Glossary

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Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

The last recorded use of Head-Smashed-In as a buffalo jump was in the middle of the 19th century. By then, horses and rifles had altered traditional bison-hunting practices, so much so that by the end of the 1800s the species was on the verge of extinction. While many other buffalo jump sites on the North American plains were subsequently disturbed, Head-Smashed-In remained virtually intact, with extensive and well-preserved bone beds layered to a depth of 10 metres (33 feet) in some areas. Found, in addition to countless bones, were arrowheads, dart points and potsherds, stone scrapers, knives and choppers, boiling stones, burial sites, over 1,000 drive lane cairns, pictographs, tipi rings and burial rocks. Head-Smashed-In also features a vision quest site. You might think Head-Smashed-In was named for the bison that met their demise at the bottom of the cliff. Not so. According to legend, the place is named for an imprudently curious Piikani (Peigan) youth pinned to the cliff wall by the tumbling bison. He was later discovered with his skull crushed. In Blackfoot, the jump is therefore called Estipah-sikikini-kots, "where he got his head smashed in."

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