Of men and herds in barrenland prehistory

• Main Author: Gordon, Bryan H. C.
• Other Authors: Kelley, N. Jane H.
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Calgary 1974
• Subjects: E 99 E7 G67 1974 Microfiche; Eskimos - Northwest Territories - Antiquities; Eskimos - Northwest Territories - Hunting; Indians of North America - Northwest Territories - Antiquities; Indians of North America - Northwest Territories - Hunting; Caribou; Arctic; Northwest Territories; arctic small tool tradition; eskimo*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1880/13186; https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/13495

Bibliography: p. 300-317. This thesis represents an attempt at elucidating the temporal and spatial interrelationships between barrenland cultures, climates and caribou herds. Its core is in the form of a case study, that of the pre­historic interaction of the human hunting bands, climatic effects and caribou herd distributions in the Canadian barrenlands during the Arctic Small Tool tradition occupation after 1500 B.C. Following initial des­criptions of barrenland geography, biology, geology, climatology and ethnology, site locations resulting from the hunter and prey relationship are ex-plored. Basic to this relationship and site locations are two primary suppositions. They are: (1) caribou herds are discrete, their separateness b.?se.d upon environment and behavior; and (2) the hunting soci.eties who prey upori. the caribou tend to be discrete due to their alignment with discrete herds. Three corollaries follow the suppositions: (1) band movements and human communication are usually confined to herd migration corridors and forage areas; (2) differing cultural patterns develop in the hunting societies within herd areas; and (3) artifacts are more homogeneous within herding areas and more heterogeneous between herding areas, primarily due to restricted lateral movement and communi­cation. Because of their distribution, quantity, chronology and excel­lent diagnostic qualities, artifacts of the Arctic Small Tool tradition were used in testing the corollaries. The corollaries and suppositions comprise the discrete band/discrete herd relationship.