Some historical hunting strategies of Indigenous North Americans

[@maxpinson5002]

Been deer hunting since the 70's. I can say for sure that if the wind is wrong, the deer will pick you up no matter what precautions you can take. They're constantly trying the wind for anything suspicious along with movement. If not for their curiosity, they'd be tough to kill

[@PaleoForaging]

true, on this day there was a very steady slow wind going towards the camera. Behind the camera is a deep creek, and despite the trees, I was able to see about 300 feet out in 180 degrees. The main problem was that this is a small property that is one of the only public hunting lands where deer shooting is allowed, so that at this point in this season, the deer are just not around. I spoke to some frequent hunters on this property on this night and they told me this. I was also hoping for hogs, whose sign was all around this spot, but I just had no luck I suppose. But as far as a deer scenting you on the wind, I am very curious to see if eating only wild plants in the days ahead of the hunt will prevent or mitigate that.

[@user-yu1zp2vu9x]

@@PaleoForaging You can’t smoke cigarettes or spit tobacco. Strong odor. You can’t wear clothes that have been washed with any type of detergent or treated water. Don’t bathe and especially don’t use soap or shampoo. You can not cover those scents. Humans can smell those scents when they are acclimated to living in the wild. The food people eat has a definite effect on their scent. It is proven published fact.

[@ike0G]

Ive run into deer several times while walking my dog. Like within 10 yards. Thats my scent and dog scent and they just stand there. Buuuut when I hunt i never see a damn thing.

[@objective_psychology]

Sharing made sense as a strategy for hunter-gatherers. Large game catches would spoil if not immediately eaten or processed, and selfishly using all that meat would be impossible for one or two people. Sharing what remained could do nothing but benefit the sharer, because it increased social connection to the tribe without really decreasing their calories. It's only with the advanced neolithic, when grains could be stored up after harvest and secondary animal products like wool and cheese could be traded, that the strategy of selfishness became viable.

[@rudygeorgiamulesandcountry1594]

Beside immediately consuming portions of the kill before it spoiled they made Jerrky by drying and smoking it for the future

[@cnawan]

This makes me think of that line of stones they found along an ancient shoreline, enabling hunters to herd animals between the wall and the water, restricting their escape. Regarding cultural practices, I've heard of some tribes in Africa that insult young hunters and the quality of their kills to prevent them from growing to arrogant. Who knows what fascinating habits and rituals our ancestors had that're lost to time.

[@PaleoForaging]

ya, I've read about tons of such strategies, often employing extensive fencing of areas and other large-scale landscape alterations. That was also used for bison hunting. It's true that in some cases, they may have been stampeded off cliffs, but for the most part, they were actually herded to the base of cliffs with strategic fencing to corral them in an ambush, and the carcass remains were thereby left at the base of cliffs, leading many to later conclude they were driven off cliffs to kill them. In one example, miles of inner bark of maple were strung along in an area to create a huge funnel to corral deer in an ambush spot. Hunters were stationed along the band of bark and would strike it at intervals to scare deer from it, and they would brandish burning sticks to also prevent deer from going outside the funnel. There are many such examples that worked in complex ways but all taking advantage of natural behaviors of deer and other prey to herd them across the landscape to ambush them en masse.

[@EthanReidROV]

Honestly, the insulting young hunters is still a universal thing, it’s very important 😂

[@The_Conspiracy_Analyst]

Ok when you're in hilly country, find a ridge, preferably one that has deersign and worn trails. The bucks like to get up there in the evening and scope out rivals, etc. The trick is to find one with and rocky outcropping that stands a bit above the ridgeline (and will probably be bald), but is walkable to down below the ridge line (and small so the deer dont bother with it). That way you can be down hill, and downwind of the deer, but approach and have a view and a clear shot from above. I found a spot like this in Pioneer Weapons hunting area, but the terrain in Eastern KY seems well suited to this. Anyway the first time I scouted out this ridge, I saw deersign (scat) and figured it was worth a wait. Well I was below the ridgeline waiting and the SMELL hit me STRONG. I was confused because it smelled like a GOAT PEN so i thought the wind was blowing over from a nearby farm or something! Well it turned out a buck and harem of about 20 does liked that spot! They didn't smell me thought so I chose my spot carefully! In the evening the air currents are downhill. By the way I was ground hunting this spot with a traditional bow (hickory self bow).

[@NoBruisesOnTheOutside]

Thanks! Great video. Great content. Nice style. I am glad i found your channel.

[@sarainescalderon]

really interesting thank you for sharing!

