Bears
Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Perspectives in Native Eastern North America
Published on 28. February 2020
Book
Hardback
412 pages
978-1-68340-138-4 (ISBN)
Description
Although scholars have long recognized the mythic status of bears in Indigenous North American societies of the past, this is the first volume to synthesize the vast amount of archaeological and historical research on the topic. Bears charts the special relationship between the American black bear and humans in eastern Native American cultures across thousands of years.
These essays draw on zooarchaeological, ethnohistorical, and ethnographic evidence from nearly 300 archaeological sites from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico. Contributors explore the ways bears have been treated as something akin to another kind of human-in the words of anthropologist Irving Hallowell, "other than human persons"-in Algonquian, Cherokee, Iroquois, Meskwaki, Creek, and many other Native cultures. Case studies focus on bear imagery in Native art and artifacts; the religious and economic significance of bears and bear products such as meat, fat, oil, and pelts; bears in Native worldviews, kinship systems, and cosmologies; and the use of bears as commodities in transatlantic trade. The case studies in Bears demonstrate that bears were not only a source of food, but were also religious, economic, and political icons within Indigenous cultures. This volume convincingly portrays the black bear as one of the most socially significant species in Native eastern North America. A volume in the Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series
These essays draw on zooarchaeological, ethnohistorical, and ethnographic evidence from nearly 300 archaeological sites from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico. Contributors explore the ways bears have been treated as something akin to another kind of human-in the words of anthropologist Irving Hallowell, "other than human persons"-in Algonquian, Cherokee, Iroquois, Meskwaki, Creek, and many other Native cultures. Case studies focus on bear imagery in Native art and artifacts; the religious and economic significance of bears and bear products such as meat, fat, oil, and pelts; bears in Native worldviews, kinship systems, and cosmologies; and the use of bears as commodities in transatlantic trade. The case studies in Bears demonstrate that bears were not only a source of food, but were also religious, economic, and political icons within Indigenous cultures. This volume convincingly portrays the black bear as one of the most socially significant species in Native eastern North America. A volume in the Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Florida
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Paper over boards
Illustrations
75 black & white illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
781 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-68340-138-4 (9781683401384)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Heather A. Lapham | Gregory A. Waselkov
Bears
Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Perspectives in Native Eastern North America
E-Book
04/2024
1st Edition
University of Florida Press
€29.49
Available for download
Persons
Heather A. Lapham is a research archaeologist in the Research Laboratories of Archaeology and adjunct associate professor of archaeology and anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Hunting for Hides: Deerskins, Status, and Cultural Change in the Protohistoric Appalachians. Gregory Waselkov is professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of South Alabama. His many books include A Conquering Spirit: Fort Mims and the Redstick War of 1813-1814.
Content
Introduction-Heather A. Lapham
Chapter 1 Ethnohistorical and Ethnographic Overview of Bear-Human Relationships in Native Eastern North America-Gregory A. Waselkov
Chapter 2 "Dear, Honored Guest": Bear Ceremonialism in Minnesota-David Mather
Chapter 3 The Great White Bear in Cosmology, Myth, Imagery, and Ritual-Thomas E. Berres
Chapter 4 The Multifaceted Bear: Spiritual and Economic Roles of Bears in Meskwaki Society-Ralph Koziarski
Chapter 5 Use of Black Bears in the Western Great Lakes Region, and the Riddle of the Perforated Bear Mandibles-Terrance J. Martin
Chapter 6 Black Bears and the Iroquoians: Food, Stories, and Symbols-Christian Gates St-Pierre, Claire St-Germain, and Louis-Vincent Laperriere-Desorcy
Chapter 7 In Feast and Famine: New Perspectives on Black Bear in the Southern Appalachians and Piedmont, AD 1000-1800-Heather A. Lapham
Chapter 8 Better than Butter: Yona Go'i' Bear Grease in Cherokee Culture-Heidi M. Altman, Tanya M. Peres, and J. Matthew Compton
Chapter 9 Bears, Bear-Grounds, and Bovines in the Lower Southeast-Barnet Pavao-Zuckerman
Chapter 10 Re-Examining the Evidence for Bear Ceremonialism in the Lower Mississippi Valley-Ashley Peles and Megan C. Kassabaum
Chapter 11 Menageries and Bearskin Caps: Experiencing North American Bears in Post-Medieval Britain-Hannah J. O'Regan
Chapter 12 Bear-Human Relationships in Eastern Native North America: An Overview of Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Evidence-Gregory A. Waselkov and J. Lynn Funkhouser
Contributors
Chapter 1 Ethnohistorical and Ethnographic Overview of Bear-Human Relationships in Native Eastern North America-Gregory A. Waselkov
Chapter 2 "Dear, Honored Guest": Bear Ceremonialism in Minnesota-David Mather
Chapter 3 The Great White Bear in Cosmology, Myth, Imagery, and Ritual-Thomas E. Berres
Chapter 4 The Multifaceted Bear: Spiritual and Economic Roles of Bears in Meskwaki Society-Ralph Koziarski
Chapter 5 Use of Black Bears in the Western Great Lakes Region, and the Riddle of the Perforated Bear Mandibles-Terrance J. Martin
Chapter 6 Black Bears and the Iroquoians: Food, Stories, and Symbols-Christian Gates St-Pierre, Claire St-Germain, and Louis-Vincent Laperriere-Desorcy
Chapter 7 In Feast and Famine: New Perspectives on Black Bear in the Southern Appalachians and Piedmont, AD 1000-1800-Heather A. Lapham
Chapter 8 Better than Butter: Yona Go'i' Bear Grease in Cherokee Culture-Heidi M. Altman, Tanya M. Peres, and J. Matthew Compton
Chapter 9 Bears, Bear-Grounds, and Bovines in the Lower Southeast-Barnet Pavao-Zuckerman
Chapter 10 Re-Examining the Evidence for Bear Ceremonialism in the Lower Mississippi Valley-Ashley Peles and Megan C. Kassabaum
Chapter 11 Menageries and Bearskin Caps: Experiencing North American Bears in Post-Medieval Britain-Hannah J. O'Regan
Chapter 12 Bear-Human Relationships in Eastern Native North America: An Overview of Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Evidence-Gregory A. Waselkov and J. Lynn Funkhouser
Contributors