Settlement, society, lifestyle
Archaeological evidence shows that the Aleut peoples once supported some of the largest hunter-gatherer sedentary settlements on earth. [4] Aleut populations consisted of a highly varied hunter-gatherer economy that was based upon the resources of the land and water. [4] Subsistence included a wide range of sea mammals including seal and walrus, along with the hunting of caribou and muskox and the gathering of wild vegetables. [4]
Within the Aleutian Islands, villages grew slowly for about 2000 years after 2500 BC, with numerous large settlements emerging during the first millennium. [5] It is not clear why there was such a growth but there is an apparent connection to this and the increase of marine life in the Pacific waters during the neoglacial cooling period. [5]
By 1100 AD the western Alaskan Peninsula and the adjacent islands had eight to ten massive settlements and many smaller that supported as many as 7,000 to 12,000 people. [5]
Settlements consisted of up to 250 semi-subterranean winter houses as well as summer residences and storage areas. [6] Winter houses were constructed to be eighteen inches into the ground in order to aid in the protection of blowing wind and rain along with the maintenance of a constant temperature. [6] The frames of these houses were made of either driftwood or whalebone and covered in a layer of sod or peat. [6] The entrance was on the roof of the structure with a hole and ladder leading into the interior. The houses ranged in size (some up to fifty meters long) and housed 30-60 members of an extended family. [6] There were other smaller areas that were used as seasonal or special task sites that were used for shorter periods of time in comparison to the more sedentary housing. [6]
Large settlements were located next to rivers and streams that provided subsistence such and salmon and other marine organisms. [4] Long-distance trade and travel was apparent which linked Aleutian communities located hundreds of miles away. [5] Societies became hierarchical with the presence of nobles (warriors or skilled hunters), a middle class, and slaves (prisoners or orphans). [7]
There were many beneficial attributes of living in large settlements. These attributes included protection against attack from other settlements, an increase in food storage and sharing in times of need, and overall social and economic support. [8]
Hunting in the marine environment consisted of the use of kayak style boats that were made of animal skins sewn around a flexible wooden frame. [8] Harpoons and darts along with compound fishhooks, atlatls, stone sinkers, digging and prying picks, and ropes were also used. [8]
Year round available animals for subsistence included sea lions, sea otters, harbor seals, cod, halibut, and marine invertebrates. [8] Migratory animals hunted included humpback and baleen whales, fur seals, salmon, and birds. [8] On the Islands themselves there was almost a total dependence upon the marine environment considering that the animal population consisted only of birds, lemmings, and fox. [9]
Food storage was moved from outside to inside houses during this tradition with the food storage areas being smaller chambers that led to a large central area through the use of passageways. [10] Food storage was critical in order to keep starvation at bay; such storage consisted of dried roots and berries, fish, and whales. [8]
The use of fire for cooking and warmth is apparent due to the presence and common occurrence of large and small oil lamps along with charred griddle stones (which aided in heating and cooking food) on archaeological sites. [11] Mammal oil was the fuel of choice due to the lack of a constant supply of wood on the Aleutian Islands. The Islands were treeless with the exemption of the farthest eastern end. [8]
Climate
It becomes apparent while reading the previous section that climate was a major defining factor within the Aleutian tradition. On the Aleutian Islands themselves people were subject to volcanic eruptions (there are at least 26 volcanoes present across the island chain), tremors, tsunamis, fog, and wind that caused constraints regarding settlement, travel, and hunting. [12]
Considering that climatic factors were completely governed by the sea; the Islands temperatures ranged from about ten degrees (Celsius) during the summer months and around zero (Celsius) degrees during winter. [13] Winds ranged from 25 to 35 kilometres per hour with 100 to 120 centimetres of rain per year. Fog was present, especially in July and August. Hypothermia and poor visibility are a result from this climate type. [13]
High marine productivity was evident due to nutrient upwelling. [10] This can be considered a factor that worked towards such high population settlements. [10] It is also important to remember that climatic conditions and natural events were not universal throughout the Island chain and if a disaster occurred it did not affect the entire population within this Tradition. [14]
