Archaeological documentation of wood caribou fences using unmanned aerial vehicle and very high-resolution satellite imagery in the Mackenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories

Indigenous peoples of Canada’s North have long made use of boreal forest products, with wooden drift fences to direct caribou movement towards kill sites as unique examples. Caribou fences are of archaeological and ecological significance, yet sparsely distributed and increasingly at risk to wildfire. Costly remote field logistics requires efficient prior fence verification and rapid on-site documentation of structure and landscape context. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and very high-resolution (VHR) satellite imagery were used for detailed site recording and detection of coarse woody debris (CWD) objects under challenging Subarctic alpine woodlands conditions. UAVs enabled discovery of previously unknown wooden structures and revealed extensive use of CWD (n = 1745, total length = 2682 m, total volume = 16.7 m3). The methodology detected CWD objects much smaller than previously reported in remote sensing literature (mean 1.5 m long, 0.09 m wide), substantiating a high spatial resolution requirement for detection. Structurally, the fences were not uniformly left on the landscape. Permafrost patterned ground combined with small CWD contributions at the pixel level complicated identification through VHR data sets. UAV outputs significantly enriched field techniques and supported a deeper understanding of caribou fences as a hunting technology, and they will aid ongoing archaeological interpretation and time-series comparisons of change agents.

Sociocultural Importance of Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) in Maya Subsistence Hunting: Revelations From Their Participation in the Traditional Group Hunting (Batida) in Yucatan

Historically, dogs have played a prominent role in subsistence hunting. In the contemporary Mayab, the group hunting or batidaprovides multiple sociocultural benefits for those who practice it, in addition to wild meat. Here, we analyze the social perception of dogs used in batidaas part of the cosmovision of Maya peasant-hunters in a rural community of Campeche, Mexico. We conducted semistructured interviews with 36 local batidahunters who owned a total of 51 dogs. Batidadogs provide different benefits (meat and social prestige for Maya peasant-hunters) depending on their roles as maestros(leader dogs) or secretarios(support dogs) and the type of prey captured. Hunting dogs go beyond their utilitarian value as a hunting technology and play an important role in the sociocultural dynamic of the batida, one of the main wildlife practices mediating the relationships between peasant communities and their natural surroundings in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Firearms Effects on Tsimane’ Hunting and Traditional Knowledge in Bolivian Amazonia

Subsistence hunting is a key activity for indigenous Amazonian people. Traditional Tsimane’ bow hunting was strongly affected by the introduction of firearms over 30 years ago. Tsimane’ of Bolivia maintain traditional hunting techniques with bows and arrows, sometimes in conjunction with modern firearms. This study explores Tsimane' perceived costs and benefits of bow- versus gun-hunting. We consider cultural conservation in addition to factors typical in ecological comparisons of traditional and introduced hunting technologies. Firearms are expensive and less reliable than bows and arrows. Costs of purchasing firearms requires market engagement and surplus production to generate cash. Tsimane’ do not identify overhunting as one of the costs of firearms; though multiple studies show reduced game populations in areas under moderate to intense gun-hunting pressure. In sum, Tsimane’ identify multiple benefits to traditional hunting technology, while firearms have a strong effect of the loss of knowledge regarding fabrication of bows and arrows, and present a challenge to Tsimane’ cultural identity as bow-hunters.