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Viking Ribstones Archaeological Site
The site consists of two ribstones and a cairn constructed by the Government of Alberta in 1959 near the top of a hill approximately 11 miles east of Viking.
The hill is currently maintained for use as an historic monument and day use park. When the surface was ploughed and seeded to grass in the 1950s, abundant prehistoric artifacts were exposed. Currently, only the ribstones and several other large rocks are visible.
The Viking Ribstones are very hard quartzite boulders which have been modified by aboriginal people. They pecked two kinds of marks into the boulder surface: grooves and pits. The grooves are thought to represent the backbone and ribs of the buffalo. The circular pits or "cupules" may have been carved in imitation of the pock-marked surface of the Iron Creek Meteorite which was the aboriginal peoples greatest and most venerated monument to "Old Man Buffalo" the spirit protector of the buffalo herds.
Aboriginal peoples left offerings of meat, tobacco, or beads at ribstones to acquire luck in hunting and to give thanks to "Old Man Buffalo". Only nine ribstone sites are known to exist in Alberta. These are among the rarest types of archaeological sites present within the Province.
Viking Ribstones Archaeological Site
The site consists of two ribstones and a cairn constructed by the Government of Alberta in 1959 near the top of a hill approximately 11 miles east of Viking.
The hill is currently maintained for use as an historic monument and day use park. When the surface was ploughed and seeded to grass in the 1950s, abundant prehistoric artifacts were exposed. Currently, only the ribstones and several other large rocks are visible.
The Viking Ribstones are very hard quartzite boulders which have been modified by aboriginal people. They pecked two kinds of marks into the boulder surface: grooves and pits. The grooves are thought to represent the backbone and ribs of the buffalo. The circular pits or "cupules" may have been carved in imitation of the pock-marked surface of the Iron Creek Meteorite which was the aboriginal peoples greatest and most venerated monument to "Old Man Buffalo" the spirit protector of the buffalo herds.
Aboriginal peoples left offerings of meat, tobacco, or beads at ribstones to acquire luck in hunting and to give thanks to "Old Man Buffalo". Only nine ribstone sites are known to exist in Alberta. These are among the rarest types of archaeological sites present within the Province.