The Animal Guardian: A Critical and Synthetic Review

Paulson, Ivar; Auer, Nancy E.

doi:10.1086/462481

Cited by 14 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…In some cases, it was the master or mistress of animals who was responsible for a hunter's bad 'luck' (Tein 1994). Such beliefs are found across Siberia (Paulson 1964;1968;Ingold 1987) and throughout Arctic Alaska and Canada. Among the Inupiat and some Canadian Inuit, a 'caribou mother' managed the herds and ensured their proper treatment by humans (Ellanna & Sherrod 2004, 161-2).…”

Section: Relational Ontologies: Animals As Other-thanhuman Personsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Animals as Agents: Hunting Ritual and Relational Ontologies in Prehistoric Alaska and Chukotka

Hill

2011

CAJ

103

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In this article, I discuss the ways in which animals act as ontological subjects — as other-than-human persons and as agents in myth and ritual. First I outline how humans conceive of and behave with animals and their remains in indigenous cosmologies using ethnographic and ethnohistoric examples from the Arctic, Subarctic and Amazonia. I then explore the archaeological evidence for indigenous ontologies along the coasts of Chukotka and Alaska, arguing that prehistoric hunters interacted with animals as agential persons, engaging in social practices intended to facilitate hunting success and avoid offending prey. Two forms of ritual activities are discussed: the use of hunting amulets and the caching of animal bones and antlers. I conclude that focusing on shamanism in the study of hunter-gatherer belief obscures the roles of hunters and their wives. Their thoughts and actions established and maintained relationships with prey animals and may be more productively conceptualized as dynamic social behaviours embedded within the context of daily life than as privileged ritual acts.

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Section: Relational Ontologies: Animals As Other-thanhuman Personsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Animals as Agents: Hunting Ritual and Relational Ontologies in Prehistoric Alaska and Chukotka

Hill

2011

CAJ

103

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“…Bear ritualism appears all over the northern hemisphere. The basis for the bear ceremony is the social relationship between humans and bears (Hallowell 1926;Findeisen 1941;Vasil'yev 1948;Paulson 1964;1965;Paproth 1976;Kwon 1999;Sokolova 2002;2009). As an example, I will speak here about the bear ceremony among the Ob-Ugrians, i.e.…”

Section: History Of Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hybridity in a Western Siberian Bear Ceremony

Dudeck

2022

Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics

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Hybridity is often discussed in connection with the postcolonial condition. The cultural revival of the Khanty bear ceremony in Western Siberia could be a perfect example. It is on one hand a key representation of local Indigenous ontology and on the other has become a token in cultural heritage preservation by state actors and a cultural commodity for local tourism and media outlets. Indigenous activists struggle against the loss of authenticity with ideas of purism and scholars identifying the amalgamation of Indigenous ritual elements with Christian ideas and inventions of tradition on the other hand. I argue that the perception of original purity of elements that develop into hybrid forms in the colonial and postcolonial context is somewhat misleading. Instead, I propose that we look at hybridity and purity as intertwined dialectical aspects of cultural politics with a multiplicity of voices and perspectives and negotiated relations at several levels.

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“…This is absolutely not a kind of sympathetic magic, but a necessary act in the framework of the reciprocal understanding of human relationships and responsibilities towards the different counterparts humans are dependent upon. This concept of the 'Master of Animals' is shared by many indigenous groups world-wide, and it might be conceived as a primordial universal characteristic of indigenous hunting societies (Beach and Stammler 2006;Duerr 2010;Fernández-Llamazares and Virtanen 2020;Garfinkel et al 2009;Hitoshi 2013;Loring 1996;Low 2018;Paulson and Auer 1964;Reichel-Dolmatoff 1967).…”

Section: Upper Paleolithic Decorated Caves: Towards An Understandingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hypoxia in Paleolithic decorated caves: the use of artificial light in deep caves reduces oxygen concentration and induces altered states of consciousness

Kedar

Kedar²,

Barkai

2021

Time and Mind

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In this paper, we present a novel hypothesis as to what led humans in the Upper Paleolithic to penetrate and decorate deep, dark caves. Many of the depictions in these caves are located in halls or narrow passages deep in the interior, navigable only with artificial light. We simulated the effect of torches on oxygen concentrations in structures similar to Paleolithic decorated caves and showed that the oxygen quickly decreased to levels known to induce a state of hypoxia. Hypoxia increases the release of dopamine in the brain, resulting in hallucinations and out-of-body experiences. We discuss the significance of caves in indigenous world views and contend that entering these deep, dark environments was a conscious choice, motivated by an understanding of the transformative nature of an underground, oxygen-depleted space. The cave environment was conceived as both a liminal space and an ontological arena, allowing early humans to maintain their connectedness with the cosmos. It was not the decoration that rendered the caves significant; rather, the significance of the chosen caves was the reason for their decoration.

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The Animal Guardian: A Critical and Synthetic Review

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Animals as Agents: Hunting Ritual and Relational Ontologies in Prehistoric Alaska and Chukotka

Animals as Agents: Hunting Ritual and Relational Ontologies in Prehistoric Alaska and Chukotka

Hybridity in a Western Siberian Bear Ceremony

Hypoxia in Paleolithic decorated caves: the use of artificial light in deep caves reduces oxygen concentration and induces altered states of consciousness

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