The Bridge River Dogs: A Comprehensive interpretation of aDNA and stable isotopes analysis obtained from dog remains

Summary

Excavations at the Bridge River site have been on-going since 2003, increasing our understanding of the communities that inhabited the Middle Fraser Canyon, British Columbia, over 1,000 years ago. The most recent excavation at Housepit 54 in the summer of 2014 supplied further data regarding relationships between people and their dogs. Dogs are well documented in the Middle Fraser Canyon through both archaeological excavations and traditional knowledge. A household's possession of a dog has been linked to other prestigious materials, and therefore been interpreted as an indicator of inter-household wealth and status. The present study was aimed at further investigation of the dog remains and the lives of the individuals that kept them. Ancient DNA analysis was conducted on a variety of dog remains from different occupations from Housepits 11, 16, 20, 24, and 54. Comprehensive stable isotopes analysis of the same samples, with the addition of corresponding faunal remains for dietary comparison, was also completed. The study revealed further evidence on the complex nature of the socieo-economic system and how it evolved in response to a changing environment at Bridge River.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

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