Plants and Subsistence during the Fluted-Point Period of the Northeast

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Nathaniel R. Kitchel ◽  
Madeline E. Mackie
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Diet Breadth ◽  
Radiocarbon Date ◽  
Northeastern North America ◽  
Plant Foods ◽  
Macrobotanical Remains ◽  
Caribou Hunting

The role of plant foods during the fluted-point period (FPP) of North America is contested. Central to this debate is whether the scarcity of FPP macrobotanical materials stems from poor preservation of archaeological features and the macrobotanical remains they might contain or from the limited use of plants during the FPP. Employing summed probability distributions of radiocarbon date frequencies in northeastern North America, we find that FPP hearths are as common as expected, given the small number of well-dated FPP sites in the region. A second comparison shows that northeastern FPP hearths contain macrobotanical remains at a higher frequency than hearths from a region with better preservation and where small seeds formed a part of the diet. The macrobotanical materials so far recovered from FPP hearths in the Northeast show that plant foods contributed to diets during the FPP but that the plant diet breadth was relatively narrow, consistent with a specialized caribou hunting lifeway.

Glaciation of the Torngat Mountains, Northern Labrador

ARCTIC ◽  
1957 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 66 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.D. Ives
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Glacial Period ◽  
Large Area ◽  
International Union ◽  
Northeastern North America ◽  
Glacial Periods

Considers role of these mountains in glaciation of Labrador-Ungava, assessing particularly events in late-Wisconsin times with respect to final disappearance of both continental and local ice masses. Conflicting theories are discussed, and evidence presented, based on physiography and findings from summer 1956 field work, including unmistakable erratics on summits at 4,000-5,000 ft. The highest summits were completely submerged by eastward moving continental ice during the Wisconsin glaciation; local glaciers never reached significant dimensions; rapid melting in situ of thick masses of ice occurred during the final Wisconsin stages. Two or three separate glacial periods are recognized from the morphology of the area. Instantaneous glaciation of a large area of the Labrador-Ungava Plateau probably initiated a continental ice sheet in northeastern North America at the onset of each glacial period. Also pub. in International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, Association of Scientific Hydrology, 11th assembly report of proceedings 1958, v. 4, p. 372-86.

Black Bears and the Iroquoians

Bears ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 138-159
Author(s):  
Christian Gates St-Pierre ◽  
Claire St-Germain ◽  
Louis-Vincent Laperrière-Désorcy
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Ursus Americanus ◽  
Black Bear ◽  
Black Bears ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Northeastern North America ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Economic Role ◽  
Faunal Assemblages

The study presented in this chapter uses archaeological and ethnohistorical data to discuss the role of black bears (Ursus americanus) among Pre-Contact Iroquoian societies from Northeastern North America. This role is proving to be complex and multifaceted, and the analysis of the archaeological and ethnohistorical records provide contradictory conclusions. According to the ethnohistorical documents considered in this study, black bear appears to be predominantly mentioned in subsistence and hunting contexts. In contrast, bones from black bear have been identified in a majority of Iroquoian faunal assemblages, but always in small numbers, indicating a ubiquitous, yet minor role for black bear in Pre-Contact Iroquoian foodways. Moreover, ethnonyms, myths, and legends also suggest that the symbolic and identity dimensions of black bear outweighed their economic role. The results of the ZooMS analysis of a set of Iroquoian bone projectile points is especially revealing in this respect.

New Perspectives on Meadowood Trade Items

2011 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karine Taché
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
North America ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Northeastern North America ◽  
Corporate Groups ◽  
Early Woodland ◽  
Interaction Spheres ◽  
The Creation

In Early Woodland times, the creation of vast interaction spheres resulted in the widespread circulation of various objects and raw materials across northeastern North America. In this article, I discuss the contexts and spatial distribution of Meadowood trade items from over 240 archaeological sites. Traditionally viewed by William A. Ritchie as cult-related items, Meadowood artifacts have subsequently been interpreted as participating in a risk-buffering strategy. Alternatively, I present arguments supporting the role of Meadowood artifacts as part of a strategy used by a few individuals or corporate groups to increase their status through privilege access to rare and highly valued goods. Socially valued goods can be used in multiple ways and documenting this complexity is a prerequisite to understanding the mechanisms underlying the circulation of goods within the Meadowood Interaction Sphere, the structure of the network, and the incentives of the participating groups. This article stresses the need to move beyond the dichotomy between utilitarian/subsistence-related goods and non-utilitarian/ritual artifacts.

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