DOI: 10.5061/dryad.jm63xsjgh
title: Native American use of cetaceans in pre-contact Oregon: Biomolecular and taphonomic analyses illuminate human-cetacean relationships: MALDI-TOF data

description: This study characterizes how Native Americans living on the Oregon coast
 used whales and small cetaceans prior to European contact. We present an
 original analysis of a large subsample of archaeological cetacean remains
 from the Palmrose (35CLT47) site and new identifications from the
 previously analyzed Par-Tee (35CLT20) and Tahkenitch Landing (35DO130)
 sites. Using zooarchaeological and biomolecular analyses we report species
 presence and modification patterns to characterize use. Grays
 (Eschrichtius robustus) and humpbacks (Megaptera novaeangliae) were the
 most commonly identified whale species and a preferred source of food,
 oil, bone for tool manufacture, and possibly ligaments for sinew. Dolphins
 and porpoises, especially harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), were a
 source of food and possibly bone for tool manufacture. While opportunistic
 hunting may have occurred, the presence of species such as blue
 (Balaenoptera musculus) and Cuvier’s beaked (Ziphius cavirostris) whales
 suggest collection of beached animals was an important acquisition
 strategy. Our study demonstrates the value of biomolecular analyses for
 improved species identifications/understanding of species richness, and
 the value of zooarchaeological analysis to fully understand dietary and
 cultural contributions of cetaceans to precontact lifeways on the Oregon
 coast.
description: We used ZooMS to identify specimens from Palmrose (NISP=116),
 Tahkenitch Landing (NISP=11), and Par-Tee (NISP=31).  Sampling for ZooMS
 analysis was performed at the Northwest Coast Zooarchaeology Lab and the
 NMNH. In brief, specimens were prepped with a sterile kimwipe dampened
 with a dilute bleach-H2O solution (50%). A small sample of bone (10-30 mg)
 was removed using a bleached utility blade and placed into a sterile
 Eppendorf tube. The table was bleached and gloves were changed between the
 sampling and handling of each new specimen. This sampling protocol has
 yielded accurate species identifications in previous aDNA studies (Wellman
 et al., 2020, 2017). The samples were sent to the Ancient DNA and Proteins
 (ADαPT) Laboratories in the Department of Anthropology, University of
 British Columbia, Vancouver. In brief, the bone collagen was extracted,
 purified, and spotted onto a target plate following a protocol described
 in Buckley et al. (2014). The bone samples were sent to the University of
 British Columbia where collagen was extracted within the Ancient DNA and
 Proteins (ADαPT) Laboratories in the Department of Anthropology. The bone
 sample was demineralized in a weak acid solution (0.6M HCl); the sample
 was then centrifuged, and the supernatant was discarded. The samples were
 rinsed with 250 µL of 0.1M NaOH and then rinsed three times with 200 μl of
 50 mMol ammonium bicarbonate, pH 8.0 (AmBic solution), and gelatinized by
 heating at 65º C in AmBic solution for 1 hour. The collagen was
 enzymatically cleaved with trypsin at 37˚C, and purified using 100 µl
 Pierce ™ C18 pipette tips. Equal amounts of the collagen extract and
 α-cyano-hydroxycinnamic acid matrix solution (1% in conditioning solution)
 were mixed and spotted in triplicate onto a 384 spot MALDI target plate,
 with calibration standards. Samples were spotted in triplicate, and run on
 a Bruker ultraflex III MALDI TOF/TOF mass spectrometer with a Nd:YAG smart
 beam laser. We used the mMass software (Strohalm et al. 2008) to average
 spectra from replicates, and compare them to published m/z markers for
 marine mammals (Buckley et al. 2014; Hufthammer et al. 2018; Kirby et al.
 2013). Taxonomic identifications were assigned at the most conservative
 level of identification (species, genus, or family level) based on the
 presence of unambiguous m/z markers.
description: # Native American use of cetaceans in pre-contact Oregon: Biomolecular and
 taphonomic analyses illuminate human-cetacean relationships: MALDI-TOF
 data *** This study characterizes how Native Americans living on the
 Oregon coast used whales and small cetaceans prior to European contact. We
 present an original analysis of a large subsample of archaeological
 cetacean remains from the Palmrose (35CLT47) site and new identifications
 from the previously analyzed Par-Tee (35CLT20) and Tahkenitch Landing
 (35DO130) sites. Using zooarchaeological and biomolecular analyses we
 report species presence and modification patterns to characterize use.
 Grays (*Eschrichtius robustus*) and humpbacks (*Megaptera novaeangliae*)
 were the most commonly identified whale species and a preferred source of
 food, oil, bone for tool manufacture, and possibly ligaments for sinew.
 Dolphins and porpoises, especially harbor porpoise (*Phocoena phocoena*),
 were a source of food and possibly bone for tool manufacture. While
 opportunistic hunting may have occurred, the presence of species such as
 blue (*Balaenoptera musculus*) and Cuvier’s beaked (*Ziphius cavirostris*)
 whales suggest collection of beached animals was an important acquisition
 strategy. Our study demonstrates the value of biomolecular analyses for
 improved species identifications/understanding of species richness, and
 the value of zooarchaeological analysis to fully understand dietary and
 cultural contributions of cetaceans to precontact lifeways on the Oregon
 coast. ## Description of the Data and file structure This zip file
 contains raw MALDI-TOF spectra for 158 cetacean bones sampled for ZooMS.
 Each sample was spotted in triplicate, along with calibration standards,
 onto a 384 spot Bruker MALDI ground steel target plate using 1 µL of
 sample and 1 µL of α-cyano-hydroxycinnamic acid matrix. The samples were
 run on a Bruker ultraflex III MALDI TOF/TOF mass spectrometer with a
 Nd:YAG smart beam laser University of York in York, UK, and a SNAP
 averaging algorithm was used to obtain monoiosotopic masses (C 4.9384, N
 1.3577, O 1.4773, S 0.0417, H 7.7583). Raw spectral data has been uploaded
 here for each sample in triplicate. The name of each spectrum contains the
 date that the MALDI analysis was run, the sample name (e.g., A371)
 followed by the spot location on the MALDI Plate (e.g., \_A1,\_A4, \_A9).
 ## Sharing/access Information Links to other publicly accessible locations
 of the data: None.