Groundhog Bones

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if… oh, well, you know how it goes!

Groundhogs (Marmota monax), also known as woodchucks, groundpigs, land beavers, whistle-pigs, thickwood badgers, red monks, and weenusks, to name a few, are extremely intelligent large rodents. The common name “woodchuck” is misleading, as their behavior is centered on digging complex burrows underground rather than manipulating wood or trees. This name originally came from the Algonquian word for groundhogs, wuchak.

Archaeologically, groundhog remains are found in early-fort period contexts, which tells us that they were on Jamestown Island when the colonists arrived. Like other native animals, such as beavers, otters, possums, and raccoons, groundhogs likely became a food source for the colonists during Jamestown’s earliest years, particularly during the Starving Time. Groundhog bones are found about as often as beavers and possums, making them fairly common finds.

Groundhogs are still seen all over Jamestown Island today, often with younger groundhogs following behind. This is evidence of their complex social behaviors that include communicating through whistling, working together to dig their intricate burrows, and establishing kinship with their offspring, also known as chucklings. For our archaeologists, groundhogs can be a bit of a nuisance, as their burrowing can unintentionally disturb archaeological contexts and artifacts.

Today, most people associate groundhogs with Groundhog Day. This tradition, which occurs every year in the US and Canada on February 2nd, stems from German weather lore brought by immigrants in the mid to late 1800s. The tradition states that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow and sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If it doesn’t see its shadow, spring will come early. Shockingly, modern studies have not found any correlation between a groundhog seeing its shadow and longer periods of cold weather.