The North American Great Plains and Rocky Mountains have yielded many artifacts and other clues about the prehistoric people who once lived there, but little is understood about the hunting practices that ensured their survival for thousands of years. Noted archaeologist George Frison brings a lifetime of experience as a hunter, rancher, and guide to bear on excavation data from the region relating to hunting, illuminating prehistoric hunting practices in entirely new ways. Sharing his intimate knowledge of animal habitats and behavior and his familiarity with hunting strategies and techniques, Frison argues that this kind of firsthand knowledge is crucial for understanding hunting in the past.

Survival by Hunting: Prehistoric Human Predators and Animal Prey

Politics & Social Sciences

Frison, George

Social Sciences

University of California Press

Clovis sites are known throughout North America. Although there is debate about the origins of the Clovis people, most archaeologists agree that these hunters of mammoth and other megafauna were on this continent by the end of the last ice age about 12,000 years ago.
 This book presents the Fenn Cache, a remarkable assemblage of Clovis projectile points and tools originating in present day Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah. The cache includes masterfully worked bifaces in virtually every stage of manufacture in obsidian, chert, jasper, quartz, and agate. This collection exemplifies the amazing skill, craftsmanship, and complex thought that went into the production of these stone points and knives. Illustrated with Pete Bostrom's beautiful, three-view color photographs of each artifact, as well as detailed line drawings by Sarah Moore and imaginative illustrations of Clovis people and activities by Glen Strock, The Fenn Cache will appeal to general readers and engage a younger audience in archaeology and the history of ancient Americans.

Fenn Cache: Clovis Weapons & Tools

Bradley, Bruce

Archaeology

One Horse Land And Cattle Company

Sometimes childhood events can shape a person’s destiny. Such was the case for George Frison. His father’s accidental death meant that Frison was raised by his grandparents, thus experiencing life on a ranch instead of the small town childhood he otherwise would have had. The wealth of prehistoric artifacts on the ranch caught his attention. Eventually, this interest prompted him to change his life’s course at age thirty-seven. In this memoir, Frison shares his life’s work and his atypical journey from rancher to professor and archaeologist. Herding cattle, chopping watering holes in sub-zero weather, and guiding hunters in the fall were very different than teaching classes, performing laboratory work, and attending faculty and committee meetings in air-conditioned buildings. But his practical and observational experience around both domestic and wild animals proved a valuable asset to his research. His knowledge of specific animal behaviors gave insight to his studies of the Paleoindians of the northern plains as he sought to understand how their stone tools were used most effectively for hunting and how bison jumps, mammoth kills, and sheep traps actually worked. Frison’s careful research and strong involvement in the scholarly and organizational aspects of archaeology made him influential not only as an authority on the prehistory of the northern plains but also as a leader in Wyoming archaeology and Northern American archaeology at large. This book will appeal to both the professional and the lay reader with interests in archaeology, anthropology, paleontology, plains history, animal science, hunting, or game management. Frison’s shift from ranching into the academic world of archaeology serves as a reminder that you are never too old to change your life.

Rancher Archaeologist: A Career in Two Different Worlds

Biographies & Memoirs

Regional U.S.

University of Utah Press

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Books by Frison, George