Birds, Burials and Sacred Cosmology of the Indigenous Beothuk of Newfoundland, Canada.

Kristensen, Todd J.; Holly, Donald H.

The Indigenous Beothuk of Newfoundland disappeared as a cultural entity in the early nineteenth century. Prior to this, the Beothuk had few direct interactions with Europeans, and those that occurred were generally of a hostile nature. As a result, very little is known about Beothuk religious life. Drawing on available ethnohistoric records, an analysis of burial site locations and funerary objects, we offer an interpretation of Beothuk sacred cosmology that places birds at the centre of their belief system.

NEWFOUNDLAND & Labrador; BEOTHUK (North American people); BIRDS in religion; NATIVE American cosmology; ETHNOHISTORY; INTERMENT; GRAVE goods; ARCHAEOLOGY & religion; ARCHAEOLOGICAL site location; FIRST Nations of Canada

Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2013, Vol 23, Issue 1, p41

0959-7743

Academic Journal

10.1017/S0959774313000036