Thursday, July 17, 2025

Bison Jump Sites in Texas

 

    Native Americans hunted bison in many different ways.  One of the most unusual is called a bison jump.  This is where they caused a herd of bison to stampede over a cliff, killing many as they fell to the ground below.  Although rare, when the right conditions of geography, herd location, etc. existed this carefully planned method could produce an abundance of food which could be dried (jerked) and kept for future use.

    Texas has three known bison jump sites, ranging in time from Paleo-Indian days to historic times.  These sites are described in the following document.




Bisin Jump Sites in Texas