A NEWLY-FOUND MONTANA GEOGLYPH:

Anthropomorphic geoglyph, Henry

Smith Site, Montana -  Photograph

U.S. Bureau of Land Management,

Public domain.

On September 22, 2010, I posted a column titled A GEOGLYPH IN SOUTHEAST COLORADO - THE MAN WITH THE SPEAR, about a rock alignment in the form of a human figure found near Two Buttes in southeastern Colorado. (Faris 2010)  Now an article in Westerndigs.org by Blake DePastino revealed a Montana geoglyph that is very similar. A 2015 grass fire at the Henry Smith site burned off enough cover that this geoglyph, and a number of other features, could be recorded.

The intentional grass fire, Henry

Smith Site, Montana -  Photograph

U.S. Bureau of Land Management,

Public domain.

The newly discovered features include another large figure that appears to represent a turtle, six rock cairns, and a large number of drive lines. The Henry Smith site was previously known and has been interpreted as a buffalo jump (Miller 2015) and bison hunting camp, but many of these features were not recorded until their discovery after the fire.

Radiocarbon dating of bison remains from at least six discrete layers established that the site was in use from between 770 to 1040 CE, and stemmed stone points found there place the people who used it within the Middle and Late Avonlea Phases from the Northern Plains. Partial excavation in the 1960s revealed a portion of the impoundment where the driven animals were trapped. (DePastino 2017)

Stone circles seen from drone, Henry

Smith Site, Montana -  Photograph

U.S. Bureau of Land Management,

Public domain.

The fire was purposely set in mid-April and covered approximately 320 acres. After the fire exposed the features they were extensively photographed from a drone. Also discovered were a number of stone circles. A few of these were tipi rings, but others may have been a type of medicine wheel.(DePastino 2017) Study of the site will continue.

NOTE: Images in this posting were retrieved from the internet after a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the originals at the sites listed below.

REFERENCES:

DePastino, Blake

2017 Fire Reveals Human Stone Effigy, Bison-Kill Site in Montana, February 5, 2017, http://westerndigs.org/fire-reveals-human-stone-effigy-bison-kill-site-in-montana/

Faris, Peter

2010 A Geoglyph in Southeast Colorado - The Man With The Spear, September 22, 2010, http://rockartblog.blogspot.com/search?q=A+GEOGLYPH+IN+SOUTHEAST+COLORADO+-+THE+MAN+WITH+THE+SPEAR%3A

Miller, Mark

2015   Montana Burn Reveals Ancient Stone Effigies, Cairns, Rock Formetions, and Buffalo Slaughter Areas, May 30, 2015, http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/montana-burn-reveals-ancient-stone-effigies-cairns-rock-formations-020369?nopaging=1