Native American use of cetaceans in pre-contact Oregon: Biomolecular and taphonomic analyses illuminate human–cetacean relationships

Abstract

This study characterizes how Native Americans living on the Oregon coast used whales and small cetaceans prior to European contact. We present an original analysis of a large subsample (NISP = 1177) of archaeological cetacean remains from the Palmrose (35CLT47) site, and new identifications from the previously analyzed Par-Tee (35CLT20; NISP = 31) and Tahkenitch Landing (35DO130; NISP = 33) sites. Using zooarchaeological and biomolecular analyses we report species presence and modification patterns to characterize use. Gray (Eschrichtius robustus) and humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) were the most commonly identified whale species and likely preferred source of food, oil, bone for tool manufacture, and possibly sinew. Dolphins and porpoises, especially harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), were a source of food and possibly bone for tool manufacture. While site inhabitants may have engaged in opportunistic hunting, the presence of species such as blue (Balaenoptera musculus) and Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) suggests collection of beached animals was also an important acquisition strategy. Our study demonstrates the value of: (1) biomolecular analyses for improved species identifications and understanding of species richness; and (2) thorough zooarchaeological analyses to fully understand dietary and cultural contributions of cetaceans to pre-contact lifeways on the Oregon coast.

Keywords:

• Whales
• Pacific Northwest Coast
• taphonomy
• zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry
• ancient DNA

Supplementary material

Supplementary Information Text: Additional methods and results and AMS dating information. Table S1: Tahkenitch Landing sample metadata and identifications Table S2: Palmrose sample metadata and identifications Table S3: Par-Tee sample metadata and identifications Table S4: ZooMS results and peptide markers Table S5: Mitochondrial DNA sequences and GenBank accession numbers Table S6: Primer sets for archaeological cetacean samples Table S7: Tahkenitch Landing AMS 14C dates Figure S1: Palmrose cetacean cutmark examples Figure S2: Examples of cetacean elements indicative of potential oil extraction Figure S3: Whale elements potentially related to display of status/wealth Figure S4: Phylogenetic tree of Palmrose samples and modern reference samples Figure S5: Phylogenetic tree of Par-Tee samples and modern reference samples

Acknowledgements

We thank Jon Erlandson, Pamela Endzweig, Tom Connolly, and Elizabeth Kallenbach at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History (MNCH) at UO for their support of this project and access to the Palmrose collection and photographs. At the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) Dave Rosenthal, Esther Rimer, and Amanda Lawrence (Department of Anthropology), and John Ossosky (Division of Mammals) facilitated access to archaeological and comparative collections, and Torben Rick advised HW and contributed the Par-Tee whale samples. Rick Minor suggested the Tahkenitch Landing whales, and Kevin Bruce and Molly Kirkpatrick at the Siuslaw National Forest facilitated the Tahkenitch Landing loan and generously provided funds for the AMS dates. Jim Rice (Oregon State University) provided access to the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network records. Hope Loiselle shared her thoughts on morphological identifications. The undergraduate students of Madonna Moss’s 2015, 2017, and 2019 zooarchaeology classes helped HW via their class projects or volunteering their time to gain lab experience. We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Lindsey Paskulin (University of British Columbia) in performing ZooMS labwork and Samantha Presslee (University of York, UK) for assistance in performing mass spectrometry. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful, constructive feedback.

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Data availability statement

Mitochondrial DNA sequences are available through the NCBI GenBank repository under accessions OP288779-OP288792 and OR146980-OR146992 (SI Supplementary Table S5). MALDI-TOF spectra are available through the Dryad Digital Repository (doi:10.5061/dryad.jm63xsjgh).

Notes

1 For the purposes of this analysis, the term “whale” refers to large whale species, particularly those from the Balaenopteridae (blue, humpback, fin, and minke whales), Eschrichtiidae (gray whale), and Physeteridae (sperm whale) families. The term small cetacean refers to the Delphinidae (dolphins, including orcas), Phocoenidae (porpoises), and Ziphiidae (beaked whale) families.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the Robert D. Hevey, Jr and Constance M. Filling Graduate Fellowship, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC; the Edna English Trust, Museum of Natural and Cultural History, Eugene, OR; and the Siuslaw National Forest, Corvallis, OR (HW). Additional mass spectrometry and ancient DNA analysis was funded in part through a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant (CS, RGPIN-2019-04145) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC; DY, 435-2022-0904).