Hearth

The remains of a ancient fire hearth, probably between 1100 and 600 years old. This hearth and many others that are not as easily discernable are located about halfway down the slope from the cliff where the buffalo jumps took place. It was here that the ancient Plains Indian women would process and cook the meat from the buffalo. The hearth consists of a shallow pit lined with rock. A fresh buffalo hide, hair side down, would be placed on top of the rocks in the pit. The hide would then be filled with whatever was being cooked and a fire built beside the hearth. In the fire, round rocks would be heated until red-hot. The rocks were then fished out of the fire with antlers or sticks and dropped into the mixture where the heat would begin the cooking process. This is a method of cooking known as "Stone Boiling".

Stews of buffalo meat and wild vegetables would be prepared in these hearths, as would a blood sausage or blood pudding. The making of blood sausage or pudding in these hearths has given rise to their name in Blackfoot - Pishkun (pronounced pish-KUN) which means "Deep Kettle of Blood". A misstranslation of the Blackfoot language in the late 19th century applied the name Pishkun to buffalo jumps in general because the Blackfoot name for a buffalo jump is Piiskaan (pronounced piss-KHAN), which literally means "coralling the buffalo".

In addition, the women rendered grease in these pits by breaking open the large leg bones of the buffalo and placing them in the hearths with boiling water. The marrow would heat up and begin to cook, releasing fat that would rise to the surface. The fat would then be skimmed off the surface of the water and stored in bags for later use.

I took this photo for an interpretive trail guide we are producing for the park. I actually shot it a number of times from several angles and distances. I don't know which shot will be chosen for inclusion in the guide, but if it were up to me, this is the one I would choose.

NOTE - Though I took this photo with my camera, I was on duty and taking it for a job-related project. Therefore this image is the copyright of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. This image may not be used for commercial purposes or reprinted for any reason without the written permission of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

Canon EOS 350D Digital Rebel XT
Canon EFS 18-55mm lens