Jones-Miller Bison Kill Site

[1][2][nb 1] The Jones-Miller site is located in Yuma County, Colorado, 10 miles from the town of Laird in the Republican River basin.

[3] The grassland site is located at a 18 inches (46 cm) deep draw that drains into an Arikaree River tributary.

[7] The period immediately preceding the first humans coming into Colorado was the Ice Age Summer of about 16,000 years ago.

Large mammals, such as the mastodon, mammoth, camelops, giant sloths, cheetah, bison antiquus and horses roamed the land.

Jack Miller, a local anthropologist, performed a test site excavation and found bones and Paleo-Indian artifacts.

[3] Archaeologists learned how early native people may have hunted large prey from the artifacts at the 98 by 66 feet (30 by 20 m) Jones-Miller site.

[2] Artifacts found at the site include Hell Gap complex projectile points and flakes, knives, scrapers and tools made of bone.

[2] While there is little evidence to determine the extent to which Paleo-Indians practiced religion, artifacts grouped together at the Jones-Miller site are like that of historic northern Plains people's medicine post ceremony where, among the bison bones were placed a projectile point, dog remains and an antler flute.