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ORCID

N/A

Access Type

Open Access Thesis

Document Type

thesis

Degree Program

History

Degree Type

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Year Degree Awarded

2014

Month Degree Awarded

September

Abstract

This thesis examines the history of New England’s dugout canoes – a history that can be traced from 8500 BCE to the twenty-first century. The historical record and archaeological evidence surrounding dugout canoes suggests that the use of dugout canoes changed significantly over time, and that their form varied considerably in different regions of New England. While historians have claimed that these varied forms represent European and colonial influences, I argue that the Eurcolonial influence on dugouts was much more visible in the way the canoes were used than in the shape the vessels took. In addition to analyzing the canoes, this study analyzes the ways in which dugout canoes have been exhibited and interpreted in museums and offer suggestions as to best practices in the interpretation of mishoonash as artifacts of contested cultural attribution.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/5652591

First Advisor

Alice Nash

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