Turtles General
The Shuswap [1-3], Huron [4-7], Coastal Algonkians [8], St-Laurence River Montagnais [9], Kootenai [10], Potawatomi [11] and Northern Iroquoian [12] were reported have consumed turtles. The Richibucto Micmac (Mi’kmaq) [13] Spokane [14], and Micmac [15] consumed turtles and their eggs.
The Huron cooked turtles alive, either in hot ashes or boiling water [4, 6].
The Micmac used turtle fat as a lubricant to treat rheumatism [15]. Turtles became a food taboo for the Northern Iroquoian, considered to prolong death [12].
The Micmac (Mi’kmaq) [15], Richibucto Micmac [13] and Rappahannock [16] consumed snapping turtles, likely to have been the common snapping turtle. The Onondaga Iroquois also consumed their eggs [17, 18]. The Malecite were reported to consume boiled “tortoise” eggs, found by driving sticks sporadically into the sand [19], likely to have involved snapping turtle eggs.
The Rappahannock caught snapping turtles by lodging a pole with bait tied to the bottom into a bank along the shore [16].
The Micmac used snapping turtle shells as containers [15]. The Onondaga Iroquois added the meat to soup or stew to help with throat problems and for newborn infants [17, 18].
The Richibucto Micmac (Mi’kmaq) consumed painted turtles [13]; the Onondaga Iroquois consumed their meat and eggs [17, 18]. The Onondaga Iroquois added the meat to soup or stew to help with throat problems and for newborn infants [17, 18]. The Onondaga Iroquois consumed common map turtles [20], as well as wood turtles and their eggs [17, 18].
The Manhousat consumed leatherback sea turtles, which were sometimes found on the beach, lying on their shells. Their shells were cut off, and the meat was cooked and eaten [21]. The Richibucto Micmac (Mi’kmaq) [13] and the Wampanoag [22] were reported to also consume sea turtles, likely to have included leatherback sea turtles and loggerhead sea turtles.
References
1. Matthew M: Foods of The Shuswap People. Kamloops, B.C.: Secwepemc Cultural Education Society; 1986.
2. Teit JA: The Shuswap, vol. Series: American Museum of Natural Histroy ( The Jesup North Pacific Expedition). New York: AMS PRESS INC.; 1975.
3. Teit JA (ed.): Part VII The Shuswap. New York; 1900.
4. Tooker E: An Ethnography of the Huron Indians, 1615-1649, vol. originally published as Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 190. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press; 1991.
5. Heidenreich CE: The Huron: A Brief Ethnography. York: York University-Department of Geography; 1972.
6. Tooker E: Subsistence of the Huron Indians. In: Cultural Ecology: Readings on the Canadian Indians and Eskimos. edn. Edited by Cox B. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart; 1973: 26-34.
7. Heidenreich CE: Huron. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 15: Northeast. edn. Edited by Trigger BG. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1978: 368-383.
8. Newcomb WW: North American Indians: An Anthropological Perspective. Pacific Palisades, California: Goodyear Publishing Company, Inc.; 1974.
9. Rogers ES, Leacock E: Montagnais-Naskapi. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 6: Subarctic. edn. Edited by Helm J. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1981: 169-189.
10. Hewes GW: Fishing. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 12: Plateau. edn. Edited by Walker DE, Jr. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1998: 620-636.
11. Clifton JA: Potawatomi. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 15: Northeast. edn. Edited by Trigger BG. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1978: 725-736.
12. Fenton WN: Northern Iroquoian Culture Patterns. In: Hanbook of North American Indians: Northeast. edn. Edited by Trigger BG. Washington: Smithsonian Institution; 1978: 296-300.
13. Speck FG, Dexter RW: Utilization of animals and plants by the Micmac Indians of New Brunswick. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 1951, 41(8):250-259.
14. Ross JA: Spokane. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 12: Plateau. edn. Edited by Walker DE, Jr. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1998: 271-282.
15. Stoddard NB: Micmac Foods, vol. re-printed from the Journal of Education February 1966. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Halifax Natural Science Museum; 1970.
16. Speck FG, Hassrick RB, Carpenter ES: Rappahannock Taking Devices: Traps, Hunting and Fishing. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Anthropological Society; 1946.
