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Whitecoats, Beaters and Turners: Dorset Palaeoeskimo Harp Seal Hunting from Phillip’s Garden, Port au Choix

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The Cultural Landscapes of Port au Choix

Part of the book series: Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology ((IDCA))

Abstract

Exploitation of the harp seal (Phoca groenlandica) has been a significant component of socio-ecological systems in Newfoundland and Labrador for thousands of years. Whether one talks of the prehistoric Palaeoeskimo and Amerindian peoples, or the later European settler groups, the biannual migration of the harp seal herd has long been important in demarcating local and regional subsistence and settlement activities as evidenced by the abundance of harp seal remains in archaeological deposits along the outer coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador (Auger 1986; Cox and Speiss 1980; Jordan 1986; Pastore 1986; Pintal 1989; Renouf 2000; Renouf and Murray 1999; Speiss 1978), and by ancient technologies that reflect decision-making with respect to harp seal exploitation (LeBlanc 2000). In recent times, the importance of the harp seal in the cultural and economic life of Newfoundlanders is well documented in various sources, and colourfully expressed in a complex and detailed folk taxonomy (Dictionary of Newfoundland English – hereafter referenced as DNE 1990; Ryan 1994), and in songs and poetry (Ryan and Small 1978).

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to Charles Conway for drafting Figs. 11.1 and 11.2. Thanks also to two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 757720, Fairbanks, Alaska, 99708, USA

    Maribeth S. Murray

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  1. Maribeth S. Murray
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Correspondence to Maribeth S. Murray .

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  1. Archaeology Unit, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, A1C 5S7, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

    M. A. P. Renouf

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Murray, M.S. (2011). Whitecoats, Beaters and Turners: Dorset Palaeoeskimo Harp Seal Hunting from Phillip’s Garden, Port au Choix. In: Renouf, M. (eds) The Cultural Landscapes of Port au Choix. Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8324-4_11

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