Plano cultures
Encyclopedia
The Plano cultures is a name given by archaeologists to a group of disparate hunter-gatherer
communities that occupied the Great Plains
area of North America
during the Paleo-Indian period in the United States
and the Paleo-Indian or Archaic period in Canada
.
tools collectively called Plano point
s and like the Folsom people
generally hunted bison antiquus
, but made even greater use of techniques to force stampedes off of a cliff or into a constructed corral. Their diets also included pronghorn antelope, elk
, deer
, raccoon
and coyote
. To better manage their food supply, they preserved meat in berries and animal fat and stored it in containers made of hides.
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
communities that occupied the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
area of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
during the Paleo-Indian period in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Paleo-Indian or Archaic period in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Distinguishing characteristics
The Plano cultures are characterised by a range of unfluted projectile pointProjectile point
In archaeological terms, a projectile point is an object that was hafted to a projectile, such as a spear, dart, or arrow, or perhaps used as a knife....
tools collectively called Plano point
Plano point
Plano point is a general term used by archaeologists to describe a variety of different chipped stone projectile points used by the various Plano cultures of the North American Great Plains between 9000 BC and 6000 BC....
s and like the Folsom people
Folsom tradition
The Folsom Complex is a name given by archaeologists to a specific Paleo-Indian archaeological culture that occupied much of central North America...
generally hunted bison antiquus
Bison antiquus
Bison antiquus, sometimes called the ancient bison, was the most common large herbivore of the North American continent for over ten thousand years, and is a direct ancestor of the living American bison....
, but made even greater use of techniques to force stampedes off of a cliff or into a constructed corral. Their diets also included pronghorn antelope, elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
, deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
and coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
. To better manage their food supply, they preserved meat in berries and animal fat and stored it in containers made of hides.
Canada
The Plano cultures existed in Canada during the Paleo-Indian or Archaic period between 9000 BC and 6000 BC. The Plano cultures originated in the plains, but extended far beyond, from the Atlantic coast to British Columbia and as far north as the Northwest Territories.United States
In the Great Plains of the United States, the following are Plano cultures from 10,000 to 7,000 years ago, distinguished by long, lanceolate projectile points:- Agate Basin complex, named for the Agate Basin SiteAgate Basin SiteThe Agate Basin Site is a Paleoindian archeological site in Niobrara County, Wyoming. The location was discovered by William H. Spencer of Spencer, Wyoming in 1916, who found well-preserved stone blades and points in Moss Agate Arroyo. In 1941 Spencer mentioned the find to Robert E. Frison, a...
. - Cody complexCody complexThe Cody complex is a Paleo-Indian culture group first identified at a bison antiquus kill site near Cody, Wyoming in 1951.The tradition is generally attributed to the North American, primarily in the High Plains portion of the American Great Plains. The discovery of the Cody complex broadened the...
, named for the Horner site near Cody, WyomingCody, WyomingCody is a city in Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after William Frederick Cody, primarily known as Buffalo Bill, from William Cody's part in the creation of the original town. The population was 9,520 at the 2010 census...
, includes the Olsen-Chubbuck Bison Kill SiteOlsen-Chubbuck Bison Kill SiteThe Olsen-Chubbuck Bison kill site is located southeast of Kit Carson, Colorado. The Paleo-Indian site dates back to an estimated 8000-6500 B.C. and provides evidence for bison hunting long before the use of the bow and arrow or horses. The site was named Olsen-Chubbuck after the amateur...
and the Jurgens SiteJurgens SiteThe Jurgens Site is an Paleo-Indian site located near Greeley in Weld County, Colorado. While the site was used primarily to hunt and butcher bison antiquus, there is evidence that the Paleo-Indians also gathered plants and seeds for food about 7,000 to 7,500 BC.-Geography:The site is located on a...
. - Hell Gap complexHell Gap complexHell Gap complex is a Plano culture from 10,060 to 9,600 before present that is named after the archaeological site in Hell Gap, Wyoming. Hell Gap points are long stemmed, convex blades....
, such as the Hell Gap, Wyoming site for which is was named and the Jones-Miller Bison Kill SiteJones-Miller Bison Kill SiteThe Jones-Miller Bison Kill Site, located in northeast Colorado, was a Paleo-Indian site where Bison antiquus were killed and butchered. Hell Gap complex bones and tools artifacts at the site are carbon dated from about ca. 8000-8050 BC.-Geography:...
. - Foothills / Mountain complex