Recently, Reeves and Kennedy [(2017) Stone Feature Types as Observed at Ceremonial Site Complexes on the Lower Red Deer and the Forks of the Red Deer and South Saskatchewan Rivers with Ethnohistorical Discussion. Saskatchewan Archaeological Society, Saskatoon] identified a series of what they argue are unique stone feature types in the Forks area, near the village of Empress in southeastern Alberta. These researchers assert that, to their knowledge, no similar stone features exist in southwestern Alberta. They suggest that this regional difference in distribution and their absence from Blackfoot territory in southwestern Alberta indicates that they were created by the Gros Ventre as part of a distinct ceremonial practice. We examine Reeves and Kennedy’s feature types and provide examples of most from southwestern Alberta along the foothills front. We then examine the hypothesis of a Gros Ventre affiliation for these features and discuss how the evidence from southwestern Alberta informs this hypothesis and larger questions of ethnicity. While some of these stone features may have been created by the ancestral Gros Ventre, it appears others were most likely created by ancestral Blackfoot groups as part of their own cultural practice. This is supported by the presence of these feature types in southwestern Alberta and their consistent association with important landmarks and named places in the Blackfoot cultural landscape.

中文翻译：

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镶嵌在石头上：重新审视西北平原的石头特征分布和形态

最近，Reeves 和 Kennedy [(2017) 在下马鹿和马鹿河和南萨斯喀彻温河支流的仪式遗址复合体上观察到的石头特征类型与民族历史讨论。Saskatchewan Archaeological Society, Saskatoon] 在艾伯塔省东南部 Empress 村附近的 Forks 地区发现了一系列他们认为是独特的石头特征类型。这些研究人员断言，据他们所知，艾伯塔省西南部不存在类似的石头特征。他们认为，这种分布的地区差异以及他们在艾伯塔省西南部的黑脚地区的缺席表明，它们是由 Gros Ventre 创造的，是一种独特的仪式实践的一部分。我们研究了 Reeves 和 Kennedy 的特征类型，并提供了大部分来自阿尔伯塔西南部山麓前沿的示例。然后，我们针对这些特征检查 Gros Ventre 隶属关系的假设，并讨论来自艾伯塔省西南部的证据如何为这一假设和更大的种族问题提供信息。虽然其中一些石头特征可能是由祖先的 Gros Ventre 创造的，但似乎其他石像最有可能是由祖先的黑脚族群创造的，作为他们自己文化实践的一部分。艾伯塔省西南部存在这些特征类型以及它们与黑脚文化景观中的重要地标和命名地点的一致关联支持了这一点。虽然其中一些石头特征可能是由祖先的 Gros Ventre 创造的，但似乎其他石像最有可能是由祖先的黑脚族群创造的，作为他们自己文化实践的一部分。艾伯塔省西南部存在这些特征类型以及它们与黑脚文化景观中的重要地标和命名地点的一致关联，支持了这一点。虽然其中一些石头特征可能是由祖先的 Gros Ventre 创造的，但似乎其他石像最有可能是由祖先的黑脚族群创造的，作为他们自己文化实践的一部分。艾伯塔省西南部存在这些特征类型以及它们与黑脚文化景观中的重要地标和命名地点的一致关联，支持了这一点。