Archaeological sites
The warm and volcanically dry conditions within the Aleutian Caves provided exceptional preservation conditions of archaeological remains. [15] Considering that dry areas prevent decay from water and destructive microorganisms are unable to flourish, “skin, hair, and nails can remain intact without any artificial mummification." [15] As such, the dead were naturally preserved. People could have also contributed to preservation by periodically drying the bodies by wiping and suspension over a fire, and in some cases the internal organs were removed and the body cavity was filled with dry grass. [15]
Anangula site
The earliest known occupation of the Aleutian Islands appears to be reflected on the Anangula site. [16] This site contained a strong prominence of chipped stone artifacts. [16] It reflected a core and flake tradition with bifacial projectile points, knives, and adze points. [16]
There are three hypothesis's regarding this site. The first supports the belief that the site represents an ancestral occupation dating back to 6000 BC. [16] The second hypothesis supports the belief that the present Aleut culture is a blend of Eskimo influences from the Alaska Peninsula and the older Anagula tradition. [16] The third states that the older Anagula tradition died out and was replaced around 2500 BC. The first and second imply an 8000-year racial and cultural continuum. [17]
Western Fox Islands, Rat Islands, and Umnak Island
Within these areas there is evidence of a long occupation period that lasted from 2000 BC to 1000 BC. [18] There is a presence of semi-subterranean dwellings that were lined with stone slabs and whalebones that also contained fire pits. Some stone paving was also apparent. Chipped stone projectile points used for hunting sea mammals were also present. [18]
Within the Nikoiski Bay Area that is located on the southwest side of Umnak Island there were established base and satellite camps along with collecting stations. Resource sites were used simultaneously it is obvious knowledge of location and methods and procedures to obtain resources were transmitted throughout generations. [19] This site was occupied for a period of 4000 years. [19]
Within the Chaluka area that is also located on Umnak Island bone artifacts such as fishhook shanks, spears, and two-piece sockets of whalebone were excavated and dated to about 946 BC. Between 1000 and 1500 AD slate implements came into use in Chaluka. [18] The basic lifeway remained similar with the same bone harpoon heads, spear points, chisels, awls, and ornaments used. [18]
Sheep Creek located northeast of the Nikoiski Bay Area contained successive bands of charcoal stained soil that dated to about 1342 BC. [19] Lithic and bone materials were also present. [19]
Among the Rat Islands people hunted large numbers of sea otters and harbor seals, some migratory whales and fur seals, fish, ducks, geese, sea birds, sea urchins, and limpets. [20] One house excavated on these islands was five by six meters and dated to about 1500 AD. A storage bench was found inside with a depressed sleeping area surrounding a central fire pit. [20]
Near Islands
The cave located on the Near Islands was first discovered in 1998 by the Western Aleutians Archaeological and Paleobiological Project team and permission was sought and given by The Aleut Corporation to begin excavation and documentation. [21] The cave itself is a result of natural fissures in volcanic rock going 48 meters into the hillside and measuring about five meters wide. [22] The entire cave was mapped using a two-meter grid with bird, mammal, and fish bones collected and tagged. Human burials were photographed and drawn and either left in or returned to their original areas. [22]
Human remains that were found represented three individuals that consisted of an elderly person, juvenile to young adult, and a very young child. The elderly individual had very worn teeth, suffered from arthritis, and the skull, mandible, pelvis, and most bones of legs and arms were absent. [23] There are three explanations for these missing bones the first that states that this area could have been a secondary burial site. [23] The second states that animal disturbance could be the reasoning for the missing bones and the third speaks of human disturbance. [23] The young adult was aged to be under 19 years of age, the teeth did not have much wear and the young child was aged to be between three and four years old. [23] There were also other human remains found that were not associated with either three of the burials. [23] It is apparent that the front of the cave was used continuously for a resting area when traveling and hunting and the rear is a burial site.
