Determining Season of Death of Archaeological Fauna by Analysis of Teeth

Seasonality of site occupation is a common concern in northern archaeology, and any faunal remains recovered should be analysed in an attempt to provide data useful for its determination. Conclusions reached in the past on the subject of seasonality have been based on data concerning composition of species, age composition of mammalian remains based on tooth eruption or epiphyseal closure ages, or traits such as antler retention or loss in cervids. The present paper constitutes a report on the successful adaptation to archaeological samples of an ageing technique widely applied in wildlife management: the "reading" of annual growth layers in mammalian teeth. Since teeth are often the most common, and usually the most identifiable, faunal remains from archaeological sites, the information resulting from a judicial use of the technique should supplement data concerning seasonality gathered by other methods and act as an independent check against them

Discovery of the Skull of a Grizzly Bear in Labrador

The skull of a small, young adult grizzly bear was discovered in the course of archaeological excavation of an early historic Eskimo house in northern Labrador. This discovery confirms the rumoured presence of Ursus arctos in Labrador in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is suggested that the Labrador grizzly represents an eastward extension of the barren-ground grizzly population across the mouth of Hudson Bay

Further Documentation Supporting the Former Existence of Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) in Northern Quebec-Labrador

The discovery in 1976 of a grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) skull in an 18th-century Labrador Inuit midden effectively ended speculation about the former existence of the species in the barrenlands of northern Quebec and Labrador. We analyzed a photograph of a bear skull taken in 1910 at an Innu camp in the Labrador interior (east of the George River), which appears to be that of a grizzly bear. Coupled with previously unpublished historical accounts by Lucien Turner (Smithsonian naturalist in northern Quebec, 1881–83) and William Duncan Strong (anthropologist in Labrador, 1928–29), Innu oral history accounts, and archaeological evidence, this photograph further substantiates the theory that a small number of grizzly bears were present in the Quebec-Labrador peninsula and survived into the 20th century.En 1976, la découverte d’un crâne de grizzli (Ursus arctos) sur un tertre inuit du Labrador remontant au XVIIIe siècle a mis fin à la formulation d’hypothèses à propos de l’existence de cette espèce sur les terres stériles du nord du Québec et du Labrador. Nous avons analysé la photo d’un crâne d’ours prise en 1910 à un camp innu dans l’intérieur du Labrador (à l’est de la rivière George), et il semblerait que ce crâne soit celui d’un grizzli. Cette photographie, alliée aux récits historiques inédits de Lucien Turner (naturaliste du Smithsonian dans le nord du Québec de 1881 à 1883) et de William Duncan Strong (anthropologue au Labrador de 1928 à 1929), aux récits historiques des Innus transmis oralement et à des documents archéologiques, vient étayer davantage la théorie selon laquelle un petit nombre de grizzlis aurait évolué dans la péninsule du Québec-Labrador et aurait survécu jusqu’au XXe siècle

LD 1028 - Protection of Indian Archaeological Sites: Report to the Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs

This report is organized to present the resource and scope of the problem, review the existing laws, discuss the options of site monitoring or stewardship and how they are practiced currently in Maine and elsewhere, present our discussions with law enforcement, and make recommendations to the Legislature.https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/mhpc-docs/1003/thumbnail.jp

Dorset Settlement and Subsistence in Northern Labrador

Archaeological surveys in northern Labrador have supplemented previous evidence from the central coast concerning the Dorset subsistence-settlement system. The evidence suggests a flexible Dorset economic base capable of exploiting a wide variety of environments, but lacking full development of certain food procurement systems that would later become important in Thule culture. In particular, site location and faunal analysis indicate that breathing hole sealing was not strongly developed by the Dorset, and that winter and spring settlement was oriented toward ice edge seal and walrus hunting

Book Reviews

Reviews of the following books: To the Webster-Ashburton Treaty: A Study in Anglo-American Relations, 1783-1843 by Howard Jones; The Journals of John Edwards Godfrey, Bangor, Maine 1863-1869; The Archaeology of New England by Dean R. Sno

Book Reviews

Review of the following books: Nearby History: Exploring the Past Around You by David E. Kyvig and Myron A. Marty; The Forerunners: The Tragic Story of 156 Down-East Americans Led to Jaffa in 1866 by Charismatic G.J. Adams to Plant the Seeds of Modern Israel by Reed M. Holmes; Islands of Maine: Where America Really Began by Bill Caldwell; Foundations of Northeast Archaeology edited by Dean R. Snow; A Short History of the American Locomotive Builders in the Steam Era by John H. Whit

Report of a workshop on technical approaches to construction of a seafloor geomagnetic observatory

This report considers the technical issues on sensors, data recording and transmission, control and timing, power, and packaging associated with constricting a seafloor geomagnetic observatory. Existing technologies either already in use for oceanographic purposes or adapted from terrestral geomagnetic observatories could be applied to measure the vector magnetic field components and absolute intensity with minimal development. The major technical challenge arises in measuring absolute direction on the seafloor because terrestral techniques are not transferrable to the deep ocean. Two solutions to this problem were identified. The first requires the development of an instrument which measures the instantaneous declination and inclination of the magnetic field relative to a north-seeking gyroscope and the local vertical. The second is a straightforward extension of a precision acoustic method for determining absolute position on the seafloor.Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation under grant EAR94-21712 and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Phoques et morses dans la préhistoire du littoral du golfe du Maine

Le témoignage archéologique de la pêche et de la chasse côtières des autochtones est principalement représenté dans les amas coquilliers où la conservation des os est excellente. À cause de l’affaissement et de l’érosion de la côte, ce témoignage ne couvre que les périodes de l’Archaïque récent et Céramique (ou Sylvicole), c’est-à-dire les derniers 5000 ans de la période préhistorique. Durant cette période, les autochtones ont exploité au moins quatre espèces de pinnipèdes : le Phoque commun, le Phoque gris, le Phoque du Groenland et le Morse. Cependant, les deux derniers ne venaient que rarement dans la région. Cet article traite d’abord de la nature de la conservation des os dans les sites côtiers et de la différenciation entre les espèces de pinnipèdes, pour passer ensuite en revue l’âge et l’identification culturelle des sites archéologiques qui ont fourni des os de phoque ou de morse. Les sites Turner Farm et Goddard (Maine) fournissent la plus grande partie des échantillons ostéologiques et permettent la reconstitution de la chasse saisonnière. Ils nous montrent que la chasse au phoque n’était pas une activité importante durant l’Archaïque récent, mais qu’elle s’est intensifiée rapidement, en certains endroits, pendant la période Céramique, pour devenir une importante activité annuelle juste avant le contact avec les Européens.The archaeological record of Native American coastal hunting and fishing is contained primarily in shell middens where bone preservation is excellent. Because of coastal subsidence and erosion, however, this record only covers the Late Archaic and Ceramic periods: the last 5000 years. Within this span of time, Native Americans have utilized at least four species of pinniped: harbor seal, gray seal, harp seal, and walrus. The latter two were rare visitors to the region, however. The author first discusses the nature of bone preservation in coastal sites and the identification and differentiation of pinniped species and then reviews the sites that have yielded seal or walrus bones, their age and cultural identification. The Turner Farm and Goddard sites in Maine provide the largest identified samples and seasonal hunting reconstructions, and show us that seal hunting was not an important activity during the Late Archaic. Seal hunting intensified rapidly at some locations during the Ceramic period to become an important multi-seasonal activity just prior to European contact