{{Short description|Method used to kill bison en masse}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2017}} [[File:Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump-27527-2.jpg|thumb|right|Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, in southern Alberta]] A '''buffalo jump''', or sometimes '''bison jump''', is a cliff formation that Indigenous peoples of North America, beginning with Clovis culture, historically used to hunt and kill plains bison in mass quantities. The broader term '''game jump''' refers to a man-made jump or cliff used for hunting other game, such as reindeer.
==Method of the hunt== [[File:Alfred Jacob Miller - Hunting Buffalo - Walters 371940190.jpg|thumb|right|Buffalo being chased off a cliff, painted by Alfred Jacob Miller in the late 19th century.]]
Hunters herded the bison and drove them over the cliff; this process would serve to break the buffalos' legs and render them immobile, though often still alive and in great pain. Tribe members would wait below the jump and then close in with spears and bows to finish the kill. The Blackfoot people called the buffalo jumps "pishkun", which loosely translates as "deep blood kettle". They believed that if any buffalo escaped these killings then the rest of the buffalo would learn to avoid humans, which would make future hunts more difficult.<ref>[http://lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=441 A Buffalo Jump] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141124004404/http://lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=441 |date=November 24, 2014}}, Discovering Clark and Lewis, The Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation</ref>
Due to the large number of buffalo that would be driven over the cliff, the practice has been criticized as having been highly wasteful. Many of the animals driven over the cliffs did not end up getting harvested as most would rot or go to waste. This was due primarily to the primitive tools and harvesting techniques available to indigenous peoples at the time. Such tools and methods made it impossible to harvest so many dead or dying animals fast enough to beat the onset of rotting, and therefore vast amounts of unharvested, wasted carcasses were left to rot out in the open.<ref>{{Cite book |last=LeBlanc |first=Steven |title=Constant Battles: Why We Fight |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |year=2003 |isbn=9780312310905 |location=New York, NY |publication-date=2003 |pages=32}}</ref><ref name=":0" />
Buffalo jump sites are often identified by rock cairns, which were markers designating "drive lanes", by which bison would be funneled over the cliff. These drive lanes would often stretch for several miles.
Buffalo jump sites yield significant archaeological evidence because processing sites and camps were always nearby. The sites yield information as to how the Native Americans used the bison for food, clothing, and shelter. Plains Indians, in particular, depended on the bison for their survival.<ref name=":0">[http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/kids/hunting/mass.html Mass Kills.] ''Texas Beyond History.''</ref>
In one of his journals, Meriwether Lewis describes how a buffalo jump was practiced during the Lewis and Clark Expedition:
<blockquote>...one of the most active and fleet young men is selected and disguised in a robe of buffalo skin... he places himself at a distance between a herd of buffalo and a precipice proper for the purpose; the other Indians now surround the herd on the back and flanks and at a signal agreed on all show themselves at the same time moving forward towards the buffalo; the disguised Indian or decoy has taken care to place himself sufficiently near the buffalo to be noticed by them when they take to flight and running before them they follow him in full speed to the precipice; the Indian (decoy) in the mean time has taken care to secure himself in some cranny in the cliff... the part of the decoy I am informed is extremely dangerous.<ref>Wednesday May 29, 1805. The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (Volume 4). Gary E. Moulton, editor</ref><ref>Reader's Digest "Mysteries of the Ancient Americas" (The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., 1986) p. 90</ref></blockquote>
