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Here’s an interesting topic I don’t often get to cover on the pets blog: pet history. In today’s world sometimes it seems like pets are over-pampered, taken to expensive salons or left giant inheritances. Some might consider this contrary to how humans used to view pets, merely as tools. A new study by a professor of archeology and anthropology asserts otherwise, at least in some cases.
The Sacramento Bee published the recent findings of Professor Paul Langenwalter of Biola University on the relationship local Californian American Indian tribes had with their pet dogs. He found evidence to suggest that among the Miwok and Yokut tribes, dogs were valued and loved members of the society.
Lagenwalter made his inferences based on studying the skeletons of dogs he found in graves dating back to the 1700s. We can guess that dogs were considered important members of the family because they didn’t have separate burial grounds; the dog skeletons were found buried along with human remains. “There are no pet cemetery areas, and we don’t find the dog burials on campsites or any place where there aren’t human burials,” said Langenwalter. “They were buried with the people.”
The full details of the burials, however, might be unpleasant to modern sensibilities. There is evidence that the dogs were sacrificed and buried alongside their owners when the owners died.
While we might find that practice upsetting now it was a common ritual among many cultures, one of the most famous being the Egyptian custom of burying a pharaoh’s cats along with the ruler. It was part of a larger tradition that involved destroying and putting to rest all of all of a person’s property with that person.
Even in death the dogs were treated with respect. Their skeletons were found placed in curled positions and their graves were marked with cairns. Dogs were left in this sleeping position to help transport them to the spirit world.
Many of Lagenwalter’s findings have been corroborated by Debra Grimes, a cultural preservation specialist for the California Valley Miwok Tribe. She asserts that in life and death the dogs were treated with love; “It is a family member to the tribal people,” Grimes said.
Between Lagenwalter and Grimes we also have details on a dog’s role in Californian American Indian life. A variety of dogs were kept by the tribes; terriers were used for ferreting out smaller game, whereas larger dogs were employed to help bring down bigger prey. The skeletons of the latter dogs support this theory; evidence of broken and healed bones is abundant among these dogs, suggesting that perhaps they were kicked by deer during the chase.
Other dogs held even more special roles within the tribes. The dogs belonging to the village medicinal leaders and chiefs were kept separate from other canines. Instead, they spent all of their time with their human owners. They underwent special training, often to learn how to scent out medical herbs and plants.
While it’s clear that dogs held a working role in these American Indian tribes, unlike how most dogs today live recreationally, there is still ample evidence suggesting that dogs were considered family members of the tribe. Thus we know that it’s not just our modern era; pets have for centuries been beloved members of society.
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*(This image by cliff1066™ is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
