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Dryad

Native American use of cetaceans in pre-contact Oregon: Biomolecular and taphonomic analyses illuminate human-cetacean relationships: MALDI-TOF data

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Sep 12, 2023 version files 443.78 MB

Abstract

This study characterizes how Native Americans living on the Oregon coast used whales and small cetaceans prior to European contact. We present an original analysis of a large subsample of archaeological cetacean remains from the Palmrose (35CLT47) site and new identifications from the previously analyzed Par-Tee (35CLT20) and Tahkenitch Landing (35DO130) sites. Using zooarchaeological and biomolecular analyses we report species presence and modification patterns to characterize use. Grays (Eschrichtius robustus) and humpbacks (Megaptera novaeangliae) were the most commonly identified whale species and a preferred source of food, oil, bone for tool manufacture, and possibly ligaments for sinew. Dolphins and porpoises, especially harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), were a source of food and possibly bone for tool manufacture. While opportunistic hunting may have occurred, the presence of species such as blue (Balaenoptera musculus) and Cuvier’s beaked (Ziphius cavirostris) whales suggest collection of beached animals was an important acquisition strategy. Our study demonstrates the value of biomolecular analyses for improved species identifications/understanding of species richness, and the value of zooarchaeological analysis to fully understand dietary and cultural contributions of cetaceans to precontact lifeways on the Oregon coast.