Cultural Survival

Lab Student’s name and ID

ANTH-1220 Section
____ Summer 2023
Date of submission
Economy:

The variety of hunting, trapping, fishing, and gathering artifacts indicates the previous inhabitants relied

on a mix of these subsistence strategies. In the short term, our group should adopt a similar diversified

approach to minimize risk and utilize all available resources. The men can hunt larger game like moose

using bows and arrows, as well as trap smaller animals like beaver. The harpoon and fishing needles

suggest fishing will also be critical, especially salmon runs in the rivers. The women can gather wild plant

foods like berries in birch bark containers. We have enough tools and knowledge to continue these

methods.

In addition to procuring food, we will need to make clothing, tools, and shelters. The animal hides,

rawhide, and sinew can be used to make moccasins, mittens, and other warm garments for winter. The

bones and antlers provide material for needles, knife blades, arrowheads, etc. Wood from trees supplies

raw material for bows, shafts, snowshoes, and structural elements. With skilled artisans, we can maintain

fabrication of needed tools. Seasonally available bark, skins, and furs will allow us to adapt clothing to

the weather.

Our food storage and preservation abilities will be limited initially. What is not consumed quickly will

have to be dried or smoked. The birch bark containers offer some storage, but we will need to build more

permanent cache pits for non-perishable foods, tools, and furs. This will provide reserves for the winter

when hunting and gathering is more difficult. Building up substantial food caches should be a high

priority in the first year before our tools wear out. We may also need to relocate seasonal campsites to be

near resources.

In the long term, we may need to shift strategies as resources are depleted from overhunting or climate

changes. Supplementing our hunting and gathering with some cultivated crops may become necessary,

which would require permanent settlements. Domesticating wild animals could also provide more reliable

meat and hides. But these shifts would require more complex tools and permanent shelters. Our initial
goal should be learning to live sustainably off the land using the methods the native inhabitants perfected

over generations.

Kinship and Reproduction:

With our small group, widespread polygamy would be impractical for reproduction. Most men should

limit themselves to one wife, or serial monogamy if a spouse dies. Unrestricted reproduction risks

overpopulation and resource depletion. The optimal family structure is a small nuclear family with a

husband, wife, and up to 3-4 young children dwelling together in tipis.

For descent, a patrilineal system tracing lineage through the father's line makes sense given the

gendered division of labor and men's role as hunters and providers. Inheritance and clan membership

will pass from fathers to sons. For marriage alliances, we should adopt exogamous rules requiring people

to find spouses outside their own clan. This prevents inbreeding and forges bonds between families.

Elders and parents will negotiate marriages while matches are finalized at large gatherings.

Education/ Socialization:

With our small group, formal schooling with dedicated teachers is not practical. However, we will need a

way to pass critical knowledge and skills to children to ensure society endures. Parents and elders can

serve as informal teachers, educating kids through storytelling, observational learning, and hands-on

instruction. For example, outfitting a child with miniature snowshoes (6) teaches them to walk in snow

from an early age through trial and error. Elders can share folk tales containing lessons while families go

about daily chores. As children grow older, they can apprentice with skilled toolmakers and foragers to

acquire specialized abilities needed for self-sufficiency. This informal education model based on practical

application rather than academic study may better prepare kids for survival.

The variety of finely crafted tools like the bow (15), arrows (9-10), and snowshoes (6) suggest the

previous group had skilled artisans who made items both practical and aesthetic. To pass down these
specialized skills, we could implement a master-apprentice system where experts teach students one-on-

one. For example, an experienced bowmaker can train a young person by having them observe and

assist in carving bows, explaining each step. After years of hands-on training, apprentices can become

masters and take their own apprentices. This will ensure survival knowledge is transferred to new

generations. In addition to practical skills, the combs (11), clothing (4-5), and beaded artwork indicate

the inhabitants cared about personal appearance and creative expression. Our social structure should

balance utilitarian survival needs with opportunities for craftspeople to perfect non-essential arts. Music,

oral stories, and decorations can make life more than just subsistence. Gatherings focused on singing,

dancing, and sharing folklore will be important for maintaining community ties and cultural identity.

Both survival skills and creative pursuits have value.

Political Organization & Control:

With our small, face-to-face community, I don't believe we need formal leadership roles or hereditary

chieftains yet. Important decisions can be made collectively by consensus among the elders, hunters,

and parents. If opinions are divided, the side with the most vocal support will prevail. Norms, taboos,

and social pressure can maintain order and conformity. If disputes arise, respected elders may intervene

as mediators to resolve conflicts through discussion and negotiation. Serious transgressions like theft or

violence can be addressed at gatherings where wrongdoers are shamed or physically punished by the

group. For now, this informal system should suffice until we grow larger.

Religion & Spiritual Beliefs:

The wilderness environment likely led the previous inhabitants to develop animistic beliefs attributing

spirits to animals, plants, landforms, and natural forces. We should have spiritual specialists like shamans

who can intercede with powerful spirits through rituals, music, and trance states. For example, before

the hunt, the shaman can perform a ceremonial dance asking animal spirits for success. Or healing
ceremonies may commune with benevolent spirits to cure illness. Storytellers can pass down original

myths and tales explaining spiritual beliefs. Respecting supernatural forces through ritual and taboo

helps maintain harmony with unpredictable nature. While rational solutions are still needed for survival,

spiritual fulfillment, and a connection to the metaphysical remain important psychologically.

Medicine and Health:

We should adopt the previous group's explanatory model attributing illness to supernatural forces like

spirits or witchcraft. Treatments will consist of herbal remedies and rituals by shamans calling on

mystical healing powers. For example, a poultice of boiled medicinal plants can be applied to wounds

while prayers are said to drive out evil spirits causing infection. Shamans may go into trances and

communicate with spirit guides to diagnose problems. Quarantining the seriously ill will limit contagion.

Daily habits like drinking clean water, proper waste disposal away from dwellings, and alternating

physical exertion with rest will also prevent illness. While some remedies are objectively beneficial, the

psychological comfort of spiritual treatments should not be dismissed.

Ceremonies and Entertainment:

Music, dancing, oral storytelling, and artwork will be critical for building social ties and passing on

cultural knowledge. Seasonal gatherings focused on courtship, marriage arrangements, trading,

competitions, and religious rituals allow dispersed families to come together. Musicians with drums

made from hides and wood can provide rhythm while people sing folk songs. Dances arranged by a

leader allow artistic expression. Tribal histories, legends, and survival lessons can be recounted through

stories, poems, and plays around a fire. Artisans can display decorative clothing, jewelry, blankets, and

carvings for trade and appreciation. These activities build bonds, transmit culture, and provide needed

moments of joy.