Ancient remains of domesticated dogs have been found in numerous archaeological sites across the North America. From the archaeological evidence it has been hypothesized that these early domesticated dogs arrived to the New World with their human companions, across the Bering Land Bridge from Asia (Crockford 2005). The presence of these faunal remains in the archaeological record supports numerous ethnographic records regarding native domesticated dogs on the Northwest Coast at the time of European arrival (Crockford 1997). Within Canada remains have been found in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, with the majority of the archaeological evidence coming from BC sites. It is believed that the dog had been completely domesticated prior to the arrival of people to the Americas around 14,000 years ago (Little Wolf 1997), although this hypothesis is widely accepted there is some disagreement around the exact dates. The earliest dog bones found in the Americas have been dates to around 14,000 years ago; these bones have been reported to share many common traits with the Asian wolf (Crockford 2005) Evidence has shown that although these dogs are thought to have arrived to the Americas already domesticated, that they evolved separately and differently to the domesticated species in Europe and it is possible that there were perhaps two or more separate events of domestication of the common dog in the past (Vila et al 1997).
There were a number of different ‘breeds’ of domesticated prehistoric dogs that inhabited the Northwest Coast and parts of northern Canada and Alaska, including; the village dog (also known as the great plains or Sioux dogs), the tahltan bear dog and the wool dog (Little Wolf 1997). The Eskimo inhabited areas further north, in parts of Alaska and Northern Canada, where it still exists today. It has been used here by the indigenous peoples for pulling sleds to transport goods and is closely related to the Siberian Husky (Little Wolf 1997). Numerous different prehistoric dog remains have been found in archaeological sites across British Columbia, in over 12 recorded locations. Prehistorically and historically, two main ‘breeds’ of domesticated dog existed in BC; the village dog and the wool dog, both of which were reported in early European ethnographic records dating to the 1800s (Crockford, 1997). The ‘village’ dog is thought to have been common across North America, ranging from BC right down to California and west across the Great Plains (Allen 1920). They resembled coyotes and were used for hunting (Allen 1920). Additionally another type of dog was the tahltan bear dog, which is named after the Tahtlan First Nations people who used them to hunt bears and other animals (Crisp 1956). The second main ‘breed’ on the Northwest Coast is the ‘wool dog’, also known as the Salish wool dog, which was developed by the Salish people of BC and Washington state and were only found in “very limited distribution within [this] small region” (Crockford 2005). The wool dogs were “deliberately bred and sheared like sheep for their woolly fur, which was woven into blankets” (Crockford and Pye 1997: 152). Evidence from osteological examination and ethnographic reports suggest the dog highly resembled the old style Japanese ‘Shiba Inu’ or a Finnish Spitz in appearance; sharing many characteristics (Barsh et al 2002; Crockford 2005). Additionally, genetic analysis of its wool has shown its close genetic relationship to the Shiba Inu as well as the American Eskimo (Barsh et al 2002). The dog was smaller than the village dogs and had white long hair, they were kept in small packs on islands to separate them from the village dogs, so as they would not interbreed, hence keeping the line pure (Crockford 1997). The dog’s wool was used make blankets (Barsh et al 2002), which were used in ceremonies and were highly prized symbols of status (Crockford 1997). The dog wool industry began to die off with the introduction of sheep and large scale machinery brought by European settlers, as its wool was no longer required. The wool dog is believed to have been extinct since 1858 (Howay 1918), due in part to cross-breeding with imported European dogs.
Shannon Turner-Riley
Prehistory of British Columbia
Instructor: Darcy Matthews
February 2010
References
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1920 Dogs of the American aborigines. Harvard University Museum
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1997 Osteometry of Makah and Coast Salish dogs. Archaeology Press 22, Simon Fraser University, Burnanby.
Crockford, Susan J.
2005 Native Dog Types in North America before Arrival of European Dogs. Electronic document, http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proceedings.plx?CID=WSAVA2005&PID=11071&Print=1&O=Generic, accessed 16th March 2010.
Crockford, S., J Pye.
1997 Forensic Reconstruction of Prehistoric Dogs from the Northwest Coast. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 21: 149-153.
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1997 Pre-Columbian Tribal Dogs in The America’s Sled Dog Central. Electronic document, http://www.sleddogcentral.com/features/little_wolf/precolumbian.htm, accessed 16th March 2010.
Vila, C., Peter Savolainen., Jesus E. Maldonado J., Isabel R., Amorim ., John E. Rice J., Rodney L. Honeycutt., Keith A. Crandall., Joakim Lundeberg., Robert K. Wayne.
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Feedback
Shannon,
Wow, very well referenced! Again, this paper is too long, but you are an excellent researcher and writer. A good skill to acquire over time is brevity and efficiency in your writing style. This can be re-written to be 500 words, but it is a slow and sometimes paiful process. In the end, however, your writing will be that much better.
Well done,
Darcy
Score: 15/15 Total 30/30 A+
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