Archives of human-dog relationships: Genetic and stable isotope analysis of Arctic fur clothing

TY - JOUR

T1 - Archives of human-dog relationships: Genetic and stable isotope analysis of Arctic fur clothing

AU - Harris, Alison

AU - Feuerborn, Tatiana

AU - Sinding, Mikkel-Holger

AU - Nottingham, James

AU - Knudsen, Robert

AU - Rey-Iglesia, Alba

AU - Schmidt, Anne Lisbeth

AU - Appelt, Martin

AU - Grønnow, Bjarne

AU - Alexander, Michelle Marie

AU - Eriksson, Gunilla

AU - Dalén, Love

AU - Hansen, Anders J.

AU - Lidén, Kerstin

N1 - © 2020 The Authors.

PY - 2020/7/17

Y1 - 2020/7/17

N2 - Among Indigenous populations of the Circumpolar North, domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) were social actors aiding in traction and subsistence activities. Less commonly, dogs fulfilled a fur-bearing role in both the North American and Siberian Arctic. Examples of garments featuring dog skins were collected during the 19th-20th centuries and are now curated by the National Museum of Denmark. We sequenced the mitochondrial genomes of macroscopically identified dog skin garments. We conducted stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratio analysis of the dog furs and of fur samples from contemporaneous pelts of Arctic (C. lupus arctos) and grey (C. lupus) wolves. Despite the presence of biocides used to protect the fur clothing during storage, we extracted well-preserved DNA using a minimally-invasive sampling protocol. Unexpectedly, the mtDNA genomes of one-third of the samples were consistent with wild taxa, rather than domestic dogs. The strong marine component in the diets of North American dogs distinguished them from Greenland and Canadian wolves, but Siberian dogs consumed diets that were isotopically similar to wild species. We found that dog provisioning practices were variable across the Arctic, but in all cases, involved considerable human labor.

AB - Among Indigenous populations of the Circumpolar North, domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) were social actors aiding in traction and subsistence activities. Less commonly, dogs fulfilled a fur-bearing role in both the North American and Siberian Arctic. Examples of garments featuring dog skins were collected during the 19th-20th centuries and are now curated by the National Museum of Denmark. We sequenced the mitochondrial genomes of macroscopically identified dog skin garments. We conducted stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratio analysis of the dog furs and of fur samples from contemporaneous pelts of Arctic (C. lupus arctos) and grey (C. lupus) wolves. Despite the presence of biocides used to protect the fur clothing during storage, we extracted well-preserved DNA using a minimally-invasive sampling protocol. Unexpectedly, the mtDNA genomes of one-third of the samples were consistent with wild taxa, rather than domestic dogs. The strong marine component in the diets of North American dogs distinguished them from Greenland and Canadian wolves, but Siberian dogs consumed diets that were isotopically similar to wild species. We found that dog provisioning practices were variable across the Arctic, but in all cases, involved considerable human labor.

U2 - 10.1016/j.jaa.2020.101200

DO - 10.1016/j.jaa.2020.101200

M3 - Article

SN - 0278-4165

VL - 59

JO - Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

JF - Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

M1 - 101200

ER -