IV.
The collective mood of the Siwaba camp would soar after a successful end of season caribou hunt. The large-scale endeavor provided a unique cooperative opportunity to transform the live game into usable products that would support the Paleoindian groups through the rigorous winter months ahead. The large-scale processing of the animals would keep the community busy for several weeks after the hunt was finished. The intelligent use of these caribou would prove invaluable to the life and development of the indigenous peoples of North America. The stories and lessons of the hunt would be perpetuated eternally.
After the caribou were corralled on the Southwestern edge of the camp, the Siwaba community would prepare for the culling of the animals. Meat and fat were processed for food, hides for clothing, sacks, and shelter, sinew for thread, and rawhide for lashing. Bones would be harvested for their nutritious marrow and used to create various tools including awls, needles, fish hooks, knives, fleshing scrapers, combs, and even musical instruments like rasps and small flutes.
To process the abundant raw materials, the people would coordinate and form several small specialized groups. The bounty would be too great to process quickly if they were disorganized or selfish in their attempts. Each group would have specific tasks to perform in the transformation process. A group of men led by Awaas, would work together to kill the animals, while another group led by Mateg would be sharpening their stone tools in preparation for dressing the carcass. Once the steps of de-hiding, eviscerating, splitting, and washing the caribou carcass was complete, further processing would include butchering and distribution of the respective components to further subspecialized factions. By the end of the process equal division of the products among the groups would be assured.
A group of elder women led by Ni would oversee the production of clothing and blankets from the hides. The products would be versatile and practical. In anticipation of the coming cold weather, parkas and blankets were created to provide exceptional warmth. Some of the clothing would be adorned with decoration in the form of shells found by the ocean, bones or teeth from local animals, or red/brown pigments found in the areas clay. The structure of the materials that were used for making the clothing brilliantly supported their function. In this regard, it has since been observed that caribou have two layers of hair: a dense undercoat and a top layer of hollow guard hairs. The outer guard hairs trap air in the underfur creating thermal insulation, but those guard hairs also have air trapped inside adding additional benefit. These “hollow” guard hairs also lend to improved buoyancy during swimming. This feature would benefit both animals and Paleoindians alike.
Following this annual pursuit, a feast would be prepared to celebrate the success of the hunt. Rituals of gratitude and remembrance would be performed. The totality of the preceding hunt would be recounted by brother Mateg as he stood in front of the largest fire of the year addressing the community. With the help of the children of Siwaba he would act out the events of the day. Acting as a bull elk himself, the children would chase him around the fire with sticks as they pretended to be the hunters. In this act, he would hold the decapitated and skinned skull of one of he sacrificed animals against his chest as he would call out in the familiar grunts, bugles, and barks of the large beast. This role play would be a beloved tradition with its pomp and circumstance evolving over the following years and generations. Once this ancient act was over, the people of Siwaba would eat. Following the meal and with bellies full, Ni would lead the camp in a vigil through the night. Around the fire group elders would share their respective plans for the winter ahead, and their hope to return the next year to continue the summer tradition. The stories would flow and the and flames would burn bright through the night and for many days to come.
It was natural to feel pride during these celebrations. On rare occasions someone’s ego would swell beyond what was acceptable within their open community. When one member would take credit for the success of the hunt, their boasting was not tolerated. Ni or one of her contemporaries, who were appreciated as the extended group’s social leaders, would mount the first line of defense against this individual arrogance. When someone attempted to take solitary credit for the group’s success, they would be ridiculed by the elders until proper humility was appreciated. If this social teasing did not work, then the next step would include the entire group shunning, ignoring, or ostracizing the offensive individual. As each of these ancient people’s lives was reliant on the rest of the group, this act of contrived ignorance was powerful. It was acknowledged that no human being could live for long while isolated. The strong and often successful Awaas had on many occasions faced this type of scorn from the Siwaba group. As self-sufficient as he often was– he clearly thrived on the attention of the group. Merely the threat of social isolation was enough to dissuade Awaas to act in a way that would lead to his banishment.
Coastal Plain 