor flexibility, and ability to be polished and shaped into specific tool types. The most common way bone tools are identified in the archaeological record is by the amount of polishing on one end of a bone – this polishing is a clear indicator of use-wear. However, such polishing only occurs after the bone tool is repeatedly used over a long period of time. It is far more challenging to differentiate a bone tool preform or an expedient bone tool because it was used for a short duration. The three bones photographed below were all excavated from the Vore site during the 1972-1973 field seasons. These bones each have specific indicators of prehistoric modification. The cutmarks (circled in green) were made on a rib with a very sharp stone tool; the flaking on the distal end of a long bone fragment and the caudal side of a rib (indicated by green arrows) could have been the result of a stone chopper or intentional pressure flaking. What do you think these bone modifications indicate: butchering or tool making?
Research of the Vore collection is funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in part by donations from supporters to the Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation.
... See MoreSee Less
Interesting, thanks
This week, three curation technicians at UWAR – Jolie Magelky, Erin Kelley, and Aubrey Edwards – share how this week they began the process of making a 3D model of one of the skulls from the Vore collection: Photogrammetry is a process that helps archaeologists create accurate and fully textured 3D models from photographs. Before we started photographing, we put our Canon DSLR on a tripod, placed the skull on a white, rotating circular platform that allows us to rotate the skull slowly and photograph from all angles, and set up two soft-boxed lights on either side of the skull. We worked together to slowly rotate the skull 15 degrees at a time, photographing at each rotation. A circle is 360 degrees, so we photographed the skull from 24 different perspectives. We lowered our camera on the tripod approximately three inches and photographed the skull again from another 24 perspectives. We continued this process for two more camera angles and then carefully turned the skull over and repeated the four-angle photographic process. We took approximately 200 photos in total of the skull; the next step in the photogrammetry process is to offload those photos to our computer and launch our software. We will continue to share updates on this process which typically takes a few weeks to complete.” Research of the Vore collection is funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in part by donations from supporters to the Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation. ... See MoreSee Less
I also do photogrammetry for Bonnie Pitblado so if you need any help.
Are you using 3DF Zephyr or something else? I didn't have a lot of luck with 3DF Zephyr.
Interesting
This week Erin Kelley shares the Artifact of the Week post on the topic of proper storage of artifacts. Before the University of Wyoming’s Anthropology building was built, archaeological collections, including much of the Vore collection, were stored in the basement of the Arts and Sciences building, which had a dirt floor and was not up to current curation standards. When not appropriately stored, artifacts can be subjected to non-curation-friendly critters such as insects. After being excavated, this skull likely had some residual organic matter, which served as food for the group of dead bugs we found during our cleaning effort (look closely at these photos and you’ll see lots of bodies!). Approximately 12 ounces of insect carapaces, or bodies, were removed from the sinus cavities of this crania (see the photo of the tray). While that might not seem like much, remember that these carapaces weigh almost nothing alone! This skull has now been thoroughly cleaned, and it will be permanently housed in a sealed bag inside a specially made box in the UW Repository to prevent further contamination. Research of the Vore collection is funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in part by donations from supporters to the Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation. ... See MoreSee Less
Are they not fly pupae? Which would have done better in the fresh corpse, and then the remains dried nicely in the basement, loosening them to fall out over time and movement? If they were other insects (such as beetles) there would be an awful lot of frass and fewer insect skins
This week, Blake Griffen shares an Artifact of the Week. While cataloging the Vore collection, the curation technicians are always searching for and noting bone modifications. Among these, two modifications are the most common – excavation damage and indicators of butchery. The most obvious way to tell if a bone was broken at the time of a jump event or during excavation is by looking at the color of the modification compared to the rest of the bone. Excavation damage breakage patterns have jagged white edges, whereas butchering leaves smoother break patterns with edges the same color as the rest of the bone. These morphological differences occur due to the histological anatomy of mammalian bones. Fresh or living bones bend and eventually crack and break much as a living tree branch does, leading to the term “Green Stick Fracture”. In contrast, once a bone has lost its living components, it becomes brittle and is likely to break jaggedly. The bones excavated from the Vore Site, where the bones were covered in sediment for hundreds of years, are extremely brittle and can fracture under direct pressure from an excavator. The photographs here show two fragmentary ribs from the Vore site, one with a section broken during excavation (note the white cortical margin around the cancellous bone), and the other with both a green break (green arrow) and a break that likely occurred during excavation (red arrow). Research of the Vore collection is funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in part by donations from supporters to the Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation. ... See MoreSee Less