Quit blubbering: an examination of Nuu'chah'nulth (Nootkan) whale butchery

Monks, Gregory G.

doi:10.1002/oa.552

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Similarly, at Qajaa, two narwhal bones were found along with a single bone from an unidentified cetacean out of ∼15,000 bones (0.02%)8. The underrepresentation of whale bones in archaeological sites is a well-known phenomenon, typically ascribed to difficulties in transporting large carcasses from shore to the settlement3435 in combination with the higher value of blubber or meat compared with bones36. In the arctic, several studies have suggested that the fossil record may underestimate the importance of whales to ancient Arctic cultures459, however, the lack of suitable methods to detect remains of tissue like blubber and meat in sediment have prevented further investigations on this matter.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DNA evidence of bowhead whale exploitation by Greenlandic Paleo-Inuit 4,000 years ago

et al. 2016

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The demographic history of Greenland is characterized by recurrent migrations and extinctions since the first humans arrived 4,500 years ago. Our current understanding of these extinct cultures relies primarily on preserved fossils found in their archaeological deposits, which hold valuable information on past subsistence practices. However, some exploited taxa, though economically important, comprise only a small fraction of these sub-fossil assemblages. Here we reconstruct a comprehensive record of past subsistence economies in Greenland by sequencing ancient DNA from four well-described midden deposits. Our results confirm that the species found in the fossil record, like harp seal and ringed seal, were a vital part of Inuit subsistence, but also add a new dimension with evidence that caribou, walrus and whale species played a more prominent role for the survival of Paleo-Inuit cultures than previously reported. Most notably, we report evidence of bowhead whale exploitation by the Saqqaq culture 4,000 years ago.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DNA evidence of bowhead whale exploitation by Greenlandic Paleo-Inuit 4,000 years ago

et al. 2016

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“…It was hunted in the Eastern Arctic, and together with the humpback whale, was taken in Greenland by early Greenlandic whalers [ 21 ]. Archaeological sites along the Pacific Northwest Coast (where whale use has been demonstrated for at least 4,000 years [ 48 , 49 ]) have yielded only a small proportion of right whale bones, while gray whale and humpback whale remains constitute almost the entirety of the bone assemblages of archaeological sites such as the Toquaht sites on Vancouver Island [ 48 ], the Ozette site in Washington State [ 50 ] and the Par-Tee site on the Oregon Coast [ 51 ]. The gray whale, whose range extends to the Chukchi Sea and Wrangel Island, was also hunted by Chukchi and Inuit in Russia [ 21 ] and in Japan [ 33 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular markers in keratins from Mysticeti whales for species identification of baleen in museum and archaeological collections

et al. 2017

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Baleen has been harvested by indigenous people for thousands of years, as well as collected by whalers as an additional product of commercial whaling in modern times. Baleen refers to the food-filtering system of Mysticeti whales; a full baleen rack consists of dozens of plates of a tough and flexible keratinous material that terminate in bristles. Due to its properties, baleen was a valuable raw material used in a wide range of artefacts, from implements to clothing. Baleen is not widely used today, however, analyses of this biomolecular tissue have the potential to contribute to conservation efforts, studies of genetic diversity and a better understanding of the exploitation and use of Mysticeti whales in past and recent times. Fortunately, baleen is present in abundance in museum natural history collections. However, it is often difficult or impossible to make a species identification of manufactured or old baleen. Here, we propose a new tool for biomolecular identification of baleen based on its main structural component alpha-keratin (the same protein that makes up hair and fingernails). With the exception of minke whales, alpha-keratin sequences are not yet known for baleen whales. We therefore used peptide mass fingerprinting to determine peptidic profiles in well documented baleen and evaluated the possibility of using this technique to differentiate species in baleen samples that are not adequately identified or are unidentified. We examined baleen from ten different species of whales and determined molecular markers for each species, including species-specific markers. In the case of the Bryde’s whales, differences between specimens suggest distinct species or sub-species, consistent with the complex phylogeny of the species. Finally, the methodology was applied to 29 fragments of baleen excavated from archaeological sites in Labrador, Canada (representing 1500 years of whale use by prehistoric people), demonstrating a dominance of bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) in the archaeological assemblage and the successful application of the peptide mass fingerprinting technique to identify the species of whale in unidentified and partially degraded samples.

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“…However, removal of meat from bowhead bones would not require the degree of heavy fragmentation encountered at Feature 2 (e.g., Monks, 2001). In addition, the very low incidence (< 0.5%) of charred and burnt whale bone, as well as the lack of any discernable hearth or cooking area in the excavations, suggests that grease production was not carried out within the house.…”

Section: Reduction and Tool Manufacture At Mckinley Baymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Mackenzie Inuit Whale Bone Industry: Raw Material, Tool Manufacture, Scheduling, and Trade

Betts¹

2009

ARCTIC

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ABSTRACT. The bones of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) were used by Mackenzie Inuit groups in producing a number of items essential to transportation and procurement. However, the whale bone industry, and its relationship to Mackenzie Inuit economic and social systems, is poorly understood. A recently excavated archaeological assemblage from McKinley Bay, Northwest Territories, provides a record of intensive Nuvugarmiut whale bone tool manufacture, which can be used to reconstruct a reduction sequence. Bowhead bone reduction at McKinley Bay focused on ribs, which were transversely worked into large sections. Cortical blanks were isolated from central rib sections, but proximal and distal rib sections were treated directly as blanks and preforms for the production of large durable tools, such as harpoon heads, adze sockets, mattock blades, and picks. The intensive whale bone reduction at McKinley Bay was part of a broader gearing-up strategy focused on the manufacture and repair of sleds and harpoons needed for the late winter migration and spring seal hunt. More generally, because the whale bone industry was intimately related to the bowhead hunt and its proceeds, it may provide fundamental insights about key aspects of coastal whaling societies, such as social organization, redistribution, and inter-territorial trade. De manière plus générale, puisque l'industrie des os de baleine était étroitement liée à la chasse à la baleine et à ses produits, elle pourrait permettre d'en savoir plus sur des aspects clés des sociétés baleinières de la côte, comme l'organisation sociale, le répartition du peuple et le commerce entre les territoires.Mots clés : région du delta du Mackenzie, Inuvialuit, inuit du Mackenzie, outils en os, baleine boréale, séquence de transformation, chasse à la baleine, emploi du temps, commerce, réalisation d'outils Traduit pour la revue Arctic par Nicole Giguère.

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Quit blubbering: an examination of Nuu'chah'nulth (Nootkan) whale butchery

Cited by 17 publications

References 3 publications

DNA evidence of bowhead whale exploitation by Greenlandic Paleo-Inuit 4,000 years ago

DNA evidence of bowhead whale exploitation by Greenlandic Paleo-Inuit 4,000 years ago

Molecular markers in keratins from Mysticeti whales for species identification of baleen in museum and archaeological collections

The Mackenzie Inuit Whale Bone Industry: Raw Material, Tool Manufacture, Scheduling, and Trade

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