Abstract

A correlation between discrete human populations and discrete caribou herds has been observed ethnohistorically and proposed archaeologically in the area west of the Mackenzie River and north of Lake Athabasca and the Churchill River. Four major barren-ground caribou herds exist, their wintering area corresponding reasonably well with projected protohistoric Athabascan band distribution before fur trade disruption. J.G.E.Smith has demonstrated Chipewyan/Beverly herd association within the historic period. Archaeologically, all but one of over 80 barrenland Arctic Small Tool tradition(ASTt) sites lie within modern herding areas. Changes within the herding range, specifically the calving grounds, during a prolonged cold period following 1500 B.C., induced ASTT hunters as far south as the Prairie provinces, suggesting herding areas similar to the present in regards to migration path and wintering range. The absence of significant ASTt artifactual materials from surveyed areas between discrete herds plus early historic band/discrete herd correlations suggest that similar analogies may be made for other prehistoric barrenland cultures, specifically Northern Plano, Shield Archaic and prehistoric Athapascan.