The hair of the dog: The identification of a Coast Salish dog-hair blanket from Yale, British Columbia

R Schulting�- Canadian Journal of Archaeology/Journal Canadien d'�…, 1994 - JSTOR
Canadian Journal of Archaeology/Journal Canadien d'Arch�ologie, 1994JSTOR
This paper deals with the identification of a textile recovered in an archaeological context
from the vicinity of Yale, British Columbia (site DkRi-63). While ethnographic and
ethnohistoric accounts of the Coast Salish frequently mention a special breed of domestic
dog whose hair was extensively utilised in the manufacture of blankets, definite identification
of an existing blanket in which dog hair is an important con-stituent has been elusive. Given
the deterioration of the diagnostic cuticle pattern, a different approach is taken in the�…
Abstract
This paper deals with the identification of a textile recovered in an archaeological context from the vicinity of Yale, British Columbia (site DkRi-63). While ethnographic and ethnohistoric accounts of the Coast Salish frequently mention a special breed of domestic dog whose hair was extensively utilised in the manufacture of blankets, definite identification of an existing blanket in which dog hair is an important con-stituent has been elusive. Given the deterioration of the diagnostic cuticle pattern, a different approach is taken in the identification of the fibres in this study. Stable carbon isotope analysis of the blanket reveals that the hairs are those of an animal which gained a considerable amount of its protein from marine sources (X 513C=-15.1% o). Comparison of the 513C values from the blanket fibres to those of the bones of domestic dogs from archaeological sites and to control samples strongly suggests that the specimen is indeed a Salish dog-hair blanket. Some of the implications of this finding are briefly discussed.
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