LAUSR

The archaeological record indicates the use of salmon and a wide range of terrestrial mammals at sites spanning the last millennium in the vicinity of the Nautley River on the Nechako Plateau of central British Columbia. In particular, a long record of sustained use of small and medium bodied fur-bearing mammals, especially beaver, rabbit, and muskrat, is evident, which neither prey-selection, nor fur trade intensification models adequately explain. Instead, the usage of diverse small prey is best understood in the context of the contingencies and long-term structure of the region’s salmon fishery, the social networks between communities and places, the various uses people had for these animals, and the meanings of their relationship to them.