ARCHAEOFAUNAL REPRESENTATION OF LATE WESTERN THULE REGIONALIZATION: INSIGHTS FROM THE SNAKE RIVER SANDSPIT SITE IN NOME, ALASKA A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Anchorage in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS By Kelly Anne Eldridge, B.A. Anchorage, Alaska August 2012
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ARCHAEOFAUNAL REPRESENTATION OF LATE WESTERN THULE
REGIONALIZATION: INSIGHTS FROM THE SNAKE RIVER
SANDSPIT SITE IN NOME, ALASKA
A
THESIS
Presented to the Faculty
of the University of Alaska Anchorage
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
By
Kelly Anne Eldridge, B.A.
Anchorage, Alaska
August 2012
iii
Abstract
This thesis explores the connection between Western Thule regionalization and
historic Iñupiat socioterritories on the Seward Peninsula by comparing archaeofaunal
assemblages to territory-specific subsistence patterns. A faunal analysis of the Snake
River Sandspit site (NOM-146) in Nome, Alaska, and published faunal analyses of 15
additional Western Thule sites are used to test the antiquity of historic Iñupiat
socioterritorial subsistence patterns. In general, results indicate that regional subsistence
practices linked with territorial boundaries on the Seward Peninsula have changed little
since Western Thule occupation.
iv
Table of Contents
Page
Title Page ............................................................................................................................. i
Signature Page .................................................................................................................... ii
Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iv
List of Figures .................................................................................................................... xi
List of Tables ................................................................................................................... xiv
Acknowledgments............................................................................................................ xvi
Figure 2.1: Location of 19th century villages identified by Ray (1964, 1975) and traditional Iñupiat territories 17 Figure 3.1: Location of Nome on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska 22 Figure 4.1: Profile of House A 43 Figure 4.2: Plan view of House B, NOM-146(b) 44 Figure 4.3: Photograph of House B profile 45 Figure 4.4: Plan view of the midden, NOM-146(c) 46 Figure 4.5: Calendrical date ranges of radiocarbon samples from NOM-146 47 Figure 4.6: Ivory Harpoon from NOM-146(c) [2006.001.00293] 54 Figure 4.7: Ivory Harpoon from NOM-146(c) [2006.001.00671] 54 Figure 4.8: Ivory Harpoon from NOM-146(b) [2006.001.00088] 55 Figure 4.9: Ivory Fishing Lure from NOM-146(c) [2006.001.00303] 56 Figure 4.10: Striated potsherd with pie-crust rim from NOM-146(c) [2006.001.00378] 57 Figure 4.11: Pottery vessel from NOM-146(c) [2006.001.00304] 57 Figure 4.12: Seal figurine from NOM-146(c) [2006.001.00310] 59 Figure 4.13: Ivory Human Figurine from NOM-146(b) [2006.001.00022] 59 Figure 6.1: Percentages of Number of Identified Specimens from NOM-146 69 Figure 6.2: Compilation of cutmarks from 12 right ringed seal mandibles 91 Figure 6.3: Bird presence on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska 97 Figure 6.4: Possible ages (in months) of skeletal elements indicative of yearling status 98
xii
Page Figure 6.5: Small ice seal femora. Ages from left to right: neonate, yearling, yearling, yearling, juvenile, adult, adult 99 Figure 6.6: Small ice seal humeri. From left to right: neonate, yearling, yearling, yearling, juvenile, adult 99 Figure 6.7: Presence of mammal neonates on the Seward Peninsula 100 Figure 6.8: Possible ages (in months) of certain caribou skeletal elements 101 Figure 6.9: Tundra hare epiphyseal fusion sequence elements 103 Figure 7.1: Location of Western Thule sites on the Seward Peninsula used in intersite comparisons 111 Figure 7.2: Composition of NOM-146 archaeofauna; NISP=5,605 (unidentified remains not included) 130 Figure 7.3: Composition of KTZ-300 archaeofauna; NISP=2,230 (unidentified remains not included) 131 Figure 7.4: Composition of KTZ-301 archaeofauna; NISP=731 (unidentified remains not included) 131 Figure 7.5: Composition of KTZ-145 archaeofauna; NISP=2,765 (unidentified remains not included) 132 Figure 7.6: Composition of TEL-155 archaeofauna; NISP=9,784 (unidentified remains not included) 133 Figure 7.7: Composition of TEL-079 archaeofauna; NISP=8,910 (unidentified remains not included) 133 Figure 7.8: Composition of KTZ-101 archaeofauna; NISP=421 (mammoth and unidentified remains not included) 134 Figure 7.9: Composition of KTZ-087 archaeofauna; NISP=412 (mammoth and unidentified remains not included) 134
xiii
Page Figure 7.10: Composition of TEL-025 archaeofauna; NISP=335 (unidentified remains not included) 135 Figure 7.11: Composition of TEL-026 archaeofauna; NISP=12,665 (unidentified remains not included) 135 Figure 7.12: Composition of NOM-009 archaeofauna; NISP=1,133 (unidentified remains not included) 136 Figure 7.13: Composition of TEL-104 archaeofauna; NISP=316 (unidentified remains not included) 136 Figure 7.14: Composition of KTZ-088 archaeofauna excavated in 2010; NISP=4,209 (unidentified remains not included) 137 Figure 7.15: Composition of KTZ-088 archaeofauna excavated in 1988; NISP=1,124 (mammoth and unidentified remains not included) 137 Figure 7.16: Composition of BEN-053 archaeofauna; NISP=512 (unidentified remains not included) 138 Figure 7.17: Composition of BEN-106 archaeofauna; NISP=390 (unidentified remains not included) 139 Figure 7.18: Composition of BEN-033 archaeofauna; NISP=2740 (unidentified remains not included) 139 Figure 8.1: Location of comparative Western Thule sites and traditional Iñupiaq territories 142
xiv
List of Tables
Page
Table 3.2: Modern marine mammals of the Seward Peninsula. 25
Table 3.3: Most common birds of the Seward Peninsula 26
Table 3.4: Most common overwintering birds of the Seward Peninsula 27
Table 3.5: Important subsistence fishes near Cape Nome and Safety Sound 28
Table 4.1: Number of artifacts from NOM-146 48
Table 4.2: Personal adornment, ceremonial and warfare artifacts from NOM-146 49
Table 4.3: Household equipment, tools, and transportation artifacts from NOM-146 50
Table 4.4: Fishing and hunting artifacts from NOM-146 51
Table 4.5: Manufacturing and unidentified artifacts from NOM-146 52
Table 6.1: Number of vertebrate fauna from NOM-146 69
Table 6.2: Bird remains from NOM-146 70
Table 6.3: Terrestrial mammal remains from NOM-146 77
Table 6.4: Age categories of NOM-146 non-canid land mammal remains 78
Table 6.5: Age categories of NOM-146 canid remains 78
Table 6.6: Marine mammal remains from NOM-146 83
Table 6.7: Age categories of NOM-146 pinniped remains 84
Table 6.8: Fish remains from NOM-146 88
Table 6.9: NISP and %NISP of NOM-146 faunal remains with cutmarks 90
Table 6.10: NISP and %NISP of NOM-146 faunal remains with gnawmarks 92
xv
Page Table 6.11: NISP and %NISP of burned NOM-146 faunal remains 93
Table 6.12: NISP and %NISP of vertebrate taxa most common in House B 94
Table 6.13: NISP and %NISP of vertebrate taxa most common in the midden 95
large, MNI calculations tend to exaggerate the dietary importance of rare taxa. The most
serious disadvantage to the MNI technique, however, is aggregation, which can reduce
the MNI of an assemblage (Grayson and Frey 2004:40; Lyman 2008). Aggregation
occurs when multiple assemblages from within one site are combined.
When considering quantification, it is important to emphasize that archaeofauna
are only proxy indicators of past economic conditions. Research has demonstrated that
the overall patterns that can be obtained from the faunal remains are more significant and
useful than the exact number of NISP or MNI calculated from a single analytical unit.
The “particular method of quantification employed in this search for patterns appears to
be less important than other characteristics of the archaeofaunas under study” (Amorosi
et al. 1996:139).
Ageing. Ascertaining the age at which animals are harvested is significant for the
reconstruction of human cultural patterns (Storå 2000:200; Twiss 2008:329). In animals
with determinate growth patterns, age at death is commonly estimated by the analysis of
dental cementum increments, the eruption and attrition of teeth, and epiphyseal and
cranial fusion (Storå 2000:200).
In all mammals, teeth erupt through the alveolar bone of the maxilla or mandible
in a species-specific sequenced rate. These rates have been calculated for multiple
species by biologists, zooarchaeologists, and veterinarians, among others. For example,
dental eruption can be used for determining age at death until all of an individual’s teeth
are erupted. Age can also be estimated by examining the attrition of the teeth, usually by
14
measuring molar crown height (Greenfield and Arnold 2008:837-838). It is important to
note, however, that age estimates based on tooth eruption or attrition can be affected by
the animal’s age, sex, and diet (Pike-Tay and Cosgrove 2002:117).
In a fashion similar to dental eruption, the fusion of the epiphysis to the diaphysis
of the long bones occurs at a rate specific to skeletal element and species. As an animal
matures, its epiphyses (usually located at the ends of bones) fuse to the corresponding
diaphyses. Juvenile animals have unfused epiphyses, while older juveniles and young
adults are represented by varying stages of fusion (Purdue 1983:1207). However, fusion
timing is affected by the sex of the animal and nutrition (Popkin et al. 2012:1791).
Increased sculpting of the bone surface also occurs as an animal ages. This sculpting can
involve the ossification of ligaments and tendons, an increase in the size and definition of
muscle attachments, and the formation of osteoarthritis (Greer and Gillingham 1977:43).
