The Bear in the Footprint: Using Ethnography to Interpret Archaeological Evidence of Bear Hunting and Bear Veneration in the Northern Rockies

Summary

Archaeological evidence of prehistoric bear hunting and bear veneration in the northern Rocky Mountains and northwestern Plains is presented. Ethnographic documents and the writings of trappers, traders, and explorers are assessed in order to establish an interpretative framework to help decipher archaeological contexts in the region that include bear remains and rock art depicting bears. Examining prehistoric archaeological contexts in Montana and Wyoming within this framework suggests evidence of bear hunting and veneration similar to the regional ethnographic record. Data trends imply there may be a relationship between such sites and variables like location, seasonality, function, and age. Contexts with bear remains sometimes imply a winter occupation, and site constituents hint at the ritual treatment of bear skulls and paws. An apparent increase in bear hunting during the Late Prehistoric Period may have been influenced by the bears association with warfare and healing. Possible motivations for hunting are explored and include economic, social signaling, bear power attainment, and revenge incentives. Compatible theoretical approaches are briefly articulated in an effort to more clearly understand bear hunting and veneration in ecologic, symbolic, and utilitarian terms.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• An Other-Than-Human Being: The Archaeology of Bears in North America   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14813