The only cultural artifact associated with the burials found was a small piece of red ochre. [24] All the other artifacts were associated with the sleeping and sitting areas of the cave. These artifacts included a net sinker that is a fishing tool commonly found on Aleutian sites, a barbed harpoon point, and four spoons made of cormorant breastbone. [25] Other artifacts that were associated with post Russian contact and military debris were also found and collected. [26]
Soil samples that were collected and tested showed the presence of roundworm and tapeworm eggs. [27] These parasites are usually transmitted to humans through sea lion flesh. [27]
Along with parasitic remains there was 127 bones identified as non-human. [27] Most of the bones found were Arctic foxes (73) and 36 were sea lions and harbor seals. [27] There were 1,061 bird remains found that consisted of 16 species. [27] There were 58 fish remains found with 79% of this number being Pacific cod. [28]
Aleuts are the Indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleuts and the islands are politically divided between the US state of Alaska and the Russian administrative division of Kamchatka Krai. This group is also known as the Unangax̂ in Unangam Tunuu, the Aleut language. There are 13 federally recognized Aleut tribes in the Aleut Region of Alaska. In 2000, Aleuts in Russia were recognized by government decree as a small-numbered Indigenous people.
Eskimo is an exonym that refers to two closely related Indigenous peoples: Inuit and the Yupik of eastern Siberia and Alaska. A related third group, the Aleut, who inhabit the Aleutian Islands, are generally excluded from the definition of Eskimo. The three groups share a relatively recent common ancestor, and speak related languages belonging to the family of Eskaleut languages.
Nikolski is a census-designated place (CDP) on Umnak Island in Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 39 at the 2020 census, up from 18 in 2010. Nikolski is on Nikolski Bay, off the southwest end of the island. It is 116 air miles west of Unalaska, and 900 air miles from Anchorage. Residents are known as Unangan, and Aleut is spoken in most of the remaining homes.
The Thule or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by the year 1000 and expanded eastward across northern Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people of the earlier Dorset culture that had previously inhabited the region. The appellation "Thule" originates from the location of Thule in northwest Greenland, facing Canada, where the archaeological remains of the people were first found at Comer's Midden.
The Paleo-Eskimo were the peoples who inhabited the Arctic region from Chukotka in present-day Russia across North America to Greenland prior to the arrival of the modern Inuit (Eskimo) and related cultures. The first known Paleo-Eskimo cultures developed by 2500 BCE, but were gradually displaced in most of the region, with the last one, the Dorset culture, disappearing around 1500 CE.
The Dorset was a Paleo-Eskimo culture, lasting from 500 BCE to between 1000 CE and 1500 CE, that followed the Pre-Dorset and preceded the Thule people (proto-Inuit) in the North American Arctic. The culture and people are named after Cape Dorset in Nunavut, Canada, where the first evidence of its existence was found. The culture has been defined as having four phases due to the distinct differences in the technologies relating to hunting and tool making. Artifacts include distinctive triangular end-blades, oil lamps made of soapstone, and burins.
Umnak is one of the Fox Islands of the Aleutian Islands. With 686.01 square miles (1,776.76 km2) of land area, it is the third largest island in the Aleutian archipelago and the 19th largest island in the United States. The island is home to a large volcanic caldera on Mount Okmok and the only field of geysers in Alaska. It is separated from Unalaska Island by Umnak Pass. In 2000, Umnak was permanently inhabited by only 39 people and by 2010, around 18, placing the settlement of Nikolski in difficulty and its school was closed.
Prehistoric Alaska begins with Paleolithic people moving into northwestern North America sometime between 40,000 and 15,000 years ago across the Bering Land Bridge in western Alaska; a date less than 20,000 years ago is most likely. They found their passage blocked by a huge sheet of ice until a temporary recession in the Wisconsin glaciation opened up an ice-free corridor through northwestern Canada, possibly allowing bands to fan out throughout the rest of the continent. Eventually, Alaska became populated by the Inuit and a variety of Native American groups. Trade with both Asia and southern tribes was active even before the advent of Europeans.
The Norton tradition is an archaeological culture that developed in the Western Arctic along the Alaskan shore of the Bering Strait around 1000 BC and lasted through about 800 AD. The Norton people used flake-stone tools like their predecessors, the Arctic small tool tradition, but they were more marine-oriented and brought new technologies such as oil-burning lamps and clay vessels into use.