17. Waugh FW: Iroquois Foods and Food Preparation, vol. No. 12; Anthropological Series. Ottawa: Government Printing Bureau; 1916.
18. Waugh FW. In: Iroquois Foods and Food Preparation. edn. Ottawa: Department of Mines. Government Printing Bureau; 1973.
19. Wallis WD, Wallis RS: The Malecite Indians of New Brunswick. Ottawa: National Musem of Canada; The Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources; 1957.
20. Tuck JA: Onondaga Iroquois PreHistory: A Study in Settlement Archaeology, vol. 1st edition. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press; 1971.
21. Ellis DW, Swan L: Teachings of The Tides: Uses of Marine Invertebrates By The Manhousat People, vol. 1st edition. Nanaimo, B.C.: Theytus Books Ltd.; 1981.
22. Speck FG, Dexter RW: Utilization of marine life by the Wampanoag Indians of Massachusetts. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 1948, 38(8):257-265.
Turtles General
Turtles are all members of an ancient group of reptiles, which evolved separately from crocodiles, snakes, and lizards. Their main unique characteristic is their hard carapace, which fully encloses their body. Around 210 million year ago, turtles differentiated into two groups: those retracting their head along a horizontal plane and those retracting their head along a vertical plane, represented by most modern living species. Sea turtles soon differentiated from the latter group into several diverse families that once occupied all oceans of the world with their long paddle-like limbs, but that are now limited to only two families including 8 living species. Land turtles include the more ancient snapping turtles, resembling the primitive form with a thick ridged shell and an armoured tail, and the most modern and diversified pond turtles. In North America, sea turtles are represented by the leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) and the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), snapping turtles by the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina), and the pond turltes by the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta), the wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta), and the common map turtle (Graptemys geographica).
The common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) is the most abundant and most northern of the only two species of snapping turtles. It occurs in almost all aquatic habitats, as long as there is a muddy bottom to hide in, from south-eastern Canada to southern United States. They are a massive turtle, weighing around 35 kg, with a large head, robust and clawed limbs, long crocodile-like tail, and a powerful hooked upper jaw.
Pond turtles are part of the most modern and diversified family of turtles with the greatest number of species found in North America. They vary in size and shape and from fully aquatic to fully terrestrial. Most species, especially in northern part of their range, hibernate underwater buried into muddy bottoms. The most widely distributed North American pond turtle is the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta), occurring in still or slow-moving water with abundant aquatic vegetation across southern Canada and throughout most of United States. Painted turtles are medium-sized, rarely measuring more than 25 cm long, and are most often seen basking in the sun during the summer. They are easily recognizable from their colourful yellow and red markings on their head, neck, limbs, and carapace. The wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) is also a common North American pond turtle that can be found around clear shallow water, but also in forested and open grassy areas of north-eastern United States and south-eastern Canada. They are smaller than painted turtles, with a dome-shaped carapace measuring under 13 cm long, and are brownish with shades of yellow orange. The most aquatic form of pond turtles include the common map turtle (Graptemys geographica), which rarely leaves the water except for basking and nesting. Common map turtles occur from southern Quebec to central United States around large rivers and lakes. They can reach up to 30 cm long and are recognized by the fine pale lines on their neck and limbs closely resembling contour lines on a map.
The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) and the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) are two widely distributed sea turtles occurring along both North American coasts, but the former is most often found in open water, while the latter is closely associated with coastal waters. The leatherback sea turtle is the largest turtle of the world and can weigh close to 1000 kg. They have a unique carapace covered by a thin skin similar to fine leather, with seven pronounced ridges serving as keels, and a dark blue to almost black colour dotted with white spots. Their head is quite large and their upper jaw has two deep notches. Leatherbacks can dive up to 1000 m deep and are well-known for their excellent sense of orientation allowing them to travel across the globe and return to their natal beach to reproduce. The loggerhead sea turtle is much smaller, rarely weighing over to 250 kg, and is dark to orange brown with a yellow edge around the carapace. They have a very large head with a horny beak and very powerful jaws to crush the toughest large mollusc shell.
Reference
Bonin F, Deveaux B, Dupré A: Turtles of the world. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press; 2006.