Age classes can be created based on sets of these criteria.
Season of Site Occupation. The identification of archaeofaunal taphonomy,
taxa, and age at death can assist in determining the season of occupation at an
archaeological site (Monks 1981; Pike-Tay and Cosgrove 2002). The two most common
methods of interpreting seasonality with faunal remains are based on species
presence/absence and physiological events (Monks 1981; Pike-Tay and Cosgrove 2002).
The presence/absence method is based simply on the acknowledgement that many
animal species are most accessible in a given area during certain times of the year.
Migratory species, for example many birds and fish, provide the clearest interpretation. It
15
is important to note, however, that the absence of a species in the archaeological record
does not necessarily mean that it was not present; it may also indicate that it was either 1)
not used or rarely used by that particular culture as a resource, or 2) its skeletal remains
were deposited elsewhere (Monks 1981:180-185; Pike-Tay and Cosgrove 2002:104).
The use of physiological events for determination of season of occupation,
involves ascertaining the age at death for the individual animals represented by the faunal
remains (Monks 1981:185-193). This involves determining the age of death for young
animals through epiphyseal fusion and dental studies as mentioned above, and combining
that known age with the probable date of birth (Monks 1981:190; Pike-Tay and Cosgrove
2002:107). Season of death can be ascertained from physical indicators such as the
timing of antler growth and shedding, seasonal osteoporosis (Monks 1981:191; Pike-Tay
and Cosgrove 2002:107) and the presence of medullary bone in birds (Monks 1981:193).
Other methods of analysis include skeletochronology (examining incremental
growth in structures of mollusks and fish, and adhesion lines or Harris lines in
mammals); the analysis of seasonal sex and/or age variations in a population
composition; and stable isotope analysis (Monks 1981:193-215; Pike-Tay and Cosgrove
2002:105-109). Additionally, there are indirect methods for estimating season of site
occupation that do not involve archaeofauna, such as matrix granulometry,
paleoethnobotany (e.g., coprolite analysis), settlement pattern studies, and the functional
analysis of tools (Monks 1981:218; Pike-Tay and Cosgrove 2002:103).
16
Socioterritorial Subsistence Patterns
The traditional boundaries of the Iñupiaq tribes on the Seward Peninsula have
been studied by Dorothy Jean Ray (1964, 1967, 1975) and Ernest “Tiger” Burch, Jr.
(1980, 1988, 1998, 2006). The Iñupiaq tribes of the Seward Peninsula have occupied
their territories since at least the early eighteenth century (Ray 1964:86). The antiquity of
the Iñupiaq tribal nations is unknown; some believe that a regional system of tribal
nations has existed in northwest Alaska for over 1,000 years (Burch 1998:317).
Ray (1964:62) has identified three primary subsistence patterns on the Seward
Peninsula. The whaling pattern focused on whales, but walrus, seal, and fish are also
important (later, Ray [1975:104] changed the name of this pattern to “whaling-walrus”).
The small sea mammal pattern concentrated on seal and beluga, but also incorporated
fish and caribou. Caribou are the most important game species in the caribou hunting
pattern, but fish, seal, and beluga are also notable (Ray 1964:62).
Ray (1964:71, 1975:104) classified the large historic villages on the Seward
Peninsula by their subsistence pattern (Figure 2.1). Most coastal villages followed the
small sea mammal pattern (Cape Espenberg, Shishmaref, Port Clarence, Teller, Cape
Nome, Fish River, Golovin Bay, and Atnuk), while a few adhered to the whaling pattern
(Wales, King Island and Sledge Island). The caribou hunting pattern was followed at
Buckland, Candle, Deering, Kauwerak, Goodhope, and Koyuk.
17
Figure 2.1: Location of nineteenth century villages identified by Ray (1964, 1975) and traditional Iñupiat territories. Map based on Grover (2005) and Schaaf (1995).
Ray (1964:85) stressed that subsistence patterns were not associated with tribal
divisions. However, Burch (1980:275) found that each tribal territory was its own
“ecological zone” with a unique resource base and distinct annual subsistence cycle.
Although common elements existed, the annual subsistence cycle of each tribal nation
within its boundary was distinct (Burch 2006:32). Following Burch’s suggestion that
territorial boundaries encompassed distinctive ecoregions, we can extrapolate Ray’s
identification of village subsistence patterns to the territory in which they exist. The only
territory this does not work well for is the Pittagmiut; although Deering and Goodhope
18
are identified as having followed the caribou hunting pattern, Cape Espenberg is
classified as following the small sea mammal pattern.
Keeping the Pittagmiut exception in mind, we associate the Tapqagmiut,
Singagmiut, Ayasaagiaagmiut, Igniqtagmiut, Igatuingmiut, and Atnegmiut with the small
sea mammal subsistence pattern. The Kingikmiut territory is associated with the whaling
pattern, and the Qaviaragmiut, Kuuyungmiut, and Kangigmiut territories are identified
with the caribou hunting pattern. Burch’s (2006:41-51) investigation of historic
subsistence cycles of the Kangigmiut (Kanigmiut), Pittagmiut, Tapqagmiut, and
Kingikmiut (Kinikmiut) territories support this interpretation. However, Ellanna
(1983:458) suggested that historically, within the Kingikmiut territory and at Wales in
particular, the walrus may have been as important a subsistence species as the whale.
If subsistence patterns are associated with territorial ecoregions, and the territorial
boundaries as they existed in the early nineteenth century represent regional tribal
territories established hundreds of years before the present, then a regional examination
of archaeofaunal assemblages recovered from Western Thule sites on the Seward
Peninsula should identify the same subsistence patterns historically associated with their
locations. Ray (1964:64) notes that in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
families and villages stuck to their traditional subsistence pattern despite famine, disease,
and Euroamerican influences. Therefore, it is possible that traditional subsistence
patterns were maintained from antiquity (i.e., precontact times).
19
Summary
Regional archaeology is a method-oriented perspective useful for answering a
variety of questions about contiguous regions. In this thesis, regions are equated with
traditional territories, defined by Burch (1980) as socio-territorial units and by Ray
(1967) as political units. The overlapping themes of human ecology, settlement patterns,
territorial polities, and culture history are examined here through the study of regional
subsistence patterns on the Seward Peninsula. In this thesis, Western Thule subsistence
practices are identified through zooarchaeological analysis and are compared to historic
socioterritorial subsistence patterns in order to test the hypothesis that historic Iñupiat
territories correspond to prehistoric regionalization.
20
Chapter Three: The Seward Peninsula
Physical Environment
Geography. The Snake River Sandspit site is in Nome, Alaska, on the
southwestern Bering Sea coast of the Seward Peninsula in northwest Alaska. The Seward
Peninsula is an ecoregion (Gallant et al. 1995; Nowacki et al. 2002) within the Western
subregion of Alaska (Armstrong 2010:8; MacDonald and Cook 2009:26). Originally
coined by Crowley in the 1960s, the term ecoregion refers to a “region of relative
homogeneity in ecological systems or in relationships between organisms and their
environments” (Gallant et al. 1989:1) which provides a “geographical framework in
which similar responses may be expected” (Bailey 1983:366). Their boundaries are
delineated “on the basis of detailed information about ecosystems at the site level, or by
analysis of the environmental factors that most probably acted as selective forces in
creating variation in ecosystems” (Bailey 1983:365).
The Seward Peninsula ecoregion has extensive, narrow coastal plains bordered by
low hills with high peaked mountains in the interior. Interior basins are drained by
streams through narrow canyons. Coastal lowlands are dotted with numerous thaw lakes
(Gallant et al. 1995:32). For the purposes of this thesis, the Seward Peninsula ecoregion
is identified as the mainland and nearshore islands west of the Buckland and Koyuk
rivers (after Kessel 1989:3). It is flanked on the southern and northern sides by Norton
and Kotzebue Sound. At Cape Prince of Wales, the Seward Peninsula is the most
westward-reaching point of mainland North America and is only about 88 km from Asia
21
(Ray 1975:4). Most of the examined archaeological sites occur in the sandy, coastal
lowlands interspersed with rocky headlands (Bockstoce 1979:9).
The city of Nome is on the subarctic sandy strand of the coastal lowlands.
Thousands of lakes and ponds occur on the flats to the east, interrupted by the headland
of Cape Nome which rises to an elevation of approximately 200 m only 24 km from the
city. About 50 km inland from the city are the 1,000 m-high Kigluaik Mountains
(Bockstoce 1979:11; Critchfield 1949:276; Ray 1975:6).
Nome is on Norton Sound, west of the delineation distinguishing the sound from
the Bering Sea (Figure 3.1). Norton Sound is a shallow body of water; its average depth
of 17 m gradually decreases until it reaches around 2 m in Norton Bay at the eastern end
of the Sound. The primary exception to this is a corridor of deep water (to 30 m in depth)
that parallels the coast until it ends near Safety Sound, about 35 km east of Nome
(Bockstoce 1979:9).
22
Figure 3.1: Location of Nome on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska.
Climate. Historical temperature records for Nome show an average July
temperature of 50°F and an average January temperature of 3°F (Critchfield 1949:276).
Relative humidity throughout the year hovers between 75 and 90 percent, with an annual
precipitation of approximately 50 cm (Bockstoce 1979:9; Critchfield 1949:276). Shore-
fast ice forms at the end of October and merges with pack ice during November, although
open water can still be regularly found during the winter around Sledge Island, about 24
km west of Nome. Pack ice usually disappears in June (Bockstoce 1979:13; Ray 1975:6-
23
7). During the ice-free period, driftwood from the Yukon River amasses on the beaches
of Norton Sound (Bockstoce 1979:9).
