From Stone to Iron: Effects of Colonial Materials on Beothuk Traditional Technology

Summary

This is an abstract from the "From Hard Rock to Heavy Metal: Metal Tool Production and Use by Indigenous Hunter-Gatherers in North America" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The impacts of colonialism on Indigenous groups’ technological traditions have often been viewed through acculturative lenses that only reach surface deep. While there have been more recent trends criticizing this methodology, acculturative approaches are still prevalent, and they tend to obscure complex socio-cultural processes that are affected by changing technology. Our experimental research focused on the ways in which Beothuk technological practice was transformed once European fishers, trappers, and colonists arrived at the island of Newfoundland. It is widely accepted that the Beothuk abandoned lithic technology for iron once it was introduced by Europeans, but it is largely unknown how this change affected Beothuk tool production and use. Moreover, a deeper, socio-cultural lens was needed to analyze how the differences in technological practice throughout the colonial period might have impacted the Beothuk people. Through reproduction and ballistics experimentation using both lithic and iron-tipped arrows we analyzed the variance in penetrative capabilities. Our results demonstrate how functional differences may have impacted Beothuk tool production and use, but also speak to more complex understandings of Beothuk identity.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• From Hard Rock to Heavy Metal: Metal Tool Production and Use by Indigenous Hunter-Gatherers in North America   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 35666.0