JAMESTOWN, Virginia Piliot — Early American colonists at Jamestown butchered and ate indigenous dogs as well as the dogs they brought with them from England when food was scarce.
Historic records, archaeological work and recent research reveal that dogs were eaten during the “Starving Time,” the winter of 1609-1610 when hundreds of colonists died at the first permanent settlement in North America.
Matthew E. Hill Jr., a professor at the University of Iowa, said studies within the past year indicate “it is not surprising that the colonists frequently turned to dogs as a source of food” when their supplies ran low.
“We’re not saying that dogs were a staple in the colonists’ diet, but rather were consumed during times of great stress when they were facing food shortages. Dogs were also consumed in England,” he explained.
Earlier in 1585 at another English colony in Roanoke Island, North Carolina, Governor Ralph Lane reported a party that was “sent out to find much needed supplies ate their two mastiffs when they found themselves some distance from the colony with insufficient provisions,” he added. “However, there is no evidence of Native Americans eating dogs.”

Most recently, researchers at Iowa, with the assistance of archaeologists, curators and staff at Preservation Virginia’s Jamestown Rediscovery project, have been looking at the size and genetic makeup of the Jamestown dogs, both English/European and indigenous.
“I was scouring research on when the earliest European dogs were imported because most Native American dog populations appear to have been replaced by European dog lineages,” she said. “Since Jamestown was the first (permanent) English colony, it became the obvious choice to see early dog bones.”
Over the years, archaeologists had uncovered dog bones that were available for analysis, said Leah Stricker, senior curator at Preservation Virginia.
“We were surprised at Iowa’s interest and pleased with the opportunity to work with them” utilizing the advanced technology that now is available, Stricker said. One of the most interesting aspects was finding dog bones with “butchering” marks, which physically corroborates historical accounts 400 years ago of colonists having to consume dogs, she said.
Researchers were able to get DNA, both high- and low-quality, from the remains of 20 dogs, Thomas said.
“We found that the dogs were predominately of Indigenous ancestry with some also European ancestry,” Thomas said. In other words, from dogs that were brought to the colony from England.
“We know for fact that a white greyhound was presented to Chief Powhatan (Wahunsenacawh) by John Smith and Capt. Christopher Newport,” said Thomas, who now is doing post-doctoral research work for the National Institute of Health. The relationship between the indigenous dogs and English and/or European dogs “is complicated and still needs work,” Hill added.
Researchers found that the indigenous dogs were smaller than those brought from England. “Basically about 35 pounds and 15 inches in height at the shoulder,” Hill said. “The gross body size is equivalent to a beagle or springer spaniel and has often been described as being about the size of an English fox.”
Bones found also indicate there was a smaller number of dogs brought from England to Jamestown in the 50-70 pound range, 22-30 inches at the shoulder — the size of bloodhounds and shepherds. “That fits with the historical accounts,” Hill added.
The Iowa researchers, with help from Jamestown staffers, want to further study “how humans treated dogs in the early days in and around the fort,” Hill said. Research has indicated that indigenous dogs were used in various ways by Native Americans, such as alerting villages of visitors, being used to hunt turkeys and other birds and to herd large game into traps, Hill and Thomas wrote in the International Journal of Historical Archaeology.
Colonists’ dogs — those brought with them from England/Europe — helped in performing daily tasks such as catching pests, herding livestock, guarding camps and killing animals such as deer.
The Iowa team of Hill and Thomas and other researchers still plan to eventually look at dogs in the later years of the Jamestown Colony, in the mid-1600s. They want to examine the genetic components of dogs then as European breeds intermated with indigenous dogs.
Hill said they are hoping to obtain grants from the University of Iowa to do future work, and he plans to visit Jamestown this summer for more on-site examinations.
“Jamestown folk have been unbelievably helpful in our work,” Hill said. “It could not have happened without them, especially making the materials — the dog bones — accessible. They are so supportive.”
In retrospect, Stricker said, “We may never know the true answer regarding the colonists’ consumption of dogs. We do know dogs were consumed during the Starving Time and that dogs were consumed in Europe.
“Foods we would shy away from today weren’t unusual 400 years ago. This is definitely not the end. Research will be ongoing for many, many years to come.”
Original Story by Wilford Kale, kalehouse@aol.com, Virginia Pilot.
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