Vegetation. In the summer, boggy muskeg forms on top of the discontinuous
permafrost that underlies much of the Seward Peninsula. Tundra, often composed of
sedges, is common in areas of well-drained soil, while beach grasses grow on the active
sand beaches of the coasts (Bockstoce 1979:9; Critchfield 1949:276-277). More
specifically, low scrub and herbaceous (mostly tussock-forming) vegetation covers the
hills and lower mountain slopes. Tall scrub vegetation occurs along streams and
floodplains. Common species include dwarf Arctic birch (Betula nana), resin birch (B.
glandulosa), diamondleaf willow (Salix planifolia), netleaf willow (S. reticulata), and
various mosses and lichens. Berries such as mountain cranberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea),
bog blueberry (V. uliginosum), and crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) are also common
(Gallant et al. 1995:32-33). The utilized edible flora around Nome are numerous and
include such plants as beach greens (Honckenya peploides), Labrador tea (Ledum
groenlandicum), and wild chive (Allium schoenoprasum) (Bockstoce 1979:11).
Wildlife. With the exception of a few species discussed below, the animal
population on the Seward Peninsula has changed relatively little in the past few hundred
years; therefore contemporary biological data are useful to the NOM-146 faunal analysis.
MacDonald and Cook (2009) have identified the numerous wild mammals which occur
on some if not all of the Seward Peninsula (Table 3.1). For unknown reasons, caribou
have been absent from the Seward Peninsula since the late nineteenth century (Bockstoce
24
1979:14; Burch 1998:270; MacDonald and Cook 2009:223; Murie 1935:64; Ray
1967:62), although recently they have begun to reoccupy the area (MacDonald and Cook
2009:224; Schneider et al. 2005:29). However, they were formerly numerous and an
important prehistoric subsistence resource (Bockstoce 1979:14; Ray 1967:62).
Additionally, muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) occurred throughout the Arctic coastal and
foothill areas until the mid-1800s (MacDonald and Cook 2009:231; Reynolds 1998:734)
and probably also resided on the Seward Peninsula (Burch 1998:293).
Table 3.1: Modern land mammals of the Seward Peninsula.
Taxon Common Name Spermophilus parryii Arctic Ground Squirrel Castor canadensis Beaver Dicrostonyx groenlandicus Collared Lemming Lemmus trimucronatus Brown Lemming Microtus oeconomus Root Vole Myodes rutilus Red-backed Vole Ondatra zibethicus Muskrat Erethizon dorsatum Porcupine Lepus americanus Snowshoe Hare Lepus othus Alaska or Tundra Hare Sorex cinereus Cinereus Shrew Sorex monticolus Dusky Shrew Sorex tundrensis Tundra Shrew Sorex yukonicus Alaska Tiny Shrew Lynx canadensis Lynx Canis lupus Wolf Vulpes lagopus Arctic Fox Vulpes vulpes Red Fox Ursus arctos Brown Bear Ursus maritimus Polar Bear Gulo gulo Wolverine Lontra canadensis River Otter Martes americana Pine Marten Mustela erminea Ermine Mustela nivalis Least Weasel Neovison vison Mink Alces americanus Moose Rangifer tarandus Caribou
Source: MacDonald and Cook (2009).
25
MacDonald and Cook (2009) have also identified numerous mammals occurring
in the waters around the Seward Peninsula (Table 3.2). Marine mammals traditionally
important for subsistence included ringed seals, bearded seals, spotted seals, Steller’s sea
lions, and northern fur seals (Bockstoce 1979:13), as well as walruses, belugas,
porpoises, and large whales (Oquilluk 1973:231). Although walrus are only occasionally
seen today, the waters off Cape Nome supported an estimated population exceeding
200,000 before American whalers began to take walrus in the mid-nineteenth century
(Foote 1964:18), and would have been a significant subsistence species in prehistoric
times. Today, beluga whales are the most important regional cetacean species taken for
subsistence purposes; however, oral traditions note that gray whales and bowhead whales
were formerly hunted from Sledge Island (Bockstoce 1979:13).
Table 3.2: Modern marine mammals of the Seward Peninsula.
Taxon Common Name Callorhinus ursinus Northern Fur Seal Eumetopias jubatus Steller’s Sea Lion Odobenus rosmarus Walrus Erignathus barbatus Bearded Seal Histriophoca fasciata Ribbon Seal Phoca largha Spotted Seal Pusa hispida Ringed Seal Balaena mysticetus Bowhead Whale Eubalaena japonica North Pacific Right Whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata Common Minke Whale Balaenoptera musculus Blue Whale Balaenoptera physalus Fin Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Humpback Whale Eschrichtius robustus Gray Whale Orcinus orca Killer Whale Delphinapterus leucas Beluga Phocoena phocoena Harbor Porpoise
Source: MacDonald and Cook (2009).
26
More than 200 species of birds also occupy the Seward Peninsula (Kessel
1989:59), the greatest numbers of which are found in wetland areas (Kessel 1989:31).
Bird populations are greatest on the Seward Peninsula in the spring and fall during
baleen “wolf-killers,” decorated needle-cases, seal scratchers, leisters, netsinkers, fish
lures, and carved ivory figurines. Settlements occurred both coastally and inland, with
36
deep semisubterranean sod houses with long entrance tunnels. House floors included
both single-room and multiple-room plans, often with central hearths. Skin tents were
also used seasonally. Overall, the Western Thule culture involved a rich, complex pattern
of living focused on sea mammal subsistence but included technology for hunting land
mammals and birds (Anderson 1984; Giddings and Anderson 1986; Harritt 1994; Mason
2010; Mathiassen 1927).
A less contentious term often equated with the later Western Thule culture is late
prehistoric. This phrase refers to sites belonging to the immediate forbearers of the
Iñupiaq people, usually dating to between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries A.D.
(Anderson 1984). The term protohistoric is sometimes used to refer to sites dating to the
time between the late prehistoric and historic periods, when western trade goods were
becoming common in the artifact assemblages but actual contact with Russians and
Euroamericans was rare, or had not occurred locally.
Historic Period. The exact start of the historic period in northwestern Alaska is
debated. Some equate its beginning with the year 1778, when Captain James Cook
landed on the northern Alaska mainland (Anderson 1984); others point to 1789, the year
the Russians opened the Anyui Market on the Kolyma River in Siberia (Morrison 1991).
In any case, the late eighteenth century signifies the burgeoning of the trade of
Euroamerican goods to the Alaska Native peoples in northwest Alaska, although trade
items such as tobacco and guns were still rare until the mid-nineteenth century, when
New England whalers frequented the coast (Anderson 1984; Morrison 1991). By the end
37
of the nineteenth century, western traders, prospectors and missionaries frequented
northwest Alaska year-round, and western trade goods were commonly used by Alaska
Native peoples (Anderson 1984).
Previous Archaeological Research. The Seward Peninsula has 454 recorded
sites (excluding traditional cultural places) with prehistoric or protohistoric components
(AHRS 2011). Diamond Jenness undertook the first archaeological investigation on the
Seward Peninsula in 1926. Jenness (1928) identified and explored some of the large,
ancient village sites visible around the modern communities of Wales and Teller. Aleš
Hrdlička (1930) surveyed along parts of the Norton Sound coast in 1926. In 1928 and
1929, Henry Collins (1929, 1930) surveyed the coast around Norton Sound and up
around the Bering Sea coast to Shishmaref, identifying and testing many important sites.
In 1936, Collins (1940) excavated sites at Cape Prince of Wales. In the 1940s, Louis
Giddings, Wendell Oswalt, Froehlich Rainey, and David Hopkins undertook
archaeological surveys and excavations on the Seward Peninsula (Giddings 1964).
Some, such as Helge Larsen, identified and excavated significant sites like the Ipiutak
ceremonial house in Deering (Larsen 1951). These individuals were also involved, along
with Gerald Henderson and James VanStone, with the Bering Strait Expedition of 1950,
the first large scale, collaborative archaeological investigation in the Seward Peninsula
region (Giddings 1964). In 1958, Giddings surveyed Cape Espenberg, and in 1959 he
continued Collins’ investigation of the Cape Prince of Wales area (Giddings 1967).
Larsen (1968) excavated the inland Trail Creek caves in 1961.
38
Archaeological work continued steadily after that, with surges in the 1970s and
1980s, due in large part to federal requirements under the National Historic Preservation
Act, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the Archaeological and Historic
Preservation Act, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, and the creation of the
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve in 1980, which prompted two of the largest
surveys on the Seward Peninsula in 1974 (Powers et al. 1982) and 1985 (Schaaf 1988,
1995). Most recently, excavations have been conducted in Wales (Harritt 2004, 2010),
Deering (Bowers 2009), Serpentine Hot Springs (Keene et al. 2009), and Cape Espenberg
(Foin et al. 2011; Mason and Alix 2012).
Previous archaeological research in the general Nome vicinity includes Hrdlička’s
(1930:90) brief survey of Safety Sound in 1926; and limited excavations around Cape
Nome and Safety Sound in 1950 by Rainey, in 1951 by Hopkins, in 1960 by Frederick
Hadleigh-West (Bockstoce and Rainey 1970:42-43), and in 1969 by Joan Townsend
(Townsend 1969:4-5) and John Bockstoce (Bockstoce 1979:24). More thorough
excavations at Cape Nome and Safety Sound were conducted by Bockstoce between
1970 and 1974 (Bockstoce 1979:27-29), and at Safety Sound by Howard Smith in 1977
(Smith 1985:2).
