Arctic small tool tradition

Last updated

The Arctic Small Tool tradition (ASTt) was a broad cultural entity that developed along the Alaska Peninsula, around Bristol Bay, and on the eastern shores of the Bering Strait around 2500 BC. ASTt groups were the first human occupants of Arctic Canada and Greenland. This was a terrestrial entity that had a highly distinctive toolkit based on microblade technology. Typically tool types include scrapers, burins and side and end blades used in composite arrows or spears made of other materials, such as bone or antler. Many researchers also assume that it was Arctic Small Tool populations who first introduced the bow and arrow to the Arctic, that eventually became the Eskimo archery material culture. ASTt camps are often found along coasts and streams, to take advantage of seal or salmon populations. While some of the groups were fairly nomadic, more permanent, sod-roofed homes have also been identified from Arctic Small Tool tradition sites.

Contents

The Arctic Small Tool tradition includes a number of cultural groups, including the Denbigh Flint Complex in Alaska, the Pre-Dorset culture in Arctic Canada, Independence I culture in the High Arctic and Saqqaq culture in southern Greenland. The ASTt was followed by the Norton tradition in Alaska and the Dorset culture in Arctic Canada.

Siberian connections

According to Pavel Flegontov, ASTt may have originated in East Siberia about 5,000 years ago,

"Paleo-Eskimo archeological cultures are grouped under the Arctic Small Tool tradition (ASTt), and include the Denbigh, Choris, Norton, and Ipiutak cultures in Alaska, and the Saqqaq, Independence, Pre-Dorset, and Dorset cultures in the Canadian Arctic and Greenland. The ASTt source has been argued to lie in the Syalakh-Bel’kachi-Ymyakhtakh culture sequence of East Siberia, dated to 6,500 – 2,800 calBP." [1] [2]

The earliest form of the Norton tradition of Alaska is known as the Choris Stage (ca. 1600—500 BC). [3] The sites are mostly coastal and contain pottery similar to that of Siberia. This culture expanded as far as the Mackenzie River Delta and Banks Island. [3]

Genetic DNA studies also support the connections. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eskimo</span> Exonym used to describe Indigenous people from the circumpolar region

Eskimo is an exonym used to refer to two closely related Indigenous peoples: the Inuit and the Yupik of eastern Siberia and Alaska. A related third group, the Aleut, which 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 Eskaleut language family.

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 links between the Thule and the Inuit are biological, cultural, and linguistic.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorset culture</span> Paleo-Eskimo culture (500 BCE–1500 CE) that preceded the Inuit in the Arctic of North America

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saqqaq culture</span> Ancient people of Southern Greenland

The Saqqaq culture was a Paleo-Eskimo culture in southern Greenland. Up to this day, no other people seem to have lived in Greenland continually for as long as the Saqqaq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selkup people</span> Samoyedic ethnic group of northern Siberia

The Selkup, until the 1930s called Ostyak-Samoyeds (остяко-самоеды), are a Samoyedic speaking Uralic ethnic group native to Siberia. They live in the northern parts of Tomsk Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Krai and Tyumen Oblast.

The Early Paleo-Eskimo is the first of three distinct periods of human occupation recognized by archaeologists in the eastern North American Arctic, the others being the Late Paleo-Eskimo and the Thule. Dates for these occupations vary according to specific geographic region and cultural historical perspective, but it is generally agreed that the Early Paleo-Eskimo approximately spans the period from 4500 BP to 2800-2300 BP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dong Son culture</span> Archaeological culture of Vietnam

The Dong Son culture or the Lạc Việt culture was a Bronze Age culture in ancient Vietnam centred at the Red River Valley of northern Vietnam from 1000 BC until the first century AD. Vietnamese historians attribute the culture to the states of Văn Lang and Âu Lạc. Its influence spread to other parts of Southeast Asia, including Maritime Southeast Asia, from about 1000 BC to 1 BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independence I culture</span> Paleo-Eskimo culture of northern Greenland

Independence I was a culture of Paleo-Eskimos who lived in northern Greenland and the Canadian Arctic between 2400 and 1900 BC. There has been much debate among scholars on when Independence I culture disappeared, and, therefore, there is a margin of uncertainty with the dates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inuit art</span> Art created by Inuit of the Arctic

Inuit art, also known as Eskimo art, refers to artwork produced by Inuit, that is, the people of the Arctic previously known as Eskimos, a term that is now often considered offensive. Historically, their preferred medium was walrus ivory, but since the establishment of southern markets for Inuit art in 1945, prints and figurative works carved in relatively soft stone such as soapstone, serpentinite, or argillite have also become popular.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circumpolar peoples</span> Term for Indigenous peoples of the Arctic

Circumpolar peoples and Arctic peoples are umbrella terms for the various Indigenous peoples of the Arctic.

