ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN MISSOURI 27 



yielded nearly half a bushel of whole and broken bones. By no means 

 all were saved, but skulls and skull fragments, mandibles, teeth, 

 pelves, and limb bones with one or both joints intact were retained 

 for identification. It is unlikely that the discarded material would 

 have added other species to the present list. 



Mammalian bones from the Renner site, as identified in the Division 

 of Mammals, U. S. National Museum, include 10 species. Arranged 

 in order of frequency, with the number of bones or fragments ascribed 

 to each , these are as follows : 



White-tailed deer, Odocoilcus virginlanus 355 



Raccoon, Procijon lotor 43 



Beaver, Castor canadensis 24 



Bison, Bison bison 17 



Wapiti, Cervus canadensis 14 



Dog, Canis familiaris 10 



Red fox, Vulpcs fulvus 4 



Lynx, Lynx rnfus 4 



Black bear, Euai-ctos aniericanus 2 



Fox squirrel, Scivrus rnfivrnter 1 



Miscellaneous unidentified fragments 315 



As the list shows, bones of the deer were more than three times as 

 numerous in the sample studied as were those of all other identified 

 species combined. In point of fact, the actual proportion of deer to 

 other bones at the site is probably even more one sided, since deer 

 remains came out in such quantities that only a part, perhaps not 

 over 10 or 15 percent, was kept. By contrast, all bones that might 

 have been attributed to other animals were retained. Thus it seems 

 probable that well over 90 percent of all osseous mammalian vestigia 

 encountered were of this species. From this it may be inferred that 

 deer must have been as conspicuous and abundant in the timber along 

 this stretcli of the Missouri in prehistoric days as they were when 

 Lewis and Clark brought their boats up the river in 1804. Wapiti 

 and bison doubtless roamed the open woods and upland prairies 

 farther back from the streams but evidently figured much less in 

 the native economy than did the deer. Even in early historic times, 

 raccoon, beaver, fox, lynx, bear, and squirrel were plentiful in the 

 immediate locality. No ready explanation for the unusual abundance 

 of raccoon bones, nearly half of them mandible fragments, is at hand. 

 Besides being a source of fresh meat, the species listed probably 

 supplied hides for clothing and other articles, hair and sinew for 

 weaving and cordage, and bones (in some instances also horn or 

 antler) for the manufacture of implements. 



Of interest is the indicated presence of the domestic dog, whose 

 bones occurred in pits 27 and 30 and sparingly elsewhere. Two or 

 more individuals are represented. A left lower carnassial and a 

 metatarsal bone are from a very large animal and compare in size 

 with similar parts in the skeleton of the wolf. Identification is con- 