Archaeological research on the Seward Peninsula has identified numerous
Western Thule sites and site components. These include, but are not limited to, the Cape
Nome Beach sites and the Ayasayuk site near Nome (Bockstoce 1979); the Nuk site at
Safety Sound (Smith 1985); the Mitletavik site at Lopp Lagoon (Collins 1929; Harritt
39
1994); the Gungnuk site at Cape Darby (Giddings 1964); the Deering Archaeological
District (Bowers 2006, 2009); the Beach, Hillside and Kurigitavik Mound sites at Wales
(Collins 1937; Harritt 2004); the Uqshoyak site at Tin City (ENRI 2003; Harritt 2004);
the Cloud Lake Village near the headwaters of the Inmachuk River (Powers et al. 1982);
the Kitluk River site at the mouth of the Kitluk River west of Cape Espenberg (Saleeby
and Demma 2001); and 58 settlements (not including seasonal camps or lithic scatters)
identified in the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (Harritt 1994).
Summary
The Seward Peninsula is a diverse ecoregion of northwest Alaska supporting
numerous flora and fauna. Archaeological research has been conducted on the Seward
Peninsula since the 1920s. Currently, the Alaska Heritage Resources Survey lists over
400 archaeological sites with prehistoric and/or protohistoric components on the
peninsula. One of these sites is the Snake River Sandspit site, in the city of Nome on the
southern coast of the peninsula. The documented prehistory of the Seward Peninsula
dates back 10,000 years. American Paleoarctic, Northern Archaic, Arctic Small Tool,
and Northern Maritime traditions have been identified on the peninsula. The Snake River
Sandspit site is one of many sites on the peninsula which belong to the Western Thule
culture, part of the Northern Maritime tradition.
40
Chapter Four: Snake River Sandspit Site Background
The Snake River Sandspit site (NOM-146) was discovered during construction of
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Nome Navigation Improvements Project.
The project began in 1996, when it was determined that the City of Nome was
inadequately served by its harbor, constructed between 1917 and 1923. In 1998, the
Alaska State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) agreed with USACE’s determination
that there were no historic properties in the area affected by construction of harbor
improvements. However, USACE supplied archaeological monitors during construction
in 2005 and 2006 (Cassell et al. 2007; Pipkin 2005), and three features and associated
materials representing an unknown, post-review archaeological site were identified.
Field Methods
Acting as a subcontractor for USACE, Mark Pipkin (2005) initially identified
House A, a partial semisubterranean house, during archaeological monitoring of
construction in May 2005. The profile of House A was measured and photographed.
Pipkin selectively collected 53 diagnostic artifacts from the house fill, but no faunal
remains. One charcoal sample was collected from the floor of the house for radiocarbon
dating. Once USACE and the SHPO were apprised of the discovery, the State
designation NOM-00146 (NOM-146) was applied to the site.
In late July 2006, while monitoring construction work at the site, USACE District
Archaeologist Margan Grover (2006) identified a scatter of prehistoric artifacts and
animal bones in a darkly-colored “stain” uncovered by a bulldozer pass. Construction
41
was halted, and Grover tested the area with shovel-skimming and troweling, identifying a
distinct 2 x 3 m stain in the sand matrix along with potsherds and seal and bird bones.
The site was flagged, and the City of Nome, the SHPO, and the Nome Eskimo
Community were notified of the discovery of a new feature of NOM-146.
An initial 50 x 50 cm test pit was excavated with shovel and trowel (Test Pit 1),
and the area was more thoroughly shovel-skimmed to define site boundaries. A second
50 cm x 50 cm test pit (Test Pit 2) was excavated to the south of the first test with shovel
and trowel. In addition to animal bone, Test Pit 2 yielded burned wood and a vertical
wooden post. Further delineation of site boundaries took place with a backhoe. The sand
matrix around the feature was then excavated with the backhoe to a depth of
approximately 1 m, revealing a partial semisubterranean house.
The excavation of this new feature, House B, followed its delineation.
Excavation involved USACE archaeologists Margan Grover and Helen Lindemuth and
volunteers Karlin Itchoak, Al Sahlin, and Boogles Johnson of the Nome Eskimo
Community. Using the southeast corner of the pedestal for the datum point, arbitrary
sections were delineated every 20 cm along the top of the feature, running north to south.
Six 6 m-long sections and one partial section were excavated with shovels and trowels.
All excavated sand was dry-sifted through a 6.34 mm (¼-inch) screen.
Subsequently, a second dark stain with scattered faunal remains and prehistoric
artifacts was identified while monitoring construction about 15 m north of House B.
Three 50 x 50 cm test pits were excavated. Faunal remains and artifacts were recovered
42
only from Test Pit A. The surrounding overburden was then carefully removed with a
bulldozer. The cultural layer was thin and, due to lack of structural wood materials, was
identified as a midden. All visible material was excavated, and multiple test pits were
dug to determine the edges of the midden. A datum point was selected, and a 1 x 1 m
grid was established to excavate the feature.
Mark Cassell was subcontracted by USACE to continue archaeological
monitoring while the midden was excavated (Cassell et al. 2007). Excavation occurred
with the assistance of multiple USACE archaeologists, biologists, and chemists, Cassell,
and volunteers from Nome Eskimo Community, the City of Nome, and Kawerak, Inc.
The site was initially divided into Layers 1 and 2, separated by a deposit of wood and
vegetative debris. As excavation progressed, the layer of vegetative debris disappeared,
and no additional layers were identified. In most areas of the site, the cultural layer was
at or below the water line. Excavation occurred during low tide, as most of the units
became flooded at high tide. The elevation below ground surface of all unit corners was
noted insofar as possible. In all, 75 m2 yielded cultural material. Approximately 80 m2
were excavated with shovels and trowels and dry-sifted through a 6.34 mm (¼-inch)
screen. Excavation was completed by the end of August 2006.
Site Description
The Snake River Sandspit archaeological site consists of a semisubterranean
house discovered in 2005 (House A), and a semisubterranean house (House B) and
43
midden discovered in 2006. All three features were more than 5 m below the surface of
the Snake River Sandspit, buried in a sandy matrix.
House A. House A was approximately 6 m wide and 1 m deep (Figure 4.1). A
single vertical post about 1.2 m long and 0.15 m in diameter was at the east end of the
house. Several prehistoric artifacts and faunal remains were observed in the house fill,
including seal bones, bird bones, potsherds, an ivory wedge, an antler point, and a drilled
rib. Fifty-three artifacts were selectively collected from the house fill, and a charcoal
sample was collected from the house floor for radiocarbon dating. Pipkin (2005:20)
estimated that only one-third of the feature was intact at the time of its discovery.
Figure 4.1: Profile of House A, NOM-146(a). From Pipkin (2005:15).
House B. House B was approximately 6 m long, 1 m deep, and between 1.5 and
2.5 m wide (Figures 4.2 and 4.3). Fourteen vertical posts were spread throughout the
feature. Deteriorated wooden floor boards and other wooden structural elements were
identified. A total of 456 artifacts and 3,752 faunal remains (not including mollusks)
44
were recovered from inside the feature. Four bulk samples, four charcoal samples, one
peat sample, and one vegetation sample were also collected.
Figure 4.2: Plan view of House B, NOM-146(b). From Eldridge (2012).
45
Figure 4.3: Photograph of House B’s west profile. Adapted from Grover (2007).
Midden. The midden deposit, consisting of a thin layer of organic material, wood
debris, faunal remains, and artifacts, was approximately 15 m north of House B (Figure
4.4). Within the midden, a small accumulation of unbroken hunting weapons, including
an intact atlatl, was found near a large whale humerus and vertebra. The humerus
appeared to have been purposefully outlined with smooth, multi-colored beach pebbles,
perhaps marking the existence of the hunter’s cache. A total of 639 artifacts and 4,828
faunal remains (excluding mollusks) were recovered from the midden. Nine peat
samples and one wood sample were also collected.
46
Figure 4.4: Plan view of the midden, NOM-146(c). From Eldridge (2012).
47
Radiocarbon Dating
Radiocarbon ages were obtained from four carbon samples collected from NOM-
146; the radiocarbon dates were calibrated with the Cologne Radiocarbon Calibration and
Paleoclimate Research Package (CalPal 2011). One charcoal sample from the floor of
House A produced a date of cal A.D. 1675±126 (240±60 B.P.; Beta-206697). A charcoal
sample from the hearth feature of House B produced a date of cal A.D. 1810±101
(130±40 B.P.; Beta-222485). Charcoal collected from the floor of House B produced a
date of cal A.D. 1813±102 (110±50 B.P.; Beta-222486). Finally, peat from the cache
feature within the midden produced a calibrated date of cal A.D. 1662±122 (250±50 B.P.;
Beta-222487). All four dates overlap over a period of 73 years, between AD 1711 and
AD 1784 (Figure 4.5).
Figure 4.5: Calendrical date ranges of radiocarbon samples from NOM-146. From left to right, error bars represent ±126 years, ±101 years, ±102 years, and ±122 years. From Eldridge (2012).
equipment, terrestrial hunting equipment, tools, transportation, warfare, personal
adornment/ceremonial objects, and manufacturing. Artifact types fit with other late
Western Thule assemblages; no Euroamerican goods were identified. Based on the
seasonal functions of the artifacts, it appears that the site was occupied throughout the
year.
