Ancient DNA, Zooarchaeology, and the Case for Whale Hunting on the Northern Oregon Coast

Summary

Pre-contact whaling on the northern Oregon coast is an issue that has received limited attention from archaeologists. The discovery of a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) phalanx with an embedded elk (Cervus elaphus) bone point from the Par-Tee Site (35CLT20) in Seaside, OR precipitated a discussion of ethnographic and archaeological evidence for whaling in the area. Previous genetic and archaeological research suggested that opportunistic whaling may have occurred in this region. We expanded on earlier work by inventorying and identifying previously unanalyzed whale elements from the Par-Tee faunal collections. We also used ancient DNA analysis to identify 28 additional whale bones to species. Here we present the species and the zooarchaeological data on skeletal element representation and butchery from the Par-Tee whales. While the species data align with those previously found in archaeological deposits from active whaling areas, the

zooarchaeological analysis, butchery patterns, and element representation were inconclusive, and deviated from patterns at known whaling sites in the Washington/Vancouver Island region. We concur that incipient whaling potentially occurred at Par-Tee, but was likely supplemental to the scavenging and utilization of beached or drift whales.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage