Note: This post was updated November 15th to include the link to the Western Producer story about this task. See the link at the really bottom of this post. Note: This post was upgraded October 29th 2023 to consist of notes from my visit with numerous Saskatchewan archaeologists. When I take harvest dinner to our work crew 'over west' where my bro in law farms near Sunny Lake, west of Springwater, Saskatchewan, I always put in the time to have a walk behind his bins out to the valley. There, I have a visit with Grandfather Stone, the bison rubbing stone that can be discovered on the crest of among the hills. While you can't see it plainly in this photo, there is a distinct wallow location around the stone. That's the feature created when bison - and later on, livestock - would rub their moulting winter hide on the stone. Rolling and rubbing and wallowing and scratching, a bison would press and scrape away the earth around the rubbing stone, pressing their body more detailed, hoofs planted firmly while their body would be scratching backward and forward.

Those wallows, and the distinct patina of generations of bison rubbing on the stone, specifically on the bottom, are extremely clear. I constantly thought this land had just the one bison rubbing stone. When I took a walk a few days later (unfortunately, without my camera) across the hills you see behind this stone in the picture above, I found THREE MORE bison rubbing stones. 2 were smaller sized, the 4th a comparable size to the first. Speak about an excess of riches. But readers, I can do better. I live in the town of Biggar, Saskatchewan. In the Biggar Rec Valley, simply to the north of town, there are various walking paths. I have actually been a faithful walker there with my pet for the past seven or two years. There remain in truth 2 recreational sides to the valley: the campground side, and the rodeo side. The camping site side is where I can normally be discovered, especially in winter season, when my other half and I make cross nation ski tracks, to go swishing along.

In summertime, I roam all over. And years ago, I was astonished to see the most huge glacial errata, sitting right on the edge of the valley on the rodeo side, not far off number 14 highway. It's massive. So obviously, up I went to examine it out. It's pretty simple to get to. There is a well-worn and frequently mown walking path along the south edge of the valley - and homepage if you go far enough, you'll see the stone glimpsing up above the scrub brush, perched right on the edge of the valley. The stone has, to my relatively robust but non-specialist historical research study eyes, what I would be looking for in a bison rubbing stone. All around the stone, it's clear that it has actually been cleared away in a wallow by thousands of bison, burrowed like a bowl with the stone in the middle. Note: since the initial writing of this blog site post, I have considering that learned that this wallow might have been made by employees of the Town of Biggar, who attempted to move the huge rock to town when they were making Sandra Schmirler Park.

Along the bottom around the stone, you can see where countless bison rubbed and rubbed, developing smooth sections that you can feel with your hands, distinct from above where bison could not reach. Note: the smoothness around the base of this stone may have been made by the movement of being pushed throughout the ground by glaciers. It's been there a long time - which indicates, there is some graffiti. Someone took what appears like a heart with initials, with a few other initials elsewhere. Type of like what you 'd finish with a tree, but onto the stone. Even with that, however, it's an astonishing stone. About 8 feet tall at its pinnacle, and most likely 25 feet all the method around. I've reached out to the USask archaeology department to see if anybody has actually done a study or any kind of investigation of the stone - or if they understand that it exists. I've also reached out to the director of Ancient Echoes in Herschel, who will come over for an adventure and inspect it out with me.

There, I have a check out with Grandfather Stone, the bison rubbing stone that can be found on the crest of one of the hills. When I took a walk a few days later on (sadly, without my camera) across the hills you see behind this stone in the picture above, I discovered THREE MORE bison rubbing stones. The stone has, to my non-specialist however fairly robust historical research study eyes, what I would be looking for in a bison rubbing stone. All around the stone, it's clear that it has been cleared away in a wallow by thousands of bison, hollowed out like a bowl with the stone in the middle. Along the bottom around the stone, you can see where thousands of bison rubbed and rubbed, developing smooth areas that you can feel with your hands, distinct from above where bison could not reach.