13 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

New Study Reveals That the First English Settlers in North America Ate Dogs to Survive

The first English settlers to arrive in North America ate indigenous dogs to survive an extreme period of starvation, according to a new study.

A famine at Jamestown may have resulted from the consumption of dogs with Indigenous ancestry, according to new research that challenges previous historical narratives and reveals intricate relationships between early European colonists and Indigenous communities.

Researchers at the University of Iowa discovered that six dogs from the Virginia Company Period in Jamestown—the first permanent English settlement in North America—possessed Indigenous ancestry and were eaten by the settlers.

The study was published on May 22 in American Antiquity by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Society for American Archaeology.

Researchers now have a different perspective on how Indigenous communities in this era dealt with the emergence of colonial powers as a result of this discovery. The new study also suggests that early European colonists depended on local Indigenous communities for their very survival, especially during the initial settlement period.

In the study, scientists analyzed genetic material from archaeological specimens of dogs that lived in Jamestown between 1609 and 1617 AD. At least six of the Jamestown dogs that were analyzed had unambiguous evidence of Native American ancestry. These dogs shared mitogenomic similarities with Hopewellian, Mississippian, and Late Woodland period dogs from eastern North America.

Map of butchery and impact marks across dog skeletons. Image Credit: American Antiquity (2024)
Map of butchery and impact marks across dog skeletons. Image Credit: American Antiquity (2024)

The researchers also found that the six dogs were consumed by the residents at Jamestown. These results indicate the existence of intricate factors that contributed to the dogs’ existence in the Fort and the consumption of Indigenous dogs by Jamestown’s residents before, during, and following the Starving Time.

Archaeologists said the practice was not uncommon at the time.

‘Although the consumption of dog flesh in modern Western societies is considered taboo, there is a long history of eating dogs during periods of stress in England and other parts of Europe,’ they wrote.

Towards the end of the first year of settlement in the Jamestown area, about two-thirds of the original settlers had perished, succumbing to disease, malnutrition, or violence.

This led to the colony being nearly abandoned in the spring of 1610 after a harsh winter characterized by “violence with neighboring tribes, drought, poor harvests, lack of supplies, and severe starvation known as the Starving Time,” scientists said.

The genetic analyses of archaeological dogs also reveal insights into the social entanglement between colonizers and Indigenous communities. Dogs reflected the complex and quickly shifting social landscapes of this era by serving as a bridge and source of conflict between European and Indigenous cultures.

American Antiquity

DOI: 10.1017/aaq.2024.25

Cover Photo: Historic Jamestowne

Related Articles

Zeugma of the Black Sea to be will Restore

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

Hadrianaupolis Antique City is located 3 km west of Eskiyapar district of Karabük. This ancient city has been known as...

“Important discovery” showing that the Hittite city of Büklükale close ties with the Hurrian society

21 October 2022

21 October 2022

According to Japanese archaeologists, an ancient clay tablet discovered at the Büklükale ruins in central Turkey suggests that a little-known...

15 new sculptures discovered in Turkey’s sculpture paradise Yesemek

8 December 2021

8 December 2021

Archaeologists discovered 15 new sculptures during recent digs around the Yesemek Open Air Museum and Sculpture Workshop in the Islahiye...

A Baptismal Surprise: Triton Baths in Southeastern Rome Converted into Early Christian Church

7 May 2025

7 May 2025

Recent archaeological excavations within the monumental complex of the Villa di Sette Bassi, situated in the southeastern outskirts of Rome,...

Three-Year-Old Discovers 3,800-Year-Old Canaanite Seal at Archaeological Site of Tel Azekah

2 April 2025

2 April 2025

At the site of the famous battle between David and Goliath, a three-year-old girl named Ziv Nitzan discovered a scarab-shaped...

The oldest meerschaum artifact found in Anatolia; of Çavlum Seal

18 July 2021

18 July 2021

The stamp seal unearthed during the rescue excavations of Çavlum Village on the Eskişehir Alpu Plain is the oldest meerschaum...

Archaeological excavations started again after 50 years in Tunceli Tozkoparan mound

28 June 2021

28 June 2021

Archaeological excavations at the Tozkoparan Mound in Turkey’s Tunceli province are anticipated to turn the city into one of eastern...

Phrygian Royal Tomb Unearthed in Ancient City of Gordion, Türkiye: A Landmark Discovery

4 June 2025

4 June 2025

In a major archaeological breakthrough, Turkey’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, announced the discovery of a wooden...

Archaeologists Uncover 8 Graves Dated 6,500 Years Ago in Lausanne, Swiss

30 October 2021

30 October 2021

Archaeologists have unearthed eight prehistoric tombs between 5,500 and 6,500 years old in the Swiss town of Pully. The site...

One of the oldest known mosques in the world uncovered in Israel

23 June 2022

23 June 2022

A team of Israeli archaeologists has discovered what is one of the oldest known mosques in the world. Israeli archaeologists...

Spanish Water Worker discovered 2,500-Year-Old two Gold Necklaces

14 September 2023

14 September 2023

A worker at a local water company in Spain discovered two gold necklaces thought to date back 2,500 years. Sergio...

Luxurious Feather Beds of Iron Age Warriors

27 March 2021

27 March 2021

According to a new study, two warriors from the 7th century in Sweden were buried in graves where they were...

3,000-Year-Old Lost Anatolian language ‘Kalašma’ deciphered

5 July 2024

5 July 2024

In 2023 excavation site at the foot of Ambarlikaya in Boğazköy-Hattusha in Turkey, a cuneiform tablet with a previously unknown...

The Oldest Semicircular Classroom in the Greek World Unearthed in Sicily

21 April 2025

21 April 2025

In a remarkable archaeological breakthrough in southern Sicily, an international team of researchers has uncovered an extraordinary ancient classroom that...

Unique and very well-preserved prehistoric engravings found in southwestern Catalonia

23 March 2023

23 March 2023

Significant prehistoric rock art has been discovered in La Febro, in southwestern Catalonia. The team that discovered the art inside...