Whooping Crane Bones

What’s the big whoop? Whooping cranes of course!

Whooping cranes (Grus americana) are one of the most unique bird species found by archaeologists at Jamestown. Only two whooping crane bones have been identified so far from the same Early Fort Period feature, Pit 8, one of the Soldiers Pits. Both bones found are part of the furculum, the element more commonly known as the wish bone. The reason why these bones were found here is unknown. The feature was likely filled with trash after the Starving Time, suggesting that the bones may be evidence of the large birds being consumed. However, other archaeological evidence from Pit 8 indicates that it was used by a high-ranking, militarily connected individual. Perhaps the bones were a hunting trophy, or items collected for a Cabinet of Curiosity.

The largest native bird of North America, whooping cranes can stand up to five feet tall with a wingspan between six and seven feet. They are mostly white in color, with black underwings and a red patch on the top of the head. John Smith described the distinct appearance of whooping cranes, writing, “In winter there are great plenty of Swans, Craynes gray and white with blacke wings.”

Before European colonization, it is estimated that whooping cranes, already a rare bird species, had a population of over 10,000 that ranged from the Midwest towards the east coast. The birds were greatly threatened by overhunting and the destruction of swamps and marshes, which are their natural habitats. By the 1940s, just over 20 birds remained between the wild and captivity. Although conservation efforts to save the whooping crane from extinction began in the 1960’s, they are still identified as endangered today with just under 1,000 cranes living in both re-introduced flocks and in captivity.