Patterning in butchery as cultural residue

Past analytical foci of butchery patterns have been to validate arguments regarding the nutritive value of specific meat portions, or to elucidate the kill's origin from either hunting or scavenging activity. It is argued that there is additional, detailed behavioral information obtainable from these same bone resources. Processes of carcass disarticulation and distribution are also analyzable from a socio/cultural perspective. With ideas developed during the analysis of eastern U.S.A. historic faunal assemblages, a protohistoric Alaskan Inuit caribou hunting camp faunal assemblage is examined for culturally specific butchery patterns that could lead to the identification of the cultural affiliation of the camp's inhabitants.