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At the end of each field season at the Abenaki fort site, all of the animal bones are brought here, to Université Laval’s archaeology lab, for further study.
This is the place where specialists will discover what kinds of animals were eaten on the site and whether they were domestic or wild.
[Genevieve Treyvaud, Archaeologist, Ph.D., INRS Eau Terre Environnement]
They will also discover whether the cuts visible on the animal bones were made with stone or iron tools.
Zooarchaeological research has been very useful during the Fort Odanak project, for it has shown that two types of diet were present on the site.
One was associated with the Jesuits, who ate meat from mainly domesticated animals, such as chicken and sheep, while the other was associated with the Abenakis, who preferred wild meat and fish.
To become a zooarchaeologist, you have to study archaeology, of course, but you also have to be very interested in animals and learn all about their anatomy.
[Université Laval, Thank you to, Laboratories of Archaeology, Université Laval]
[Laboratory prehistory and bioarchaeology: James Woollett]