A large pile of American bison skulls at the Michigan Carbon Works, Detroit. ca. 1880s
Due to widespread bison slaughter, the American prairie found itself with a surplus of bison bones. The bones were gathered, sold and shipped eastward, where they were then used in the production of fertilizer and gelatin products. To prevent the spread of mad-cow disease, the spine and skull were never used in the process.
Read a more detailed history here.
Photo: The Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library.
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kozeedodat reblogged this from olddetroit and added:
tragic
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gooddoobie reblogged this from tulipstoparasites and added:
look at those little original hipsters. except i guess they did it big back then rather than a skull or two in the...
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freddieprinze reblogged this from olddetroit and added:
WHAT.
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apocalyptic--grandeur reblogged this from olddetroit
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ericahampton reblogged this from olddetroit and added:
This makes me sad. Bison are such interesting creatures. Incredibly smelly...interesting...
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