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Chapter Five: Snake River Sandspit Site Methods
Laboratory Methods
In 2006, all recovered materials from the second semisubterranean house and the
midden were shipped to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and inventoried. The
faunal remains, specifically, were organized by provenience, counted, and placed in
plastic bags. In 2007, all materials were shipped to the Carrie M. McLain Memorial
Museum in Nome, Alaska. In 2009, most of the faunal remains from NOM-146 stored at
the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum were shipped to the University of Alaska
Anchorage (UAA) for analysis, which took place between 2009 and 2011.2
Faunal specimens were separated into individual skeletal elements, and most were
placed into individually-labeled airtight, plastic bags.3 The only deviation from this
occurred with rib elements that lacked a proximal end (head) and some small fish and
bird bone fragments. Those specimens were organized by provenience and were placed
together by lots into similar bags. Data collected during analysis and entered into a
Microsoft Excel database included the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum accession
number and Alaska Heritage Resource Survey (AHRS) number; provenience information
including the feature, unit or section of the site, area within the unit or section, and the
stratigraphic level; biological information including taxon, skeletal element, side of body
(i.e., left/right), portion of bone, and age of the animal; modification information 2 Analysis was facilitated by a Loan Agreement among the City of Nome, USACE, and UAA. 3 Sorting and data entry were assisted by Erika Malo, Staff Sergeant Eric Smith, Heather Smith, Department of the Army interns Jessequa Parker, Hillary Palmer, and Dominique Cordy, and Nick Riordan and Tom and Nancy Eldridge.
64
including the presence and location of butchering, gnawmarks, and degree of burning;
and additional comments by the excavators and analyst.
Taxonomic Classification. The faunal remains were initially sorted into the
basic biological categories of invertebrate phylum (mollusks) and vertebrate classes
(birds, mammals, and fishes) based on morphology. Specimens were then organized by
skeletal element and then separated into taxon based upon morphology. Each specimen
was analyzed with the use of comparative collections and osteological manuals (Bensley
The vertebrate archaeofauna are fairly evenly distributed between the midden and
House B: 54.8% of the birds came from the house feature, while 61.2% of land
mammals, 53.6% of sea mammals, and 59.3% of fishes came from the midden. In all,
43.7% of the vertebrate remains came from House B and 56.2% came from the midden.
In terms of perthotaxic events, 3.3% of the vertebrate remains from House B were cut,
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while 4.0% of those from the midden had cutmarks. A greater percentage of the
vertebrate remains from the midden were gnawed (9.4%) than from House B (7.5%).
Additionally, a greater percentage of the midden had been burned (1.3%) in comparison
to only 0.5% of those remains from House B. More than half of the vertebrate taxa are
from the midden (Tables 6.12 and 6.13). Only three specific taxa were evenly distributed
between the features: puffin (NISP=4), snowy owl (NISP=4), and swan (NISP=2).
Table 6.12: NISP and %NISP of vertebrate taxa most common in House B, in descending order of %NISP.
Common Name House B NISP %TotalNISP Shearwater 2 100.0% Sea Duck 22 91.7% Murre 60 89.6% Duck 44 84.6% Eider 11 84.6% Salmon 47 83.9% Cormorant 9 81.8% Goose 4 66.7% Seal 304 58.0% Hare 23 56.1% Alcid 5 55.6% Loon 16 55.2% Dog 17 53.1% Gull 29 52.7%
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Table 6.13: NISP and %NISP of vertebrate taxa most common in the midden, in descending order of %NISP.
Common Name Midden NISP %TotalNISP Beluga 3 100.0% Albatross 2 100.0% Bear 1 100.0% Flat Fish 1 100.0% Muskrat 11 91.7% Walrus 14 87.5% Canid 16 84.2% Kittiwake 19 79.2% Tiny Rodent 3 75.0% Fox 143 73.0% Sculpin 8 72.7% Spotted Seal 13 68.4% Rodent 4 66.7% Caribou/Muskox 2 66.7% Caribou 123 66.5% Fox/Hare 47 62.7% Whale 32 62.7% Bearded Seal 50 59.5% Ringed Seal 219 58.7% Tundra Hare 264 57.9% Pinniped 27 57.4% Canine 93 56.7% Small Ice Seal 684 55.2% Ptarmigan 242 54.6% Ground Squirrel 35 50.7% Cod 98 50.3%
Season of Site Occupation
In addition to the indirect seasonality suggested by the functions of artifacts from
NOM-146 in Chapter Four, direct seasonality indicators were identified from the site
archaeofauna. The NOM-146 faunal remains lend themselves to the two most common
methods of determining season of site occupation (presence/absence, physiological
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events) as discussed in Chapter Two. For the purposes of this thesis, “winter” is defined
as the months of October (shikovik or “freeze-up season” in Iñupiatuun [Ellanna and
Sherrod 2004:118]), when modern shore fast ice usually forms (Burch 1998:300;
Koutsky 1981:10; Ray 1984:285), through April; “summer” is defined as the months of
May (sukloavik or when “the ice has gone out” in Iñupiatuun [Ellanna and Sherrod
2004:117]), when shore fast ice usually begins to break up (Burch 1998:297; Koutsky
1981:10; Ray 1984:285), through September.
Winter Occupation. Ptarmigan live on the Seward Peninsula year-round (Kessel
1989:131, 134; Figure 6.3). During the summer ptarmigan occupy the lowlands for
breeding and hatching. Between the end of July and September they form into large
postbreeding flocks, before moving to their wintering grounds in the highlands (Kessel
1989:131-135). Oquilluk (1973:99) notes that ptarmigan were traditionally most
commonly hunted during midwinter on the Seward Peninsula. Snowy owls, which
usually arrive on the peninsula around May and depart in October, will over-winter on
the peninsula if prey species are having a “boom” year (Kessel 1989:225-226; Figure
6.3).
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Figure 6.3: Bird presence on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska (solid line = most common; dashed line = uncommon). Compiled from Kessel (1989).
A complete age range for pinnipeds was identified. Although the published
pinniped epiphyseal fusion sequences are extensive, Storå (2000:207) cautions against
age estimation of lone seal elements past the first year of life (Figure 6.4). In addition to
the lack of epiphyseal fusion in some elements, the cortex of the bones can often be
differentiated during the first few months of life due its “rough texture without clear
morphological features” (Storå 2000:207). Certain morphometrics of small ice seal
femora have also been correlated with age (Storå 2002).
98
Figure 6.4: Possible ages (in months) of skeletal elements indicative of yearling status. Compiled from Storå (2000).
The remains of small ice seals from NOM-146 include unfused elements
indicative of yearling status (Figures 6.5 and 6.6). Sixty-three specimens suggest an age
younger than twelve months (proximal femora, proximal radii, distal humeri). Two
specimens suggest an age likely younger than six months (scapula glenoid tubercle). And
four specimens indicate an age likely younger than four months (vertebral arch/centrum).
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
1st/2nd Phalanx (Distal)
Innominate (Acetabulum)
Cervical Vertebra (Arch)
Thoracic Vertebra (Arch)
Lumbar Vertebra (Arch)
1st Metacarpal (Distal)
Scapula (Glenoid Tubercle)
Femur (Proximal)
Radius (Proximal)
Humerus (Distal)
Unfused Epiphyses in Small Ice Seals
Unfused Unfused or Fusing
99
Figure 6.5: Small ice seal femora. Ages from left to right: neonate, yearling (around 6 months old), yearling (around 6 m.o.), yearling (around 10 m.o.), juvenile, adult, adult. Ages based off of Storå (2000, 2002).
Figure 6.6: Small ice seal humeri. From left to right: neonate, yearling, yearling, yearling, juvenile, adult. Ages based off of Storå (2000, 2002).
100
All of the small seals around the Seward Peninsula give birth in April (Wynne
2007); therefore, it is probable that at least some pups were taken during the late spring
before breakup. This conclusion is supported by 14 neonatal pinniped bones (MNI=2) in
the assemblage (Figure 6.7). Additionally, morphometrics from some femora are
correlated with modern specimens between six and ten months of age (Storå 2002:55),
indicating that some yearlings were also harvested during early and mid-winter.
Figure 6.7: Presence of mammal neonates on the Seward Peninsula (solid line = most common birthing date; dashed line = uncommon birthing date). Compiled from Wynne (2007).
Although large whale species were traditionally hunted during their migration
north in the spring from Cape Prince of Wales, King and Sledge Islands (Burch
1980:295; Ray 1967:71, 1975:111), it is impossible to tell whether the large whale
specimens recovered from NOM-146 are from individuals that were actively hunted or
those that washed up dead on shore. Today, dead bowhead, gray, and killer whales
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occasionally wash up on shore near Cape Nome throughout the ice-free months
(Bockstoce 1979:13).
Because there is no published sequence for caribou epiphyseal fusion, I compared
the caribou specimens from NOM-146 to a sequence created for white-tailed deer
(Odocoileus virginianus) (Figure 6.8). The resulting ages are necessarily only
suggestive; studies have shown that there can be between two and eight months
difference in fusion times between white- and black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
(Purdue 1983:1211), and they are more closely phylogenetically related than either is to
caribou. Purdue (1983:1210) also demonstrates a difference of three months or more
between the sexes; many bones fuse earlier in females than in males.
Figure 6.8: Possible ages (in months) of certain caribou skeletal elements. Compiled from Purdue (1983).
0 6 12 18 24
Radius (Proximal) Humerus (Distal)
2nd Phalanx 1st Phalanx
Tibia (Distal) Ulna (Proximal)
Femur (Proximal) Radius (Distal) Femur (Distal)
Tibia (Proximal) Ulna (Distal)
Humerus (Proximal)
Unfused Epiphyses in Caribou
Unfused Unfused or Fusing
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The caribou remains from NOM-146 include a few unfused and partially fused
specimens indicative of animals in their first year of life. Two specimens suggest an age
between five and eight months (2nd phalanx), while four specimens suggest an age
younger than eleven months (1st phalanx). Six specimens are at most around twenty
months old, but probably younger (distal and proximal femora, distal radius). In Alaska,
caribou give birth between late May and early June (Rearden 1981:90); therefore, some
caribou were hunted during winter.
