Differences in Procurement of Arctic Fox in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (NWT, Canada) Revealed through Stable Isotope Analysis

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Interdisciplinary Approaches in Zooarchaeology: Addressing Big Questions with Ancient Animals" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Despite their prevalence in zooarchaeological assemblages across Inuit Nunangat (the Inuit homeland), there is a paucity of information in the ethnographic and zooarchaeological literature about Inuit and Paleo-Inuit relationships with arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus). Furthermore, the information that is published has typically focused on the economic value of fox pelts. Stable isotope analysis is well suited for exploring the dynamic interactions between people and arctic fox in the past. We analyzed stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in the bone and dentine collagen of arctic fox from archaeological sites in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (NWT, Canada) to explore their foraging ecology and human hunting/trapping. Arctic fox from sites in the Mackenzie River Delta showed greater individual variation in diet than foxes from sites on Banks Island. We interpreted the differences in fox diets between the two regions as indicative of both different fox foraging and human procurement strategies. This study is part of a larger project that seeks to use stable isotope analysis to explore the dynamic relationships between Paleo-/Neo-Inuit and arctic fox in the archaeological past.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Interdisciplinary Approaches in Zooarchaeology: Addressing Big Questions with Ancient Animals   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38334.0