Book Buzz

Jack W. Brinks

For 6000 years First Nations hunters on the prairies used their knowledge of the land and of buffalo behaviour to drive their quarry over cliffs. Archaeologist Jack Brink has written a major study of the mass buffalo hunts and the culture they supported before and after European contact. Brinks draws on his 25 years excavating at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump in southwestern Alberta – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. “I love the story behind the jump – the events and planning that went into making the whole event work. I continue to learn more about the complex interaction between people, bison, and the environment, and I continue to be impressed with how the ancient hunters pulled off these astonishing kills.”

When the first Europeans hunted bison they would shoot the biggest oldest male. The First Nations hunters would laugh. The meat would not be good for eating nor would the hide be good for tanning. A hunt for meat would take place in the fall when the cows would be fat. For hides they would hunt in the spring when hides would be thinner and easier to work with.

The workers at Smashed in Head were unsuccessful at creating a tipi made of buffalo hides. They found a group of people who made tipis for Wanuskewin Heritage Park, a buffalo jump near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. But when they contacted these people they were no longer process buffalo hides the tradition way. It was too much work!

Filled with facts and stories and beautifully illustrated. An excellent read.

MARK SCHULTZ

ZANDER CANNON     KEVIN CANNON

Love learning about life. How do scientists know all this stuff? Some of the science in this book was in too much detail for me and this is in graphic form. The premise is an alien race is studying humanity because they are having problems with inherited diseases because they reproduce asexually. Asexual reproduction is basically cloning. The alien scientist is explaining how sexual reproduction works and its benefits  to his world’s leader.
The last chapter that talks about how knowledge of genetics can be used in the future and how it can tell us about the past is most interesting. A good book to skim.