The Birch Creek Canids and Dogs as Transport Labor in the Intermountain West

Abstract

Historically, domestic dogs(Canis familiaris)have been documented as central features of Intermountain West and Great Plains Native American camps. Some of these dogs were bred specifically for largeness and stamina to haultravoisand to carry pannier-style packs. Ethnographic accounts frequently highlight the importance of dogs in moving through the Intermountain West and the plains, reporting loads as heavy as 45 kg (100 lbs). We calculated body mass from skeletal morphometric data and used these to estimate prehistoric and historic dog load capacities for travois and pannier-style packs in the Intermountain West, Great Plains, and Great Basin. Specimens of large dogs recovered from sites in the Birch Creek Valley in Idaho and on the Great Plains indicate the animals could carry weights comparable to ethnographically recorded loads. Further, direct dating of the Birch Creek dog specimens indicated that dogs of this size have been present in the Intermountain West for more than 3,000 years. These data have important implications for our understanding of prehistoric mobility in the Intermountain West and the plains and suggest that the use of dogs in transporting cargo may have begun as early as 5,000 years ago.

Aboriginal plant use in the central Rocky Mountains: Macrobotanical records from three prehistoric sites in Birch Creek Valley, eastern Idaho

“…A recent study of canid remains from Veratic Rockshelter by Welker and Byers (2019) focused on body size and whether these dogs had the physical traits necessary to pull travois loads and carry packs. Based on morphometric data from at least four adult domestic dogs in the Veratic Shelter faunal assemblage, Welker and Byers (2019: 101) concluded that these were robust animals capable of pulling travois loads of more than 22.6 kg (50 lbs) and carrying pack loads of at least 17.8 kg (40 lbs) as early as 3,000 years ago. If this interpretation is correct, then it seems likely that prehistoric peoples in our general study area often bred large-bodied dogs to serve primarily as pack animals.…”

“…Of course, milling tools could have been used consistently to process plants at the study sites, but were often carried away by either the occupants or their dogs. A recent study of canid remains from Veratic Rockshelter by Welker and Byers (2019) focused on body size and whether these dogs had the physical traits necessary to pull travois loads and carry packs. Based on morphometric data from at least four adult domestic dogs in the Veratic Shelter faunal assemblage, Welker and Byers (2019: 101) concluded that these were robust animals capable of pulling travois loads of more than 22.6 kg (50 lbs) and carrying pack loads of at least 17.8 kg (40 lbs) as early as 3,000 years ago.…”

Domestication is not an ancient moment of selection for prosociality: Insights from dogs and modern humans

“…This tells the reader that dog domestication was finished prior to 10,000 years ago—it was a completed process by the time clade X emerged. Finally, two papers have documented the development of relatively large dogs in parts of western North America during the Holocene, likely for their roles in transport (Welker, 2020; Welker and Byers, 2019). The emergence of these dogs is not described as an outcome of domestication, and Welker and Byers (2019: 88) state directly, “It is generally accepted that dogs were domesticated sometime before 15,000 BP in Europe and 12,500 in East Asia.” The clear inference in all of these cases is that dog domestication was a threshold crossed in the Pleistocene.…”

“I wanna be your dog”: Evaluating the efficacy of univariate and multivariate methods for differentiating domestic and wild canids in North America

“…Second, some employ multivariate approaches based upon extensive comparative datasets to statistically identify dog and wild canid remains (Elder & Hayden, 1977; Lawrence & Bossert, 1967; Morey, 1986, 1990; Walker & Frison, 1982). Together, univariate and multivariate methods have been key elements in the development of a substantial body of knowledge concerning the origins and domestication of the dog and their dispersion around the world and their role in human cultures (Frantz et al, 2016; Horard‐Herbin, Tresset, & Vigne, 2014; Larson et al, 2012; Welker & Byers, 2019). However, both approaches are subject to drawbacks that have yet to be fully explored.…”