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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.

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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