Domesticated Animals as a Source of Cultural Change during the Contact Period on the Northwestern Plains

Summary

Despite functioning as pack animals, guards, religious figures, and even companions, dogs were never as integral to Blackfoot culture as the horse became. To date, researchers have most often characterized the relationship of Blackfoot people and their horses by framing the horse as an "upgraded model"—a "new and improved" dog. While prior experience with domesticated dogs did facilitate the incorporation of horses into the daily lives of Blackfoot people, this paper argues that the fundamental differences between dogs and horses prove to be one of the greatest sources of cultural change between the pre- and post- Contact periods. Through a framework that integrates archaeology, history, and contemporary ethnography this paper will identify these key differences in order better understand how the horse fostered new and dramatically different conceptions of domesticated animals that in turn had significant effects on the value of dogs within equestrian Blackfoot culture. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Beyond Domestication: Investigations into the Human-Canine Connection

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14721