The Nature of Thule Eskimo Whale Use

McCartney, Allen P.

doi:10.14430/arctic2581

Cited by 50 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 32 publications

(13 reference statements)

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“…However, the results suggest that beluga whales and narwhals may be approaching the threshold size wherein bone transport is simply not cost effective regardless of the remaining meat attached to the bone (except in the case of the smallest bones and/or where other factors-such as architectural utility in the case of bowhead whalesmay be relevant; e.g. McCartney, 1980;Savelle & McCartney, 1990).…”

Section: Central Canadian Arctic: Modern Beluga and Narwhal Huntingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to their exploitation by 19th and 20th century industrialized societies, cetaceans were hunted extensively by a number of ethnographicallydocumented ''traditional'' Native societies (see reviews by Heizer, 1941Heizer, , 1968McCartney, 1984;Stoker & Krupnik, 1993), and their remains have been recovered in a variety of archaeological contexts, especially in northern and Pacific rim regions (e.g. McGhee, 1974;McCartney, 1979McCartney, , 1980Arutiunov, Krupnik & Chlenov, 1982;Huelsbeck, 1988;Lyman, 1991;Hiraguchi, 1992;Savelle, 1994;Savelle & McCartney, 1994;Friesen & Arnold, 1995). Accordingly, the lack of appropriate cetacean utility indices represents a major deficiency in any attempt to interpret cetacean zooarchaeological assemblages from the perspective of economic anatomy.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Odontocete (Cetacea) Meat Utility Index

Savelle

Friesen

1996

Journal of Archaeological Science

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Section: Central Canadian Arctic: Modern Beluga and Narwhal Huntingmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

An Odontocete (Cetacea) Meat Utility Index

Savelle

Friesen

1996

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…Later, the Thule Eskimo culture has been characterized as a whale hunting community (McCartney 1980). Recently there has been criticism of this view, especially on the question of whether the numerous findings of whale bones necessarily have to signify active whale hunting or could not also be the result of scavenging of stranded or dead whales or whale bone collecting.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of sperm whale ivory in Chalcolithic Portugal

Schuhmacher¹,

Banerjee²,

Dindorf³

et al. 2013

Trab. prehist.

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Scientific analysis were undertaken within a research project concerning ivory objects from the Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age of the Iberian Peninsula. In several of the analyses of objects from Portuguese Estremadura, especially V-perforated buttons, we could detect for the first time the presence of sperm whale ivory. This highlights the advantage and necessity of scientific analysis of ivory. It also clearly demonstrates that not all ivory used was ivory from African or Asian elephants, but we also did find ivory from the extinct Elephas antiquus, the hippopotamus and in this case sperm-whale. Thus, already in the Chalcolithic the raw material provenience was highly diverse, which in the absence of scientific analysis might lead to an erroneous interpretation of prehistoric exchange networks. Different methods, including optical microscopy, measurement of hardness and specific gravity, Micro-Raman Spectroscopy, elemental analysis and Isotopic Ratio Mass Spectrometry have been applied. In this paper we present these methods and the results, and we discuss about the implications of these results for the reconstruction of prehistoric economy and life in this region. Finally, taking into account the natural conditions as well as prehistoric and historic data of whale hunting and scavenging of beached animals, we conclude that the most plausible explanation for the presence of sperm whale ivory in Chalcolithic Portugal is the use of the teeth obtained from stranded animals. This interpretation is possible because of the human populations using this ivory are those living close to the sea and exploiting – among others– marine resources.

En el marco de un proyecto de investigación sobre objetos de marfil del Calcolítico al Bronce Antiguo en la Península Ibérica efectuamos análisis científicos. En varios de los objetos de la Estremadura portuguesa, en especial en los botones con perforación en V, detectamos por primera vez la presencia de marfil de cachalote. Así se demuestra claramente la ventaja y la necesidad de efectuar análisis científicos del marfil. No todo el marfil utilizado provenía de los elefantes africanos y asiáticos. Además encontramos marfil del desaparecido Elephas antiquus, de hipopótamo, y en este caso de cachalote. Así ya en el Calcolítico el origen de la materia prima era muy diverso, lo que en ausencia de análisis científicos puede conducir a una errónea interpretación de las redes prehistóricas de intercambio. Los métodos empleados fueron la microscopia óptica, la medición de la dureza y del peso específico, la espectroscopía Micro-Raman, el análisis elemental y la espectrometría isotópica de masas. En este trabajo presentamos estos métodos y los resultados. Además discutimos sus consecuencias para la reconstrucción de la economía y la vida de las sociedades prehistóricas de la región. Teniendo en cuenta las condiciones naturales y los datos prehistóricos e históricos sobre la caza de ballenas y el aprovechamiento de animales varados consideramos que la explicación más plausible de la ...

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“…One, and potentially two, Thule qargich were excavated at Hazard Inlet (Savelle 1987, Habu and Savelle 1994, Savelle 1997. The eastern Arctic has recorded a number of other Thule period qargich, such as those excavated at Cape Garry (McCartney 1980, McCartney 1988, Qariaraqyuk (Whitridge 1999a;Whitridge 1999b) and Skraeling Island (McCullough 1989). Others have been reported from Barter Island on the Alaska North Slope (Jenness 1990).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Early Inupiaq Occupation: Observations on a Thule House From Cape Espenberg, Alaska

et al. 2017

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This paper describes and interprets a well-preserved early Thule semi-subterranean dwelling from Cape Espenberg, Alaska. The house architecture is similar in many respects to other early Thule dwellings with a sub-rectangular main room, long sunken entrance tunnel, and associated kitchen area. However, the presence of narrow side benches and associated flooring differences adds significantly to the variability present in Thule house form. Radiocarbon dates indicate occupations spanning 1300 to 1450 cal CE. Wood analysis suggests that the house underwent at least one rebuilding episode, which seems to have extended the house occupation into the early 15th century. People acquired mostly small seals for their subsistence, but supplemented their diets in the spring and fall with migrating birds, fish, terrestrial mammals, and other marine mammals. This house represents a fairly typical early Thule coastal winter occupation, but careful excavation of a well-preserved house reveals interesting details in house form, wood use, and subsistence patterns.

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The Nature of Thule Eskimo Whale Use

Cited by 50 publications

References 32 publications

An Odontocete (Cetacea) Meat Utility Index

An Odontocete (Cetacea) Meat Utility Index

The use of sperm whale ivory in Chalcolithic Portugal

An Early Inupiaq Occupation: Observations on a Thule House From Cape Espenberg, Alaska

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