Based on known tooth eruption sequences (Andrews and Turner 1992; Stiner
1998), the single bear specimen identified from NOM-146 is from a very young cub
during its first winter as a neonate. Both polar and brown bear cubs are born between
December and January, leaving the den around March or April (Rearden 1981:16-20;
Wynne 2007:68-69); therefore, if the bear specimen represents a hunted rather than
scavenged animal, one incidence of bear hunting at the site must have occurred during
the winter (Figure 6.7).
Published epiphyseal fusion sequences are available for the proximal humerus of
black-tailed jackrabbits (Lepus californicus). Ages resulting from these data are only
suggestive; unlike the black-tailed jackrabbit or snowshoe hare, tundra hares only give
birth to one litter of leverets per year around May, indicating that their growth patterns
differ from their faster-breeding relatives (Rearden 1981:148). According to Tiemeier
and Plenert (1964), who used more than 900 jackrabbit specimens in their calculations in
comparison to Lechleitner’s (1959) three, the proximal epiphysis of the humerus begins
103
to fuse around six months of age. In tundra hares, this would occur in November. Of the
tundra hare humerus specimens from NOM-146 (n=33), a little over one-third had intact
proximal ends (n=12). Of those, nine were fused and three were unfused proximal
epiphyses (Figure 6.9).
Figure 6.9: Ratios of tundra hare epiphyseal fusion sequence elements at NOM-146.
A study of cottontail rabbit epiphyseal fusion (Hale 1949:218) briefly mentions
that the proximal tibia fuses shortly after the proximal humerus. If this pattern holds true
for tundra hares, it is probable that their proximal tibial epiphyses begin to fuse in
December or January. Of the tundra hare tibia specimens from NOM-146 (n=59), only
one-third had intact proximal ends (n=20). Of those, ten were fused, two were unfused,
and eight were proximal epiphyses (Figure 6.9). These data indicate that some tundra
hare were harvested before November, though the large number of humeri and tibiae
without intact proximal ends make it difficult to judge seasonal prevalence of acquisition.
Proximal Humerus MNI
Unfused Fused
Proximal Tibia MNI
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Summer Occupation. All birds other than ptarmigan and owl identified in from
the NOM-146 faunal assemblage are migratory species (Figure 6.3). Most arrive on the
Seward Peninsula during the spring and stay through the summer to breed, brood, and
molt. A few pass through on their way to and from breeding grounds further north during
the spring and fall. The brant, snow goose, and Canada goose usually arrive in May and
depart between September and October. Tundra swans arrive between late April and mid
May, and depart by early October. Numerous duck species are found on the Seward
Peninsula. In general, they arrive around early May and leave in September. Sea ducks
usually arrive around late May and depart by October. Eider ducks (Somateria spp.),
however, often stay through late November. Loons arrive on the peninsula between May
and June and depart around September (Kessel 1989).
The alcid specimens not identified as murres or puffins represent a number of
different seabirds, all of which have slightly different migratory schedules. Some arrive
in the region in April (e.g., Kittlitz’s murrelet) while others do not arrive until June (e.g.,
pigeon guillemot). Most alcids leave around October. Both common and thick-billed
murres arrive around late May and stay until freeze-up. Horned and tufted puffins arrive
around late May and usually depart around September. The pelagic cormorant arrives
around late April and often stays until freeze-up. Gulls arrive around early May and
depart between August and September. Black-legged kittiwakes also arrive in May, but
do not leave until September or October (Kessel 1989).
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The few beluga remains from NOM-146 include unfused specimens, and many of
the small, unfused whale bones unidentified to species likely also belong to juvenile
beluga. Although there is no published epiphyseal fusion sequence for beluga, it is
reasonable to suggest that completely unfused skeletal elements belong to beluga in their
first year of life. Beluga give birth around July, therefore unfused elements suggest late
summer harvests (Figure 6.7).
Ethnographic Subsistence Data. Ethnographic information on seasonal rounds
can be added to the above data to help establish site seasonality. As animal behavior will
not have changed significantly over the past few hundred years (except for the
intervention of the Little Ice Age), the timing of subsistence hunting will not have
changed greatly either. Subsistence hunting practices of descendant communities provide
helpful insights into the practices of their ancestors. Ethnographic information collected
from the Norton Sound area can be extrapolated to help suggest the subsistence practices
of the people who lived at NOM-146. Using ethnographic subsistence data from multiple
sources to help elucidate the season of site occupation at an archaeological site differs
from identifying the subsistence pattern of a prehistoric socioterritory in its generalized
application.
From interviews with local Iñupiat hunters, Bockstoce (1979:12) created a
seasonal round for the Cape Nome area. He found that caribou were usually hunted
during the winter from November to March, although there was a short, late-summer
hunting period as well (Bockstoce 1979:12; Oquilluk 1973:97). This corresponds with
106
the Iñupiatuun word for the month of July, nuġġiaqtuġvik, which translates to the time “to
hunt caribou, particularly fauns, for clothing” (Burch 2006:32). Interviews done by
Schaaf (1988:37) and Ray (1975:117) support Bockstoce’s findings, although Koutsky
(1981:18) found that caribou were hunted in the foothills of the Nome, Fish River and
Golovin areas whenever possible.
Bockstoce (1979:12) and Ray (1975:113) both found that walrus and bearded seal
were hunted as they followed the edge of the icepack during the fall (September and
October) and the spring (April-June for bearded seal and May-July for walrus). Schaaf
(1988:36) was told that walrus and bearded seal were hunted primarily during spring
breakup, which is supported by Oquilluk (1973:99), and that smaller seals were hunted
around freeze-up as well as spring breakup. This corresponds with Mayokok’s report on
spring subsistence (1951). Bockstoce (1979:12) was told that ringed seals were hunted
all winter long, from October to May, which is supported by Koutsky (1981:17). Belugas
were hunted during the spring and summer, from May to July (Bockstoce 1979:12;
Wales Beach Site (TEL-026). TEL-026 is west of TEL-025, in the village of
Wales on Cape Prince of Wales in the Bering Sea. The site radiometrically dated to ca.
A.D. 1485 (Harritt 2004:169). The archaeofauna described here were from a preliminary
presentation on faunal remains recovered from the site between 1998 and 2001, and in
2004 (Russell and Harritt 2011). Although a total NISP of 18,249 was reported (Russell
and Harritt 2011:23), between 13,878 and 25,987 were listed (Russell and Harritt
2011:26-35, 53). Of those, an NISP between 12,665 and 23,884 belonged to vertebrates
(Russell and Harritt 2011:26-35, 53; Table 7.5). Large whale elements were not collected
during excavation and are therefore not included in the data (Russell and Harritt
117
2011:34). The specimens identified as “rabbit” are most likely snowshoe or tundra hare,
because rabbits are nonnative to Alaska (MacDonald and Cook 2009:121). The faunal
remains identified as “Arctic hare” are most likely snowshoe or tundra hare (also known
as Alaska Arctic hare), because Arctic hares do not occur in Alaska (MacDonald and
Cook 2009:123).
Table 7.5: TEL-026 vertebrate remains.
Taxa NISP Whale 37 Baleen Whale 43 Beluga 3 Walrus 1,285 Bearded Seal 48 Spotted Seal 3 Ringed Seal 39 Ringed/Spotted Seal 116 Ice Seal 9,883 Bear 6 Dog 17 Canine 365 Arctic Fox 30 Red Fox 26 Canid 5 Caribou 5 Even-Toed Ungulate 4 Arctic Hare 16 Rabbit 9 Lemming 1 Auklet 267 Murrelet 9 Alcid 51 Gull 11 Scoter 72 Duck 30 Loon 1 Snowy Owl 1 Unidentified Bird 263 Unidentified Fish 11
Source: Russell and Harritt (2011).
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Kurigitavik Mound (TEL-079). TEL-079 is near the village of Wales on Cape
Prince of Wales in the Bering Sea, northeast of TEL-026. The site was dated
radiometrically to between A.D. 1045 and 1475 (Harritt 2004:169). The archaeofauna
included here were from a preliminary presentation on faunal remains recovered from the
site between 1998 and 2006 (Russell and Harritt 2011). Although a total analyzed NISP
of 19,268 was reported (Russell and Harritt 2011:38), between 10,282 and 15,578
specimens were listed (Russell and Harritt 2011:41-51; 53). Of those, between 8,910 and
13,255 were vertebrates (Russell and Harritt 2011:41-51, 53; Table 7.6). No large whale
elements were collected during excavation and are therefore not included in the data
(Russell and Harritt 2011:51). The bird remains identified as “velvet scoter” are more
likely white-winged scoter, since velvet scoters do not inhabit Alaska (Armstrong 2010).
119
Table 7.6: TEL-079 vertebrate remains.
Taxa NISP Whale 79 Baleen Whale 92 Porpoise 7 Walrus 1,745 Bearded Seal 61 Spotted Seal 137 Ringed Seal 193 Ice Seal 2,951 Pinniped 1,899 Bear 156 Dog 13 Canine 516 Arctic Fox 45 Red Fox 15 Canid 11 Caribou 148 Surf Scoter 22 Velvet Scoter 28 Scoter 57 Anatid 109 Alcid 52 Unidentified Bird 295
Source: Russell and Harritt (2011).
Ikpek Area Site (TEL-104). TEL-104 is on the coast of the Chukchi Sea,
between the Lopp and Ikpek lagoons. The site was radiometrically dated to between
A.D. 1250 and 1650 (Harritt 1994:207). The archaeofauna were excavated in 1989 from
multiple features (Harritt 1994:192). A total NISP of 473 vertebrate remains were
recovered from the site (Saleeby 1994:331-333; Table 7.7).
