Rancher Archaeologist: A Career in Two Different Worlds [Hardcover]

Sometimes childhood events can shape a persons destiny. Such was the case for George Frison. His fathers accidental death meant that Frison was raised by his grandparents, thus experiencing life on a ranch instead of the small town childhood he otherwise would have had. The wealth of prehistoric artifacts on the ranch caught his attention. Eventually, this interest prompted him to change his lifes course at age thirty-seven.?
???? In this memoir, Frison shares his lifes work and his atypical journey from rancher to professor and archaeologist. Herding cattle, chopping watering holes in sub-zero weather, and guiding hunters in the fall were very different than teaching classes, performing laboratory work, and attending faculty and committee meetings in air-conditioned buildings. But his practical and observational experience around both domestic and wild animals proved a valuable asset to his research. His knowledge of specific animal behaviors gave insight to his studies of the Paleoindians of the northern plains as he sought to understand how their stone tools were used most effectively for hunting and how bison jumps, mammoth kills, and sheep traps actually worked. Frisons careful research and strong involvement in the scholarly and organizational aspects of archaeology made him influential not only as an authority on the prehistory of the northern plains but also as a leader in Wyoming archaeology and Northern American archaeology at large.
???? This book will appeal to both the professional and the lay reader with interests in archaeology, anthropology, paleontology, plains history, animal science, hunting, or game management. Frisons shift from ranching into the academic world of archaeology serves as a reminder that you are never too old to change your life.?

“George Frison’s autobiography is a good read and one that should be digested by all students, as well as professionals, with an interest in the prehistory of thl“h