Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 3
Comparison of the Faunal Remains from French and British Refuse Pits at Fort Michilimackinac: A Study in Changing Subsistence Patterns
by Charles E. Cleland
Conclusions
This study was designed to explore the subsistence
patterns of three distinct cultures and to contrast the type of pattern
which developed in each society. Such an approach requires that the
subsistence pattern of each culture be investigated within the context
of the culture of which it is a part. The entire network of
relationships which link subsistence activities to other cultural
activities provides the internal ordering which constitutes the
subsistence pattern.
By assuming that the natural resources available in
the Straits of Mackinac region remained essentially constant through
time, it has been possible to attribute differences in the French and
British subsistence patterns to differences in the cultures themselves.
Both the French and British subsistence patterns differed from the one
at the pre-contact Juntunen site because they were primarily supported
by imported foods. The French subsistence scheme differed from the
British in the quantity of imported food available. Since the French
supply system was relatively small and intermittent, the French
exploited a great many more local food resources than the British. While
the efficiency of the logistic network which brought food and supplies
to Fort Michilimackinac was of primary importance in the type of
subsistence pattern developed by these historic societies, other factors
have also been considered. Some of these include differences in social
and political structure, relations with local populations, and
contrasting ideologies. All of these factors were important in
determining the type of subsistence patterns developed by each
culture.
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