The Beothuks By Kim Croft and Christie Mac

The Beothuks By: Kim Croft and Christie Mac. Neil

Map of Geographic Area.

Historical Background • Archaeologists believe that the Beothuk inhabited Newfoundland long before the Europeans came. • In prehistoric time they were primarily from the coastal region. • Groups would go fishing and seal hunting. “Beothuk Artifacts The iron caribou spear (right) is of European manufacture. The others were fashioned by Beothuks (courtesy Newfoundland Museum). ” “Demasduwit (Mary March) While trying to flee her captors, Demasduwit's husband newborn baby were killed, and she eventually died of tuberculosis in 1820. ”

Family Life • Families spent spring and summer by the coast hunting seals. • The collected up the eggs of sea birds. • They made carvings.

Culture • Some of the Beothuks physical culture is things left behind by them like their tools and weapons. • Their material culture developed out of the proceeding Little passage complex.

Language • There is not much known about the Beothuk language. • They don’t know much because the Beothuk people stayed clear from the Europeans. • Europeans captured some people and tried to learn their language.

Housing and Travel • All the Beothuks used for traveling was mainly birch bark canoes. • They built houses called mamateeks that had little sleeping hollows inside. • They would clear the ground of all sticks and leaves and grass before making theses houses.

Clothing • Their coats didn't have proper sleeves they had a separate sleeve. • Their coat was made from several caribou skins sewed together. • They wore boots called moccasins.

Religious Practices • Beothuk necklaces worn at religious ceremonies, they were made of six decorated bone carvings and one animal tooth. • A tradition that they did at burials was to cover themselves in red ochre, they would spread red ochre on the ground at a burial.

Bibliography • http: //thecanadianencyclopedia. com/index. cfm? Pg. Nm=TCE&Params=A 1 ARTA 00006 90 • http: //www. heritage. nf. ca/aboriginal/beo_la nguage. html#beo_illus_a • http: //www. mun. ca/rels/native/beothuk/beo _religion. html#burial