A Dearth of Dogs? The Archaeological Record of Canids in Wyoming

Summary

This is an abstract from the "New and Ongoing Research on the North American Plains and Rocky Mountains" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Despite ethnographic and ethnohistoric evidence suggesting the Great Plains were teeming with canids during prehistory and the contact period, the archaeological record of canids (wolves, coyotes, dogs, and foxes) in Wyoming seems rather sparse. This presentation briefly describes the nature of the canid record in Wyoming, including the types of evidence available and its distribution across time and space. I offer possible explanations for the nature of the record, focusing on behaviors both prehistoric and contemporary which shape the expression of the canid archaeological record. Finally, a few archaeological sites in Wyoming will be highlighted as interesting cases illuminating canid function, care, and health among prehistoric Wyoming groups.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)   •
• New and Ongoing Research on the North American Plains and Rocky Mountains

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23729