==Historical sites== [[File:Sunset Route, Mile Creek Canyon, Texas.jpg|thumb|left|Mile Canyon bison jump site]] thumb|left|Wahkpa Chu'gn buffalo jump in Montana. Sites of interest range from Alberta to Texas, including: Head-Smashed-In, Bonfire Shelter, Ulm Pishkun, Madison Buffalo Jump, Dry Island, Glenrock, Big Goose Creek, Cibolo Creek, Vore,<ref name="voreabout1">{{cite web|url=http://www.s201264329.onlinehome.us/about_the_vore_buffalo_jump.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100511130430/http://www.s201264329.onlinehome.us/about_the_vore_buffalo_jump.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2010-05-11|title=About the Vore Buffalo Jump|year=2007|work=Vore Buffalo Jump|publisher=Vore Buffalo Jump Association|access-date=2009-08-04}}</ref> Wahkpa Chu'gn (also includes Too Close for Comfort archaeological site),<ref>[https://www.buffalojumphavre.com/ Wahkpa Chu'gn Buffalo Jump]</ref> Olsen-Chubbuck Bison Kill Site, and Camp Disappointment of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Ulm Pishkun Buffalo Jump is likely the largest buffalo jump in the world. It was used by the Native Americans in the area between 900 and 1500 CE. The cliffs themselves stretch for more than a mile and the site below has compacted bison bones nearly {{convert|13|ft|m|1}} deep, a testament to how many of the killed buffalo went unharvested by tribal peoples.<ref>[http://www.lewisandclarktrail.com/section3/montanacities/greatfalls/ulmpishkun/ Ulm Pishkun Buffalo Jump State Historical Monument Park and Center.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826144355/http://www.lewisandclarktrail.com/section3/montanacities/greatfalls/ulmpishkun/ |date=August 26, 2009 }} ''LewisAndClarkTrail.com''</ref> Ulm Pishkun Buffalo Jump is located in First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park in Cascade County, Montana, north-northwest of the community of Ulm.
Madison Buffalo Jump State Park is a Montana state park in Gallatin County, Montana in the United States. The park is {{convert|638|acre}} and sits at an elevation of {{convert|4554|ft}}.<ref name="gnis">{{cite web |url={{Gnis3|806890}} |title=Madison Buffalo Jump State Monument |date=June 1, 1995 |work=Geographic Names Information System |publisher=United States Geological Survey |access-date=2010-07-13}}</ref> The park is named for a canyon cliff used by Native Americans as a buffalo jump, where herds of bison were stampeded over the cliff as a means of mass slaughter.<ref name="mbjsp">{{cite web |url=http://fwp.mt.gov/parks/visit/parkSiteDetail.html?id=281935 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710082748/http://fwp.mt.gov/parks/visit/parkSiteDetail.html?id=281935 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-07-10 |title=Madison Buffalo Jump State Park |publisher=Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks |access-date=2010-07-13}}</ref> This limestone cliff was used for 2,000 years by Native Americans.<ref>[http://visitmt.com/listing/categories_NET/MoreInfo.aspx?IDRRecordID=3939&siteid=1 Madison Buffalo Jump State Park] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130610131317/http://visitmt.com/listing/categories_NET/MoreInfo.aspx?SiteID=1&IDRRecordID=3939 |date=June 10, 2013 }}, Montana Official State Travel Site</ref> Madison Buffalo Jump State Park is a day use-only park. It is open year-round for hiking, wildlife observation, and some picnicking.<ref name="mbjsp"/>
Camp Disappointment, the northernmost point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, is among the best-preserved buffalo jumps in Montana, due to its relatively inaccessible location. The creek at the bottom of the cliff periodically exposes bones of animals that were not harvested.<ref name=nps2>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/nhl/find/statelists/mt/CampDisappointment.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316231056/http://www.nps.gov/nhl/find/statelists/mt/CampDisappointment.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 16, 2016|format=PDF|work=National Register of Historic Places|title=Camp Disappointment|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=2015-05-17}}</ref>
There is a 3-D reconstruction of Charles M. Russell's painting of a buffalo jump on display at the Helena State Capital Museum, Helena, Montana.
==See also== {{Commons category|Buffalo jumps}} *Bison hunting *''Constant Battles: Why we fight'' *Food loss and waste *Game drive system *Petroform *Desert kite
==References== {{Reflist|30javascript:ONETOUCH_MDY()em}}
{{Prehistoric technology}} {{Hunting topics}}
* Category:Hunting of the American bison Category:Hunting in Canada Category:Hunting in the United States Category:Archaeology of Canada Category:Canadian Prairies Category:First Nations history in Canada Category:Archaeological sites in the United States Category:Western United States Category:Native American history * Category:Hunting methods Category:Stone age sites Category:Native American archaeological sites in Montana