“Utilizing the gift”: A relational approach to turkey keeping at Picuris Pueblo, NM

Abstract

Studies of human-animal interaction in zooarchaeology have historically emphasized a disjuncture between “wild” and “domestic.” This emphasis reflects an ingrained nature-culture dualism which has been increasingly critiqued by BIPOC scholars and archaeologists situated within posthumanist and object-oriented approaches. In this article, we bridge social zooarchaeology’s move away from Western ontology-epistemology with efforts in Indigenous archaeology to engage with the traditional knowledge and worldviews of Indigenous communities. Drawing on oral histories and personal narratives shared by Picuris Pueblo tribal members we develop a “gifting” approach to human-avian relationships grounded in the principles of care, reciprocity, and respect. We use this gifting framework to interpret avian faunal materials from the pueblo dating between 1300 and 1800 CE. These oral historical and material sources indicate that over time ancestral Picuris people co-created an intensive agricultural landscape through care-based interactions with plant and animal species, particularly turkeys.