NO. lO SECOND REPORT ON FOLSOM COMPLEX ROHERTS 17 



contrasted sharply with other portions of the site, many of the bones 

 were cut and spHt. and several of the skulls had been battered and 

 chopped into small pieces. 



The bones from the bison pit were submitted to Dr. C. L. Gazin, 

 assistant curator of paleontology, United States National Museum, 

 who kindly furnished the following notes : 



The Fort Collins material represents an extinct species of bison and should 

 probably be referred to Bisou iaylori. The horns of the skull are very incom- 

 plete, but from the size of the proximal portions of the horns, the breadth of 

 the cranium, and the length of the rostrum it is clearly not a living type. 



Comparisons are handicapped by lack of comparable fossil material in our 

 collections outside of Alaska and Minnesota. It has been necessary to rely 

 largely on published illustrations and descriptions of the numerous bison which 

 have been designated as distinct species. It is obvious that too many names 

 have been applied to North American bison and some of the older types are 

 hardly adequate for clear diagnosis. Several of the known species are eliminated 

 in comparisons, however. The Fort Collins material apparently could be 

 referred with equal readiness to Bison occidcntalis. Bison faylori, or Bison 

 olivcrhayi, among those which remain, and there seems to be some doubt as to the 

 validity of one or more of these.'" 



The skull resembles, and approximates in size, a skull from Kansas identified 

 by Lucas as Bison occidentalis, which was the first reference to this Alaskan 

 species of material from the United States proper. This determination by Lucas 

 probably furnished the basis for continued recognition of the species in the middle 

 western region. The Fort Collins skull is intermediate between the types of 

 Bison taylori and Bison olivcrhayi from Folsom, N. Mex., in breadth of the 

 cranium at the postorbital constriction, but the entire length of the skull is as 

 great as, or perhaps somewhat greater than, that of Bison faylori. Unfortunately, 

 the incompleteness of the horns obviates detailed comparisons of these struc- 

 tures ; however, the greatest diameter of the basal portion of either horn about 

 equals that in Bison taylori. Characters of the teeth which have been used to 

 distinguish species of bison are of doubtful value and do not help in the present 

 case. 



The proportions of most of the limb elements are slightly less than the mea- 

 surements given by Hay and Cook for Bison taylori, although a few of the foot 

 bones are larger in their respective measurements. The various limb bones and 

 vertebrae, other than indicating an animal of distinctly large size, are of little 

 or no diagnostic value in determining the species.'" 



ARTIFACTS 



The specimens collected from the excavations consist of points, 

 scrapers, gravers, chisel-gravers, choppers, large blades, flakeknives, 



" The scrap bones secured in the autumn of 1934 were identified by J. D. 

 Figgins as being from both Bison taylori and Bison olivcrhayi. See Roberts, 

 1935, p. 31- 



" For a discussion of Bison taylori and Bison olivcrhayi see Hay and Cook, 

 1930, Figgins, 1933. 



