30.04.2014 Views

Northeast Subsistence-Settlement Change: A.D. 700 –1300

Northeast Subsistence-Settlement Change: A.D. 700 –1300

Northeast Subsistence-Settlement Change: A.D. 700 –1300

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

freshwater fish species is particularly lacking. For<br />

example, only 4 elements have been identified from<br />

the Mud Lake Stream site, even though fish bone represented<br />

26 percent of the charred bone recovered<br />

(i.e., nearly 2,756 specimens). Three of these represent<br />

landlocked Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and the other<br />

is from the Catostomidae (sucker) family (Deal et al.<br />

1991:175).<br />

Fur-bearing animals were important to prehistoric<br />

peoples as a source of food and clothing and most<br />

species are widely distributed over the province. The<br />

species most commonly recovered from archaeological<br />

sites in New Brunswick are the beaver (Castor<br />

canadensis), river otter (Lutra canadensis), muskrat<br />

(Ondatra zibrthicus), hare (Lepus americanus), marten<br />

(Martes americana), fisher (Martes pennanti), black bear<br />

(Ursus americanus), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus),<br />

caribou (Rangifer tarandus), and moose<br />

(Alces alces). The now-extinct sea mink (Mustela<br />

macrodon) has been reported from at least one site in<br />

Passamaquoddy Bay and another on Spednic Lake<br />

(Black et al. 1998; Deal 1986:89). The non-fur-bearing<br />

land mammal species include the porcupine<br />

(Erethizon dorsatum) and dog (Canis familiaris). In the<br />

Early Historic period dogs were used for hunting<br />

beaver, caribou, lynx, and moose, and only occasionally<br />

eaten (Christianson 1979:105).<br />

Bone and antler tools are common at coastal shell<br />

midden sites, including projectile points, awls, needles,<br />

combs, and leister prongs (e.g., Sanger 1987:51-<br />

55). The teeth of beaver and various carnivores, such<br />

as the fisher, sea mink, and river otter, were also made<br />

into tools and pendants (Tyzzer 1943). Marine mammals<br />

are represented by harbor seal (Phoca vitulina),<br />

hooded seal (Cystophora cristata), gray seal<br />

(Halichoerus grypus), sperm whale (Physeter catodon),<br />

and harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). Seals were<br />

hunted for their oil and skins by the Mi’kmaq of the<br />

northeast coast of New Brunswick and Prince Edward<br />

Island, and in Early Historic times these commodities<br />

became important in their trade with the Europeans<br />

(Prins 1996:99-100). Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus)<br />

was also available to native groups on the<br />

northeast coast and nearby Prince Edward Island<br />

(Keenlyside 1984:11).<br />

Avian remains are also common in coastal shell middens,<br />

and more than thirty species have been identified<br />

at sites in the Maritime provinces (e.g., Black 1992:235-<br />

236; Erskine 1966; Sanger 1987:70). Migratory bird<br />

species are particularly useful for interpreting the season<br />

of occupation of prehistoric sites, and therefore,<br />

mobility patterns. For example, the pied-billed grebe<br />

(Podilymbus podiceps), blue-winged teal (Anas discors),<br />

and wood duck (Aix sponsa) are summer residents on<br />

the coast of southwestern New Brunswick, while the<br />

red-throated loon (Gavia stellata), bufflehead (Bucephala<br />

ableola), barrow’s goldeneye (Bucephalia islandica), king<br />

eider (Somateria spectabilis), oldsquaw (Clangula hyemalis),<br />

white-winged scotter (Melanitta deglandi), surf<br />

scotter (Melanitta perspicillata), black scotter (Melanitta<br />

nigra), common murre (Uria aalge), thick-billed murre<br />

(Uria lomvia), and great auk (Pinguinus impennis) were<br />

winter residents (Stewart 1989:62-64, 67). Other<br />

species, such as the common loon (Gavia immer), great<br />

cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), common goldeneye<br />

(Bucephala clangula), common eider (Somateria mollissima),<br />

common merganser (Mersus merganser), redbreasted<br />

merganser (Mergus serrator), razorbill (Aalca<br />

torda), great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), black duck<br />

(Anas rubripes), and herring gull (Larus argentatus) were<br />

year-round residents. Waterfowl could also be hunted<br />

on north shore marshes and lagoons, on the marshes<br />

and bogs of southeastern New Brunswick, and on<br />

numerous marshy lakes, such as French and Maquapit<br />

Lakes in central New Brunswick (Ganong 1904:23).<br />

The Bay of Fundy and the eastern coast of New<br />

Brunswick have different source waters, with varying<br />

currents, tidal amplitudes, and water temperatures<br />

(Scott and Scott 1988). These factors affect the diversity<br />

and productivity of fish and shellfish species in the<br />

two areas. Marine fish species recovered from Late<br />

Prehistoric sites include herring (Clupeidae family),<br />

Atlantic cod (Gadus morphua), longhorn sculpin<br />

(Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus), Atlantic sturgeon<br />

(Acipenser oxyrhynchus), monkfish (Lophius<br />

americanus), harbor pollock (Pollachius virens), haddock<br />

(Melanogrammus aeglefinnus), flounder<br />

(Pseudopleuronectes spp.), and hake (Urophycis spp.).<br />

Of particular importance were anadromous species,<br />

such as Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), gaspereau or<br />

alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), and American shad<br />

(Alosa sapidissima), which were available in great<br />

numbers during spawning season. They returned<br />

yearly to certain rivers, where they could be easily<br />

captured at waterfalls, tide-heads, and along narrow<br />

thoroughfares between lakes. Ganong (1904:23) lists<br />

several ideal locations, including the falls near<br />

Milltown on the St. Croix, Aroostok Falls on the Saint<br />

John, and most of the mouths of branches of the<br />

upper Saint John and Miramichi Rivers. Freshwater<br />

(landlocked) Atlantic salmon are found in many of<br />

the interior lakes, such as Spednic Lake, which drains<br />

into the St. Croix River.<br />

Ganong (1904:24) suggests that the catadromous<br />

326 Deal

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!