Stable-Isotope Analysis and Dental Micro-Wear Texture Analysis of Domestic Dogs from the Tennessee River Valley

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Zooarchaeology and Technology: Case Studies and Applications" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In the Southeastern United States, the relationship between indigenous peoples and their domestic dogs is known to be long and complicated. Dog burials and dog skeletal remains are ubiquitous from archaeological sites in the region from as early as 7,000 years ago through the Historic Period. A previous paleopathology study of Archaic, Woodland and Mississippian dogs from the Southeast (Warren 2004) revealed lifestyle changes of dogs through time, perhaps related to changing human settlement patterns. In general, these past dogs likely served an integral role in foraging and hunting, and as social companions, garbage disposers, and alarms/guards. Dietary analyses of archaeological dogs can reveal a more nuanced understanding past dog-human interactions by detailing the management practices of dogs (Guiry 2012). This paper presents the results of dental micro-wear texture analysis and stable-isotope analysis of more than 50 individual dogs from the Tennessee River Valley and the Etowah Mound Site in Georgia. Each dog was recovered as a burial, therefore skeletal and mortuary data are also used here to explore the treatment and management of dogs during the Archaic, Woodland and Mississippian Periods.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Zooarchaeology and Technology: Case Studies and Applications   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24095