The Pre-Dorset is a loosely defined term for a Paleo-Eskimo culture or group of cultures that existed in the Eastern Canadian Arctic from c. 3200 to 850 cal BC, and preceded the Dorset culture.

Nipisat Island is a small, uninhabited island in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afontova Gora</span> Complex of archaeological sites in Siberia

Afontova Gora is a Late Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic Siberian complex of archaeological sites located on the left bank of the Yenisei River near the city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Afontova Gora has cultural and genetic links to the people from Mal'ta-Buret'. The complex was first excavated in 1884 by Ivan Savenkov.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ymyyakhtakh culture</span>

The Ymyyakhtakh culture was a Late Neolithic culture of Siberia, with a very large archaeological horizon, dating to c. 2200–1300 BC. Its origins seem to be in the Lena river basin of Yakutia, and also along the Yenisei river. From there it spread to the east and west. Individual sites were also found in Taymyr.

Mán Bạc is a Neolithic archaeological site located in Yên Mô District, Ninh Bình Province, Vietnam, dated from around 1,850–1,650 BC. Mán Bạc is associated with the Phùng Nguyên culture. With 95 burials found at the site, Mán Bạc is the largest and most intact site associated with the Phùng Nguyên culture, surpassing the site at Lung Hoa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeniseian people</span>

The Yeniseian people are a Siberian population that speaks Yeniseian languages. Despite evidence pointing to the historical presence of Yeniseian populations throughout Central Siberia and Northern Mongolia, only the Ket people survive today. The modern Kets live along the eastern middle stretch of the Yenisei River in Northern Siberia. According to the 2010 census, there were 1,220 Kets in Russia.

Syalakh culture is an early Neolithic culture of Yakutia and Eastern Siberia. It formed in the middle Lena river basin in the V — IV millenniums BCE as a result of the migration of tribes from Transbaikalia, which assimilated the local Sumnagin culture that was preceramic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Groswater culture</span> Archaeological culture of Canada

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.

References

  1. ↑ Flegontov, Pavel; Altinişik, N. Ezgi; Changmai, Piya; Rohland, Nadin; Mallick, Swapan; et al. (2017-10-13). "Paleo-Eskimo genetic legacy across North America". bioRxiv   10.1101/203018 .
  2. ↑ Flegontov, Pavel; Altınışık, N. Ezgi; Changmai, Piya; Rohland, Nadin; Mallick, Swapan; Adamski, Nicole; Bolnick, Deborah A.; Broomandkhoshbacht, Nasreen; Candilio, Francesca; Culleton, Brendan J.; Flegontova, Olga; Friesen, T. Max; Jeong, Choongwon; Harper, Thomas K.; Keating, Denise; Kennett, Douglas J.; Kim, Alexander M.; Lamnidis, Thiseas C.; Lawson, Ann Marie; Olalde, Iñigo; Oppenheimer, Jonas; Potter, Ben A.; Raff, Jennifer; Sattler, Robert A.; Skoglund, Pontus; Stewardson, Kristin; Vajda, Edward J.; Vasilyev, Sergey; Veselovskaya, Elizaveta; Hayes, M. Geoffrey; O’Rourke, Dennis H.; Krause, Johannes; Pinhasi, Ron; Reich, David; Schiffels, Stephan (2019). "Palaeo-Eskimo genetic ancestry and the peopling of Chukotka and North America" (PDF). Nature. 570 (7760): 236–240. Bibcode:2019Natur.570..236F. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1251-y. ISSN   0028-0836. PMC   6942545 . PMID   31168094.
  3. 1 2 Stern, Pamela (2009). The A to Z of the Inuit. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. p. 42. ISBN   978-0-8108-6822-9.
  4. ↑ Flegontov, Pavel; Altınışık, N. Ezgi; Changmai, Piya; Rohland, Nadin; Mallick, Swapan; Adamski, Nicole; Bolnick, Deborah A.; Broomandkhoshbacht, Nasreen; Candilio, Francesca; Culleton, Brendan J.; Flegontova, Olga; Friesen, T. Max; Jeong, Choongwon; Harper, Thomas K.; Keating, Denise; Kennett, Douglas J.; Kim, Alexander M.; Lamnidis, Thiseas C.; Lawson, Ann Marie; Olalde, Iñigo; Oppenheimer, Jonas; Potter, Ben A.; Raff, Jennifer; Sattler, Robert A.; Skoglund, Pontus; Stewardson, Kristin; Vajda, Edward J.; Vasilyev, Sergey; Veselovskaya, Elizaveta; Hayes, M. Geoffrey; O’Rourke, Dennis H.; Krause, Johannes; Pinhasi, Ron; Reich, David; Schiffels, Stephan (2019). "Palaeo-Eskimo genetic ancestry and the peopling of Chukotka and North America" (PDF). Nature. 570 (7760): 236–240. Bibcode:2019Natur.570..236F. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1251-y. ISSN   0028-0836. PMC   6942545 . PMID   31168094.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.