120
Table 7.7: TEL-104 vertebrate remains.
Taxa NISP Whale 1 Beluga 4 Walrus 1 Bearded Seal 2 Ringed Seal 221 Small Ice Seal 75 Brown Bear 3 Caribou 5 Deer Family 3 Unidentified Mammal 157 Unidentified Fish 1
Source: Saleeby (1994).
Kitluk River Site (KTZ-145). KTZ-145 is on a coastal dune at the mouth of the
Kitluk River. It is approximately 40 km west of Cape Espenberg. A badly eroded village
site, the remaining partial house and midden features were excavated in 1993. Based on
the artifact assemblage, the site was dated to ca. A.D. 1800 (Saleeby and Demma
2001:229). A total of 10,708 vertebrate remains were recovered from the site (Saleeby
and Demma 2001:234; Table 7.8). Two identified specimens either represent trade items
or are misidentified. Beaver do not occur on the western Seward Peninsula and until
recently did not occur anywhere on the peninsula (MacDonald and Cook 2009:78), and
Dall’s sheep do not occur on the Seward Peninsula; their nearest identified range is north
of the study area on the Lisburne Peninsula (MacDonald and Cook 2009:232).
121
Table 7.8: KTZ-145 vertebrate remains.
Taxa NISP Whale 103 Walrus 43 Bearded Seal 24 Ribbon Seal 7 Spotted Seal 57 Ringed Seal 870 Small Ice Seal 580 Unidentified Seal Mammal 120 Wolf 2 Dog 15 Canine 5 Arctic Fox 192 Red Fox 39 Fox 35 Caribou 416 Dall’s Sheep 1 Tundra Hare 62 Snowshoe Hare 2 Hare 3 Beaver 1 Muskrat 14 Arctic Ground Squirrel 4 Brown Lemming 1 Vole 6 Unidentified Mammal 7,805 Dabbling Duck 5 Gull 2 Jaeger 1 Grouse/Pheasant 1 Unidentified Bird 117 Unidentified Fish 142 Unidentified Bone 18
Source: Saleeby and Demma (2001).
Cape Espenberg Area Site (KTZ-087). KTZ-087 is on a dune formation at
Cape Espenberg on the Chukchi Sea coast. Test excavations of four features at the site
122
(Feature 10, 12, 47, and 50) were completed in 1988 (Harritt 1994:68, 81). Features 10
and 12 were dated to ca. A.D. 1275 (Harritt 1994:87), while Features 47 and 50 were
dated to ca. A.D. 1440 (Harritt 1994:96). A total NISP of 576 vertebrate remains were
recovered from the site (Saleeby 1994:331; Table 7.9). The single mammoth specimen
identified from the site must represent a curated artifact, as the species is not known to
have persisted on the Alaska mainland past the early Holocene (MacDonald and Cook
2009:54).
Table 7.9: KTZ-087 vertebrate remains.
Taxa NISP Walrus 42 Bearded Seal 3 Ribbon Seal 11 Ringed Seal 224 Small Ice Seal 73 Caribou 26 Mammoth 1 Unidentified Mammal 163 Unidentified Bird 32 Unidentified Fish 1
Source: Saleeby (1994).
Cape Espenberg Area Site (KTZ-088). KTZ-088 is on a dune formation at
Cape Espenberg on the Chukchi Sea coast. Archaeofaunal data are available from two
separate excavations. Test excavations of three features (Feature 1, 24, and 30) were
completed in 1988 (Harritt 1994:68, 96), and Feature 33 was excavated in 2010 (Foin et
al. 2011). Radiometric dates were acquired for Features 24, 30, and 33. Feature 24 was
dated to between A.D. 1550 and 1850 (Harritt 1994:105). Feature 30 was dated to
between A.D. 1200 and 1300 (Harritt 1994:108). Feature 33 was dated to between A.D.
123
1675 and 1800 (Foin et al. 2011:30). It is important to note, however, that Feature 30 is
actually part of KTZ-087 (Owen Mason, personal communication 2010), and therefore
the inclusion of its faunal remains in the site assemblage may skew the data. A total
NISP of 1,679 vertebrate remains were excavated in 1988 (Saleeby 1994:333; Table
7.10). The mammoth or mastodon specimen must be a curated artifact; mammoths are
not known to have persisted on the Alaska mainland past the early Holocene (MacDonald
and Cook 2009:53-54). A preliminary examination of the archaeofauna excavated in
2010 reported an NISP of 4,209 vertebrate remains (Foin et al. 2011; Table 7.11).
Taxa NISP Walrus 8 Bearded Seal 10 Ribbon Seal 1 Ringed Seal 947 Small Ice Seal 119 Brown Bear 2 Canine 3 Arctic Fox 2 Red Fox 1 Caribou 26 Vole/Lemming 1 Mammoth/Mastodon 1 Unidentified Mammal 554 Unidentified Bird 3 Unidentified Fish 1
The major taxa components of the NOM-146 archaeofaunal assemblage are most
similar to those of three sites on the Seward Peninsula: KTZ-300, KTZ-301, and KTZ-
145. All four assemblages demonstrate a varied subsistence strategy. At NOM-146,
pinniped remains make up 41% of the identified NISP, birds make up 26%, and non-
caribou or canine land mammals make up 15% (Figure 7.2). At KTZ-300, non-caribou
130
or canine land mammals make up 34% of the identified NISP, bird remains account for
33%, and pinnipeds 21% (Figure 7.3). The people at KTZ-301 put slightly more
emphasis on caribou, with 42% of the identified NISP contributed by those remains, 34%
by pinniped remains, and 16% by non-caribou or canid land mammals (Figure 7.4). At
KTZ-145 there was a greater focus on pinnipeds (58% of the identified NISP), although
caribou and other land mammals account for 15% and 13% of the assemblage,
respectively (Figure 7.5). It is important to note that, although NOM-146, KTZ-145, and
the two sites in Deering are on opposite sides of the Seward Peninsula, they are all
located on coastal sand dune or spit formations at river mouths emptying into shallow
(between 9 - 15 m) water (NOAA 2004, 2007).
Figure 7.2: Composition of NOM-146 archaeofauna; NISP=5,605 (unidentified remains not included).
Pinniped
Whale Bird
Caribou
Canine
Land Mammal
Fish
NOM-146
131
Figure 7.3: Composition of KTZ-300 archaeofauna; NISP=2,230 (unidentified remains not included).
Figure 7.4: Composition of KTZ-301 archaeofauna; NISP=731 (unidentified remains not included).
Pinniped
Bird
Caribou
Canine
Land Mammal
Fish
KTZ-300
Pinniped
Bird Caribou
Canine
Land Mammal Fish
KTZ-301
132
Figure 7.5: Composition of KTZ-145 archaeofauna; NISP=2,765 (unidentified remains not included).
Ten archaeofaunal assemblages from nine of the sites on the Seward Peninsula
were heavily dominated by pinniped remains. Pinniped remains accounted for 78% of
the identified NISP at TEL-155 (Figure 7.6), and more than 80% of the identified NISP
of three site assemblages: TEL-079 (Figure 7.7), KTZ-101 (Figure 7.8), and KTZ-087
(Figure 7.9). Pinniped remains accounted for 90% of the identified NISP from both TEL-
025 and TEL-026 in Wales (Figures 7.10 and 7.11). Pinniped remains contributed 92%
of the identified NISP at NOM-009 (Figure 7.12), and 95% at TEL-104 (Figure 7.13).
Both the 1988 and 2010 excavations of KTZ-088 recovered archaeofaunal assemblages
heavily skewed towards pinnipeds (97% and 95% of the identified NISP, respectively)
(Figures 7.14 and 7.15). All of the sites are located on the coast. Except for one site,
none are close to the mouths of rivers. The site that is located at a river mouth, TEL-155,
has the lowest percentage of pinniped remains of the nine sites.
Pinniped
Whale
Bird
Caribou
Canine
Land Mammal
Fish
KTZ-145
133
Figure 7.6: Composition of TEL-155 archaeofauna; NISP=9,784 (unidentified remains not included).
Figure 7.7: Composition of TEL-079 archaeofauna; NISP=8,910 (unidentified remains not included).
Pinniped
Whale
Bird
Caribou
Canine Land Mammal
Fish
TEL-155
Pinniped
Whale
Bird
Caribou
Canine Land Mammal
TEL-079
134
Figure 7.8: Composition of KTZ-101 archaeofauna; NISP=421 (mammoth and unidentified remains not included).
Figure 7.9: Composition of KTZ-087 archaeofauna; NISP=412 (mammoth and unidentified remains not included).
Pinniped
Whale
Bird
Caribou Canine
Land Mammal Fish
KTZ-101
Pinniped
Bird
Caribou Fish
KTZ-087
135
Figure 7.10: Composition of TEL-025 archaeofauna; NISP=335 (unidentified remains not included).
Figure 7.11: Composition of TEL-026 archaeofauna; NISP=12,665 (unidentified remains not included).
Pinniped
Bird Caribou Canine Land Mammal
TEL-025
Pinniped
Whale Bird
Caribou Canine Land Mammal
Fish
TEL-026
136
Figure 7.12: Composition of NOM-009 archaeofauna; NISP=1,133 (unidentified remains not included).
Figure 7.13: Composition of TEL-104 archaeofauna; NISP=316 (unidentified remains not included).