The toggling harpoon is an ancient weapon and tool used in whaling to impale a whale when thrown. Unlike earlier harpoon versions which had only one point, a toggling harpoon has a two-part point. One half of the point is firmly attached to the thrusting base, while the other half of the point is fitted over this first point like a cap and attached to the rest of the point with sinew or another string-like material. When the harpoon is thrust into an animal, the top half of the point detaches and twists horizontally into the animal under the skin, allowing hunters to haul the animal to ship or shore. This harpoon technology lodges the toggling head of the harpoon underneath both the animal's skin and blubber, and instead lodges the point in the muscle, which also prevents the harpoon slipping out.
The Maritime Archaic is a North American cultural complex of the Late Archaic along the coast of Newfoundland, the Canadian Maritimes and northern New England. The Maritime Archaic began in approximately 7000 BC and lasted until approximately 3500 BC, corresponding with the arrival of the Paleo-Eskimo groups who may have outcompeted the Maritime Archaic for resources. The culture consisted of sea-mammal hunters in the subarctic who used wooden boats. Maritime Archaic sites have been found as far south as Maine and as far north as Labrador. Their settlements included longhouses, and boat-topped temporary or seasonal houses. They engaged in long-distance trade, as shown by white chert from northern Labrador being found as far south as Maine.
The Paleo-Arctic Tradition is the name given by archaeologists to the cultural tradition of the earliest well-documented human occupants of the North American Arctic, which date from the period 8000–5000 BC. The tradition covers Alaska and expands far into the east, west, and the Southwest Yukon Territory.
Based on archeological finds, Brooman Point Village is an abandoned village in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the central High Arctic near Brooman Point of the Gregory Peninsula, part of the eastern coast of Bathurst Island. Brooman was both a Late Dorset culture Paleo-Eskimo village as well as an Early Thule culture village. Both the artifacts and the architecture, specifically longhouses, are considered important historical remains of the two cultures. The site shows traces of Palaeo-Eskimo occupations between about 2000 BC and 1 AD, but the major prehistoric settlement occurred from about 900 to 1200 AD.
The Chaluka Site is a prehistoric archaeological site and National Historic Landmark in Nikolski, Alaska, on Umnak Island in the Aleutian Islands of southwestern Alaska. The site documents more than 4,000 years of more-or-less continuous occupation of the area now occupied by the modern village of Nikolski. The site includes a large midden, yielding much information about the origins of the Aleut people.
Adugak Island (also spelled Adougakh, possibly from Aleut: Adudak; is a small island in the Fox Islands group in the Aleutian Islands of southwestern Alaska. It is about 1.2 miles long and is located 5.0 miles off the northwest coast of Umnak Island.
Anangula Island is a small island in the Fox Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of southwestern Alaska. The 1.4-mile (2.3 km)-long island is separated from Umnak Island by a channel about 0.93 miles (1.50 km) wide and consists of a mostly barren tundra landscape of volcanic ash.
Port au Choix is a peninsula on the western coast of the island of Newfoundland, Canada. Discoveries as early as 1904 provide evidence that native peoples settled here, burials, structural remains, and artifacts such as points, tools, and bones of discarded food.
Herbert D. G. Maschner is an American anthropologist and academic administrator. His research interests include biocomplexity and sustainability in prehistoric human ecology, warfare and inequality in prehistory, the application of Darwinian theory and evolutionary psychology to archaeology, GIS in archaeology, isotope analysis and virtual museums and repositories.
Unangan hunting headgear are wooden hats associated with the Unangan or Unangas, the Indigenous peoples of what are currently known as the Aleutian Islands.
The Groswater culture was a Paleo-Eskimo culture that existed in Newfoundland and Labrador from 800 BC to 200 BC. The culture was of Arctic origin, and migrated south after the decline of the Maritime Archaic people following the 900 BC Iron Age Cold Epoch. It is believed to have been replaced by or developed into the Dorset culture around 2000 BP. It is named after Groswater Bay, a bay in central Labrador.