We characterize the McKean (Middle Archaic) settlement of the Lewis Range in the Northern Rocky Mountain Front based on new excavations at the well-preserved and multi-component Billy Big Spring site, Montana, and on a reevaluation of the regional archaeological grey literature. The study area contains numerous McKean sites despite being generally considered marginal to the McKean world. Economic strategies emphasize upland sheep hunting using probable traps or blinds and foothills bison ambush hunting near wetlands. The emergence of well-defined economic strategies during the Middle Archaic in the Northern Rocky Mountain Front coincides with the appearance of several markers of social identity in the northwestern Plains. When combined, these traits point to the emergence of ethnic/cultural identities in the Archaic period and suggest complex demographic and social processes that are often overlooked in traditional discussions of projectile point distribution and chronology.

中文翻译：

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北落基山脉前线的麦基恩：经济景观和民族起源

我们根据在蒙大拿州保存完好的多组成部分比利大斯普林遗址的新发掘以及对区域考古灰色文献的重新评估，对北落基山脉前线刘易斯山脉的麦基恩（中古风）定居点进行了表征。尽管通常被认为是麦基恩世界的边缘，但研究区域包含许多麦基恩遗址。经济战略强调在湿地附近使用可能的陷阱或百叶窗和山麓野牛伏击狩猎高地绵羊。北落基山前线中古风时期明确的经济战略的出现与西北平原社会认同的几个标志的出现相吻合。结合时，