[@ejsocci2630]

Awesome video

[@christopherwright6602]

Before disease killed a huge percent of the first nations here, the eastern forests were one huge managed game park where conditions were favorable to deer populations. The forests were much easier to move through those days because the people would keep the understory clear with fire. One could ride a horse through those forests at full gallop according to first European accounts. After much of the original population died, the forests became choked and impassable, relatively speaking. There also used to be tons of food for everything alive in the form of the American chestnut, now gone.

[@FokkerAce1917]

That's all very interesting. Where did you learn that?

[@Dragonfiregum]

@@FokkerAce1917 Books and stuff passed down more locally on east coast. We use to get field trips for students and such to go learn. Ever see the pictures of piles of buffalo from the west? People did the same thing with loads of deer. There is some photographs from the late happenings. Fire was a regular part of management and creating farmland.

[@The_Conspiracy_Analyst]

Yup the nigh extinction of the American Chestnut is what REALLY killed off the Passenger Pigeon

[@The_Conspiracy_Analyst]

yup, the nigh-extinction of the American Chestnut is what REALLY killed off the Passenger Pigeon

[@PaleoForaging]

true, frequent low-level fires were historically applied by Natives throughout most of North America to improve hunting conditions, both recycling nutrients and fostering the growth of browse as well as clearing sight lines for bowhunting. Almost all of the eastern forests were more like open savannah than the closed forests they are now. This has led to the loss of a huge amount of biodiversity found in plant species of prairies and grasslands. There are some modern organizations seeking to restore these ecosystems.

[@claymcintyre7515]

Try the Lance Rosier unit of the Big Thicket National Preserve in Kountze Texas. You’re going to love it.

[@PaleoForaging]

thanks for the tip! I've been wanting to go to the Big Thicket. I mainly go according to the public hunting lands booklet and that's not on it, but I see on their website they allow hunting- nice!

[@user-yu1zp2vu9x]

Thank you for sharing. What time period and location are you referring to. When the Europeans were arriving in the early to mid 1700s deer and elk numbers were huge. Plus, humans had never tried to exterminate them and many times they were unafraid of men. I have read first hand accounts of hunters shooting three or four deer and the heard never splitting and running in the 1750-1760’s in the Kentucky territory. The small number of natives didn’t affect the balance between prey (deer, elk, bison, etc) and predators (bear, wolves, lions, etc). Therefore the populations were huge and they were very healthy. I think that if not for war (tribe vs tribe or tribe vs Europe’s) to me this is the ultimate time to be alive in eastern North America (New England). I would love to go back in time and live with my Cherokee ancestors. I guess eastern Oklahoma will have to work today.

[@musicman123ization]

If youre going to do a more traditional hunt find a good game trail, spray some doe pee or rattle for buck. Gotta be there before sunrise or sunset

[@bbyjirl]

I love it!

[@benderbender1233]

🖖

[@mikestandlee4657]

You people love their culture but you are the reason they aren’t here anymore lol.

[@PaleoForaging]

All of the methods I described are from peoples who are still here. There were some few tribes that went extinct, or their numbers declined so much that they integrated into another tribe, but there are still well over 500 American Indian tribes here in the US alone. I am not contributing to their erasure. Rather, my goals are largely in service of preservation of Indigenous knowledge. But statements such as yours that assume Natives are just extinct or something, certainly are.

[@mikestandlee4657]

@ are their decendents still alive, yes. Can I still feed myself like a normal human would have 100 years ago, no.

[@houndsman406]

Thanks for sharing this load of BS . HOW THE HECK WOULD YOU KNOW HOW THEY DID ANYTHING ?

[@user-yu1zp2vu9x]

😃 Maybe a little bird told me

[@PaleoForaging]

@@houndsman406 see paleoforaging.com/references for some examples of my research sources. For ethnobotany, I directly cite a reference for every fact stated. Since hunting isn’t my main focus, I don’t have a research manuscript on it, but still remember a lot from 12 years of research on historical lifeways of Indigenous North Americans.

[@ike0G]

​@@PaleoForaging Why waste your time responding to this guy?

[@PaleoForaging]

@@ike0G well the rude tone and assumption was a deterrent, but I think it's fair to challenge the authenticity of my statements or my expertise.

[@The_Conspiracy_Analyst]

THat last little bit about admonishing using feeders for more "traditional" methods gave me a chuckle. The Shawnee would plant whole "sacred" fields of corn and beans that nobody was allowed to touch. 🌽=🦌🧲

[@PaleoForaging]

it was not admonishing, just stating a personal preference and that I do both but find one a bit more fun. There is a difference between corn baiting in general and modern mechanical timed corn feeders and expensive blinds with windows and doors.