Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Henry and Karyn Sharp have given us a gift of how abstract and narrative culture translates into everyday practical activity and how that activity feels to the people themselves and to the ethnographers who make the commitment to share it with them."—John David Eller. Anthropology Review Database
“Few books discussing subsistence hunting in history, archaeology, or anthropology are grounded in such rich and deep personal experience and understanding of the subject matter from a practical, participatory, long-term, and hands-on approach. This is mandatory reading for anyone discussing hunting and game management in a historical or anthropological context.”—Roland Bohr, author of Gifts from the Thunder Beings: Indigenous Archery and European Firearms in the Northern Plains and Central Subarctic, 1670–1870
“This outstanding book covers a range of critical issues: hunter/gatherer transitions within a colonial context; knowledge and expertise in terms of living with nonhumans; indigenous knowledge; but most intriguing and fundamentally exciting is the blend of voices between father and daughter, elder/younger, anthropologist/archaeologist, and on it goes. This is a book that I read cover to cover without pausing and imagine that I will not be alone!”—Charles R. Menzies, editor of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Natural Resource Management
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Hunt 1. Caribou
Text 1. Hunting and Predation
Small Game. Native Mammals. Scale, Guns, and Freedom. Denésuliné Conceptualization of Hunting. Biology of Women as Hunters. Trust. Hunting Is the Easy Part.
Hunt 2. Moose
Text 2. Food Storage
Meat Distribution. In the Village. Food Storage in the Bush: Freezing, Drying, Smoking, Natural Refrigeration. Protecting Dried Meat. Drying Caribou Meat. Marrow and Boiling Bones for Grease.
Hunt 3. Caribou: Pursuit and Risk
Text 3. Persistence in Hunting
The Dangers of Moving through the Bush. Walking the Land. Dog Teams. Boats, Opportunistic Contact in Hunting.
Hunt 4. Caribou: Waiting for Prey
Text 4. Weapons
Muskets and Rifles. Accuracy. How Weapons Technology Altered Denésuliné Hunting. Women and Rifles. Social Changes from Changed Hunting Methods. Pursuit Hunting and Following Wounded Game.
Hunt 5. Caribou: Walking, Kill Locations, and Spoilage
Text 5. Carrion and Scavengers
The African Model. Consequences of Human Scavenging. An Anthropological Gender War. Eating the Dead. Snow Probes.
Hunt 6. Wolf
Text 6. Camp Formation
Pitching a Camp. Work Areas and Dog Beds. Area a Camp Occupies. Range of Day Trips. Marking the Land. Average Area Exploited by a Camp. Human Influence upon the Land.
Hunt 7. Moose: Hunting by Habitat
Text 7. Summer Doldrums
Inactivity. Problems with Making and Storing Dry Meat. Fish and Other Things. Choosing a Camp Location. Scars on the Land.
Hunt 8. Caribou: Long-Distance Hunting
Text 8. Transporting Meat
Walking the Land. Storing Meat in Lakes.
Interlude 1. Land Use and the Terrain at Foxholm Lake
Hunt 9. Bear: Failed Hunt
Text 9. Looking for Game
The Use of High Ground. The Scale of Distance in Hunting. Time and Distance.
Hunt 10. Caribou: Calves
Text 10. Hides
Characteristics of Caribou Hide and Leather. Making and Working Caribou Hide. Time Window for Taking Caribou Hide. Parasites and Seasonality. Uses of Caribou Hide. The Need for Hides Modifies Hunting Priorities. Hunting the Megafauna.
Hunt 11. Jackfish
Text 11. Women’s Labor
Flexibility in the Sexual Division of Labor. Women’s Work and Social Status. Women’s Tasks and Shared Work. Raw Materials vs. Finished Products. The Balance of Temperaments.
Hunt 12. Bear: Stalking Prey
Text 12. Prey Choices
The Failure of Economic Analysis
Hunt 13. Missing Hunts
Text 13. Shadows of the Past
Geology, Rock, Ice, and Ground Cover. Permafrost, Drainage, and Ice Action. Change. How Long Is the Memory of Unused Technology? Clothing. The Generational Transmission of Knowledge.
Interlude 2. Wolves, Caribou, and Approaching Prey
Hunt 14. Caribou: Caching in the Fall
Text 14. Hunting from High Ground
Prey Selection. Hunting with Spears.
Hunt 15. Caribou: Failed Hunt
Text 15. A Puzzle
How Past Hunters Hunted the Land. Conclusion.
Selected Bibliography
Index
