| Summary: | Degree: Master of Arts Abstract: The use of dogs for pulling or carrying loads is well documented in the recent and historic past in many parts of the world. While the use of dogs for similar activities in prehistory seems likely, there is little artifactual evidence in the archaeological record to support such speculation. Some archaeologists have suggested that pulling or carrying loads may leave unique signatures of stress on the skeletons of dogs used for these activities and that such skeletal indicators may be used to identify the utilization of dogs for transport in archaeological assemblages. The utilization of skeletal indicators for identifying archaeological dogs used for pulling or carrying loads is largely based on observations of prehistoric dog remains and archaeologists’ interpretations of veterinary literature on dogs and other draft animals, including a famous study of the mid-20th century British Antarctic Survey sled dogs. Several pathologies, including the spinal pathologies spondylosis deformans, and the occurrence of bent, fractured or otherwise deformed spinous processes, all have been suggested as potential skeletal indicators for these types of dog transport. Though the use of skeletal indicators is appealing, there have been no large scale studies evaluating the occurrence of such lesions among both wild canids and dogs never used for pulling or carrying loads. In the absence of such data it is unclear if it is appropriate to attribute these skeletal abnormalities to specific occupational etiologies. Many of the indicated pathologies are also positively correlated with the aging process and are commonly found in older dogs. Spondylosis deformans occurs in many animals and has been shown to have possible sex and genetic components and to be more common in certain breeds and types of dogs. It thus seems possible that the indicators thought to be correlated with the use of dogs for transport may in fact actually reflect genetic and aging processes rather than their habitual activities. ...
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