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Interactions of Care and Control: Human–animal Relationships in Hunter-gatherer Communities in Near-contemporary Eastern Siberia and the Mesolithic of Northwest Europe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2019

Maja Pasarić  and
Graeme Warren
Maja Pasarić
Affiliation:
UCD School of Archaeology, Newman Building, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland & Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research, Šubićeva 42, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia Email: maja@ief.hr
Graeme Warren
Affiliation:
UCD School of Archaeology, Newman Building, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland Email: graeme.warren@ucd.ie
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Abstract

This contribution explores modes of human–animal interactions in hunter-gatherer communities in near-contemporary eastern Siberia and the Mesolithic of northwest Europe. By discussing notions of care and control and drawing on syntheses of Russian-language ethnographic data from eastern Siberia, this paper explores the diversity and nuances of hunter-gatherers’ interactions with animals. While some contexts may reveal respectful yet diverse treatments of the hunted animals, others suggest that hunter-gatherers also might have interacted with animals kept as pets, captives or companions, thus implicating relations in which notions of care and control seem to be tightly bound.

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Type
Research Article
Information
Cambridge Archaeological Journal , Volume 29 , Issue 3 , August 2019 , pp. 465 - 478
Copyright
Copyright © McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research 2019 

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