L' économie des populations paléohistoriques de l’Anse à Henry à Saint-Pierre et Miquelon révélée par l’analyse fonctionnelle des outils en pierre taillée : un exemple de diversité des pratiques ancestrales autochtones

The archaeological site of Anse à Henry, located in the French archipelago of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon was occasionally occupied by Pre-Inuit and Recent Tradition populations for more than 5 000 years. Archaeologists suggest that the site was used for the exploitation of its marine resources. Indeed, its geographic location would have been favorable for hunting marine mammals and fishing. However, this hypothesis could not be verified or confirmed since no zooarchaeological data were collected. A use-wear analysis was therefore carried out to study the Pre-Inuit and Recent Tradition lithic tools and identify the activities for which they were used. The project’s goal was to establish the economic profile of the communities, considering the duration of the occupation and the cultural distinctions on the site. The results show that Pre-Inuit and Recent Tradition populations acquired similar resources but exploited them in different ways. These distinctions suggest that the economic system of each group was regulated by subsistence strategies specific to them, despite sharing similar environmental conditions. This research demonstrates the diversity and complexity of native ancestral practices.