Social Aspects and Implications of “Running to the Hills”: The Case of the Beothuk Indians of Newfoundland

ABSTRACT

When faced with the presence of hostile others on the landscape, hunter-gatherers may choose or be obliged to retreat to areas beyond the reach of their enemies—to run to the hills. Although sometimes successful, “running to the hills” often incurs additional risks and/or requires fundamental transformations of land-use patterns, subsistence strategies, and dimensions of social life. This article explores this strategy as it unfolded among the Beothuk Indians of Newfoundland. Forced to seek refuge in the island's interior in the wake of European encroachment on the coast, the formerly maritime-adapted Beothuk were compelled to adopt a new—terrestrially focused—adaptation in a short period of time. Their failure to succeed at this venture underscores the value that coastal resources had in the Beothuk's “traditional” subsistence economy. But perhaps more importantly, their demise illustrates the critical role that social relations play in informing hunter-gatherer adaptations.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Research for this project was funded by a Fulbright Fellowship to Canada and a Canadian Studies Research Grant, supported by the staff at the Provincial Archaeology Office, Newfoundland Museum (now the Rooms) and the faculty of the Department of Anthropology at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and improved by the sage advice of Priscilla Renouf, Stephen Loring, Ingeborg Marshall, the late Ralph Pastore, and two anonymous reviewers. I am responsible for any errors of fact and interpretation.