12.10.2010

Places of My Youth: Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump

Sweater purchased by friend and coveted by me:



Sadly, it's a sweater for small boys and waifish ladies. But it did start the gears in my head, and with a flash I remember the wonders of Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, which is a place I visited as a child in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada (it's also the first Unesco World Heritage Site I experienced firsthand, inspiring my goal to visit every single one over the course of my life).

Rome has been inhabited for 2,500 years; the cliffs at Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump were used continuously by native peoples for at least 5,000.

Beginning miles from the cliffs and at progressively greater speeds, hunters would carefully guide herds of buffalo over the shallow drop, to the plains far below.



Bones lie at the foot of the cliff over 30 feet deep, which is quite a few buffalo. But if the stakes are high, perhaps just once in 5,000 years, a buffalo could fly ...



... though it's unlikely.

3 comments:

K:ra said...

Oh Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump. I was always partial to their white painted school bus with red lettering which read "Friends of Head Smashed In"

Eva Motch said...

It arrived today. It's so warm and soft. I was hoping for a snug fit and it's a bit loose, but I love. Get one too so we can match. The large will definitely fit you.

Sarah Ryhanen said...

this photo of the buffalo is crazy why is it making me so sad?

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