Fox Exploitation by the Paleoeskimo at The Tayara Site, Nunavik

Monchot, Hervé; Gendron, Daniel

doi:10.1353/arc.2011.0107

Cited by 15 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Both the tibia fragment and ulna possessed cut marks. All the cut marks were located near the joints, which reflects skinning rather than butchering for meat (Monchot and Gendron, 2011).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient canids of the Aleutian Islands (new archaeological discoveries from the Islands of Four Mountains)

et al. 2019

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We discuss the cultural roles of dog and red fox recovered from Carlisle Island, Islands of Four Mountains, Alaska, within the context of Aleutian ethnographic and zooarchaeological records. Three dog bones were recovered from the Ulyagan archaeological site, Unit 5, in levels that date to AD 1450–1645. Three red fox bones come from the Ulyagan site, Unit 4, in levels that date 460 BC–AD 95. Our analyses show that both red fox and domestic dog date earlier than the contact with Russians and that these canids do not extend west of the Islands of Four Mountains archipelago. Given the rich history of human intervention on the Aleutians ecosystems over the last 250 years, we argue that indigenous red fox inhabited the Islands of the Four Mountains region prior to western contact; however, foxes did not have a pronounced cultural role for prehistoric Aleuts. Domestic dogs accompanied humans in the Aleutians after AD 950, suggesting that these canids might be linked with the Neo-Aleut culture. In the light of Arctic and oceanic cases of human use of dogs considered in the paper, we suggest that dogs might have served as reserve food sources during long trips for people migrating west.

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“…Both the tibia fragment and ulna possessed cut marks. All the cut marks were located near the joints, which reflects skinning rather than butchering for meat (Monchot and Gendron, 2011).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient canids of the Aleutian Islands (new archaeological discoveries from the Islands of Four Mountains)

et al. 2019

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“…From at least the 8th century AD and until the historical period, the Arctic fox has been an important source of clothing and food for both pre-Inuit and Inuit communities. Faunal assemblages from Late Dorset (8th to 13th century AD) and Ruin Island Phase (13th–15th century AD) sites always include Arctic fox, and at some sites in the area Arctic fox constitutes one-third to two-thirds of the total number of identified bone specimens (Appelt et al 1998 ; Bendix 2000 ; Monchot and Gendron 2010 ; Monchot and Gendron 2011 , Table 1; data compiled by Gotfredsen et al 2018 ). Analyses of ethnographic collections also document an extensive use of fox fur in the Inughuit clothing of last century (Box 2 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the crucial importance of a small bird: The ecosystem services of the little auk (Alle alle) population in Northwest Greenland in a long-term perspective

Mosbech

Johansen

Davidson

et al. 2018

Ambio

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The little auk is the most numerous seabird in the North Atlantic and its most important breeding area is the eastern shores of the North Water polynya. Here, a population of an estimated 33 million pairs breeds in huge colonies and significantly shapes the ecosystem. Archaeological remains in the colonies document that the little auk has been harvested over millennia. Anthropological research discloses how the little auk has a role both as social engineer and as a significant resource for the Inughuit today. The hunting can be practiced without costly equipment, and has no gender and age discrimination in contrast to the dominant hunt for marine mammals. Little auks are ecological engineers in the sense that they transport vast amounts of nutrients from sea to land, where the nutrients are deposited as guano. Here, the fertilized vegetation provides important foraging opportunities for hares, geese, fox, reindeer, and the introduced muskox. We estimate that the relative muskox density is ten times higher within 1 km of little auk fertilized vegetation hotspots.

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“…The fourth scenario is trapping with meat as bait. Similar to the third scenario, this is a specialized hunt for foxes (Monchot and Gendron 2011). Despite the higher population density of hares, they would be unlikely to be trapped because they would not be attracted to the bait.…”

Section: Palaeolithic Fox Hunting Methodsmentioning

confidence: 94%

The role of foxes in the Palaeolithic economies of the Swabian Jura (Germany)

Baumann

Wong

Starkovich

et al. 2020

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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In this study, we examine the role of foxes in Palaeolithic economies, focusing on sites of the Middle Palaeolithic, Aurignacian, Gravettian and Magdalenian of the Swabian Jura. For this purpose, we used published faunal data from 26 assemblages from the region, including new information from the Magdalenian layers of Langmahdhalde. We explore how the abundance of foxes changes over time, how they were used by humans, and how they were deposited at the sites, with a special focus on fox hunting methods. To evaluate these hunting methods, we use the prey choice model of optimal foraging theory (OFT) and simulate possible hunting scenarios, which we test based on the published faunal assemblages. Our research indicates that foxes were hunted since the early Upper Palaeolithic for their meat, fur and teeth, possibly with traps. We find that the abundance of fox remains in the archaeological record of the region increased continuously starting in the Aurignacian, which cannot be explained by taphonomic factors. The trend of foxes to adapt to human-influenced environments with commensal behavior may also have contributed to them being hunted more often.

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Fox Exploitation by the Paleoeskimo at The Tayara Site, Nunavik

Cited by 15 publications

References 39 publications

Ancient canids of the Aleutian Islands (new archaeological discoveries from the Islands of Four Mountains)

Ancient canids of the Aleutian Islands (new archaeological discoveries from the Islands of Four Mountains)

On the crucial importance of a small bird: The ecosystem services of the little auk (Alle alle) population in Northwest Greenland in a long-term perspective

The role of foxes in the Palaeolithic economies of the Swabian Jura (Germany)

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