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Study looks at abandonment of bison kill site
Researchers link abandonment to severe droughts reducing water for processing and social shifts toward larger, resource-dependent hunting groups, study says.
- On February 10, 2026, researchers reported that bison hunters ceased using the Bergstrom site in central Montana around 1,100 years ago, according to a study published in Frontiers in Conservation Science.
- Severe, recurring droughts reduced water at a small nearby creek, while many bison hunters reorganized into larger, coordinated hunting groups dependent on water and forage.
- Excavation and sediment analyses found the research team dug nine 1×1 m excavation pits and collected two sediment cores, showing bison persisted and vegetation and fire activity remained stable.
- The shift toward infrastructure-based hunting operations suggests larger sites produced surplus but depended on water, forage, and fuel, said Wendt, while he concluded Bergstrom's abandonment shows reorganization from recurring droughts.
- While the study shows use for around 700 years, researchers could not determine how long each use period lasted, and other bison hunting sites in the region may have been abandoned for different reasons.
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23 Articles
Mortality migration: Montana bison kill site's abandonment tied to drought, cultural hunting shift
In a study based on a Judith Gap-area bison kill site, scientists utilized detailed soil samples to gain insight to what may have led Native Americans to abandon the location.
·Cherokee County, United States
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The Billings Gazette+2 Reposted by 2 other sources
Montana bison kill site's abandonment tied to drought, cultural hunting shift
In a study based on a Judith Gap-area bison kill site, scientists utilized detailed soil samples to gain insight to what may have led Native Americans to abandon the location.
·Billings, United States
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Bison hunters abandoned long-used site 1,100 years ago to adapt to changing climate, Great Plains study finds
On the Great Plains of North America, bison were hunted for thousands of years before populations collapsed to near extinction due to overexploitation in the late 1800s. But long before then, bison hunters used various strategies and different types of sites, sometimes switching between sites.
·United Kingdom
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Total News Sources23
Leaning Left3Leaning Right1Center11Last UpdatedBias Distribution73% Center
Bias Distribution
- 73% of the sources are Center
73% Center
L 20%
C 73%
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