Geographic and Temporal Variation in Canid Dietary Patterns from Five Huron-Wendat Village Sites in Ontario, Canada

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Stable isotope analysis of bone collagen in 48 dogs (Canis familaris) was conducted to investigate geographic and temporal variation in diet at five Huron-Wendat sites (A.D. 1250-1650) in southern Ontario, Canada. Carbon and nitrogen isotope data indicate intra- and inter-site variation in dietary protein for these dogs, as well as temporal variation in diet between the Middle Ontario Iroquoian (MOI) (A.D. 1250-1400) and Contact Period (CP) (A.D. 1600-1650). Published faunal data from the CP Kelly-Campbell site are used to characterize the local/regional food web. Intra-site analysis reveals that dogs recovered from middens had significantly lower δ15Ncol values than those recovered from house contexts. Variability in δ13Ccol values is greatest during the MOI and Contact periods, with the highest values in the Late Ontario Iroquoian (LOI) samples. The trend of increased isotopic values during the LOI is also observed in humans and has implications for using dogs as proxies in human dietary studies. Dogs from the Ball site had significantly lower δ13Ccol values than those from Ossossané. Nitrogen isotope ratios gradually increase through time with significant differences between the MOI and CP. These results are considered in relation to dog ecology and the variable roles of dogs in Huron-Wendat communities.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24329