Pinniped
Whale Bird
Caribou Canine Land Mammal
Fish
NOM-009
Pinniped
Whale Caribou Land Mammal
Fish
TEL-104
137
Figure 7.14: Composition of KTZ-088 archaeofauna excavated in 2010; NISP=4,209 (unidentified remains not included).
Figure 7.15: Composition of KTZ-088 archaeofauna excavated in 1988; NISP=1,124 (mammoth and unidentified remains not included).
Pinniped
Whale Bird Caribou Canine
Land Mammal Fish
KTZ-088 (2010)
Pinniped
Bird Caribou Canine
Land Mammal Fish
KTZ-088 (1988)
138
The archaeofaunal assemblages of the three sites in the interior of the Seward
Peninsula understandably have few, if any, marine mammal specimens. Most of the
faunal remains at all three sites are from caribou. At BEN-053, 96% of the identified
NISP belong to caribou (Figure 7.16), and caribou specimens contributed over 99% of
the identified NISP at both BEN-106 and BEN-033 (Figures 7.17 and 7.18). All three
sites are located by upland lakes or ponds, more than 45 km from the coast.
Figure 7.16: Composition of BEN-053 archaeofauna; NISP=512 (unidentified remains not included).
Bird
Caribou
Land Mammal
BEN-053
139
Figure 7.17: Composition of BEN-106 archaeofauna; NISP=390 (unidentified remains not included).
Figure 7.18: Composition of BEN-033 archaeofauna; NISP=2740 (unidentified remains not included).
Bird
Caribou
Canine Land Mammal
Fish BEN-106
Pinniped Bird
Caribou
Land Mammal
BEN-033
140
Summary
Archaeofaunal analyses on assemblages large enough for regional analysis were
available for 16 Western Thule sites on the Seward Peninsula. Most of the sites were on
the coast; however, three were in the interior uplands. The faunal remains from the three
upland sites were composed primarily of caribou. The assemblages from nine of the
coastal sites were heavily skewed toward pinniped remains, while the faunal remains
from one coastal site were only slightly skewed towards small sea mammals. Three sites,
including NOM-146, demonstrated a varied subsistence strategy; the most common taxon
only accounted for about 40% of the assemblage. The caribou-heavy sites and those sites
with varied subsistence had more geographic similarity than sites that relied on
pinnipeds. The varied sites were at river mouths that emptied into shallow water.
141
Chapter Eight: Discussion
Site Comparisons to Socioterritorial Subsistence Patterns
The Western Thule sites described above are in five of the traditional
socioterritories identified by Ray (1964, 1967, 1975) and Burch (1980, 1988, 1998, 2006)
(Figure 8.1). Only three of the 16 archaeofaunal assemblages (NOM-009, BEN-053, and
KTZ-145) strongly adhere to the general historic subsistence patterns associated with the
territories within which they are located. The three sites around Wales (TEL-025, TEL-
026, and TEL-079) may or may not follow the whaling pattern associated with the
Kingikmiut territory; the fact that no large whale skeletal specimens were included in the
preliminary analyses of their assemblages greatly limits our understanding of the
importance of whales in the subsistence practices of these sites.
142
Figure 8.1: Location of comparative Western Thule sites and traditional Iñupiaq territories. Map based off of Grover (2005) and Schaaf (1995).
The other assemblages recovered from the Kingikmiut territory (TEL-104 and
TEL-155) suggest less emphasis on whaling than expected. Burch (2006:48) notes,
however, that historically most Kingikmiut whaling was based out of Wales, and after the
early spring bowhead hunt, people dispersed to seek walrus and other game. The people
who inhabited TEL-104 and TEL-155 may have also traveled to Wales for seasonal
whaling.
143
It can be argued that KTZ-145, the only site in the Tapqagmiut territory, does
follow the small sea mammal pattern, but with its slight emphasis on pinniped remains its
focus is far less obvious than the sites on Cape Espenberg or Cape Nome. All four
assemblages from the three sites on Cape Espenberg noticeably follow the small sea
mammal pattern. The similarity between the two faunal assemblages recovered from
KTZ-088 more than 20 years apart strengthens this interpretation.
As noted in Chapter Two, the Pittagmiut territory does not fit a single subsistence
pattern. This is supported by the large quantity of pinnipeds recovered from Cape
Espenberg, the extreme bias towards caribou seen at BEN-033 and BEN-106, and the
near impartiality demonstrated by the faunal remains from KTZ-300 and KTZ-301. This
may indicate that the Pittagmiut Iñupiat adhered to several different seasonal rounds, or
that there were additional boundaries within the identified socioterritory.
The faunal remains from KTZ-300 and KTZ-301 at Deering provide an
interesting look at the differences between geographically and temporally close sites.
While both sites demonstrated more of an equal emphasis on the major taxa than most of
the comparative sites, the taxa that they favor are different. KTZ-301 showed a slight
stress on caribou, followed by seal. The people at KTZ-300 appear to have been more
interested in small terrestrial mammals and birds. Although the village of Deering is
associated with the caribou hunting pattern (Ray 1964:71), Burch (2006:45, 48) noted an
emphasis placed on seals in the fall and winter. With this in mind, the archaeofauna from
144
KTZ-301 are more consistent with the expected Deering pattern than those from KTZ-
300.
The fact that at least one of the caribou-focused sites in the Pittagmiut territory
was a permanent winter village (based off of the presence of a qargi) and therefore did
not carry out winter sealing as suggested by Burch (2006:45) indicates that the people of
BEN-033 and BEN-106 had more in common with the occupants of nearby BEN-053
then with the people of Deering or Cape Espenberg. The single archaeofaunal
assemblage from the Qaviaragmiut territory (BEN-053) follows the expected caribou
hunting pattern.
The faunal remains from one of the two sites (NOM-009) in the Ayasaagiaagmiut
territory follow the expected small sea mammal pattern. Although the archaeofaunal
assemblage from NOM-146 has a slight emphasis on pinniped remains, it is not as much
as one might expect for the small sea mammal pattern. The importance placed on birds at
NOM-146 is greater than any comparative site other than KTZ-300. Although it would
be easy to attribute the NOM-146 bird remains to the proximity of Safety Sound, NOM-
009 is closer to the sound and few avifauna were recovered from that site. It is
interesting to note, however, that Ray (1964:71) was informed that historically villages
were not established in the Safety Sound area unless ptarmigan and hare were found
nearby. The large amount of tundra hare and ptarmigan recovered from NOM-146
endorse that oral tradition.
145
Summary. Although archaeofaunal assemblages from only three sites (NOM-
009, BEN-053, and KTZ-145) correspond robustly with their region’s historic
socioterritorial subsistence pattern, the faunal remains from six sites (TEL-104, TEL-155,
KTZ-087, KTZ-088, KTZ-101, and KTZ-301) are consistent with detailed ethnographic
reconstructions of historic subsistence for their particular areas within the territories.
Because no large whalebone was included in the analyses, the archaeofaunal assemblages
from the three sites at Wales were not comprehensive enough to test whether they
adhered to the whaling subsistence tradition of the Kingikmiut territory. Of the remaining
four sites, two (BEN-033 and BEN-106) seem to correspond more closely with a
geographically similar site (BEN-053) then with the historic subsistence pattern of the
area, and two (NOM-146 and KTZ-300) appear to have followed a more varied
subsistence base than expected.
Conclusion
This thesis set out to explore the connection between Western Thule
regionalization and the historic Iñupiat socioterritories on the Seward Peninsula.
Acknowledging the association between subsistence resources and cultural territories,
zooarchaeological analysis of archaeofauna from the Snake River Sandspit site (NOM-
146) and intersite comparisons with published regional archaeofaunal assemblages were
chosen as the methods to test the hypothesis. Ray’s (1967, 1975) identification of
historic village subsistence patterns were extrapolated to the unique seasonal round of the
146
larger socioterritory (Burch 2006). Archaeofaunal assemblages were compared to the
subsistence pattern expected of the territory within which sites were located.
Potential distortions of the data include the fact that the major taxa of the
archaeofaunal assemblages were identified by %NISP without taking the different meat
weights and utility indices for the species into account. If meat utility indices had been
generated, then the data may have resulted in better tests of goodness of fit with the
ethnographic characterizations of subsistence. Many of the assemblages used in the
regional intersite analysis represented only small, partial excavations of sites; sampling
strategies may have affected the accuracy of the faunal representation. Additionally,
some of the archaeofaunal data were obtained from preliminary faunal analyses; the data
may change when the analyses are complete.
Sixteen published faunal analyses from 15 sites were examined and compared to
the archaeofaunal assemblage recovered from NOM-146. Assemblages from the three
inland sites consisted almost entirely of caribou remains. Assemblages from nine of the
13 coastal sites were heavily skewed towards pinniped remains. Of the other four coastal
sites, one was slightly biased towards pinnipeds, while the other three demonstrated more
diverse emphasis on various species. NOM-146 was categorized as one of these sites:
analysis suggested that although pinnipeds, especially small ice seals, were important to
the people living at the Snake River Sandspit site, terrestrial mammals, birds, and fishes
also played a significant role in their diet.
147
After taking the lack of whale bone collection at some sites into consideration, 13
of the 16 sites provided valid archaeofaunal assemblages to test the hypothesis. Nine of
the sites corresponded with either the expected general socioterritorial subsistence pattern
or a more specific ethnographic subsistence pattern within the region. Two sites fit more
closely with the subsistence pattern of the closely neighboring territory (which may
indicate a shifted boundary line), and two sites had a more varied assemblage than
expected (although factoring meat utility into the data may alter this result). In general,
the results of this thesis indicate that, in spite of any minor alterations that may have
occurred as a result of recent climate change, regional subsistence practices on the
Seward Peninsula have changed relatively little since Western Thule occupation.
148
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