Archaeology of 17^th-century Inuit habitat on the Québec Lower North Shore shows a combination of Inuit and Basque material culture at coastal locations suited for hunting seal. Previous work has theorised Basque-Inuit relations as “joint ventures” within a context of enhanced Inuit seaborne mobility, afforded by access to Basque sailboats. Inuit sites show winter occupation and a high reliance on caribou – not seal – for subsistence. DNA study of caribou bones asked whether Inuit hunted these animals on the Québec-Labrador mainland, or if their hunt extended to Newfoundland as part of their seaborne mobility. It was enabled by previously defined distinctive mtDNA haplogroups for Newfoundland caribou (Wilkerson et al. 2018). We used a short D-loop fragment of about 400bp to assign haplogroups to ancient DNA samples. Successful analysis of 45 of 47 bone samples found an MNI of 15 animals, of which 12 likely came from the Québec-Labrador mainland (40 samples) and 3 from Newfoundland (3 samples), while 2 samples remain unassigned. Only 2 samples failed to generate DNA. These results show the potential of using ancient caribou DNA to illuminate 17^th-century Inuit hunting practices, seaborne mobility, and the historical ecology of Rangifer tarandus.

Funerary archaeoentomology is the study of insects extracted from sepultures. Inspired by the methodological principles of forensic entomology, this approach offers a better understanding of the individual and the circumstances surrounding his death (hygienic conditions, exposure prior inhumation, seasonality of death, etc.). Funerary archaeoentomology has been explored on different archaeological contexts in Europe, the United States, North Africa, except for Canadian contexts, up until recently.

As part of a master research at Laval University, Quebec, three 19^th century cemeteries have been observed under the principles of funerary archaeoentomology. The objectives of this research were (1) to test the validity of this approach considering subarctic contexts, (2) to offer a better understanding on 19^th century sepultures and (3) to propose a new line of study regarding archaeothanatological questions in subarctic contexts.

In the first place, this communication aims to present the approach and the research results to exemplify what funerary archaeoentomology can offer. Secondly, on field and practical questions will be discussed to equip professional archaeologists when they work on funerary contexts (sampling strategy, questions that can be addressed, where to analyse these samples, etc).

This study presents the strontium isotopic composition of camelid tooth enamel from Huaca Santa Clara, Huaca Gallinazo, and Huancaco in the Virú Valley. These sites were occupied during the Early Intermediate Period (EIP) with Huaca Santa Clara and Huancaco being associated with a ritual sacrifice during the late Middle Horizon (MH). Most camelids had strontium isotopic compositions that fell within the predicted isotopic range for the Virú Valley. Isotopic compositions of the serially sampled teeth suggest most camelids did not move between regions with different strontium isotope baselines during enamel formation. At Huaca Santa Clara, sacrificed camelids (MH) had local strontium isotope ratios. Butchered individuals (EIP) had strontium isotope ratios reflecting primarily local origins, with some evidence of individuals from the highlands. At Huaca Gallinazo (EIP), all of the camelids appeared to be local to the lower Virú Valley. At Huancaco, butchered (EIP) and sacrificed (MH) camelids were local to the Virú Valley but may have included more individuals from the middle and upper valley regions relative to the other two sites. These data suggest that camelid husbandry was present on the north coast during the EIP and this practice may have become more widespread during the late Middle Horizon.