Demographic fluctuations and the emergence of arctic maritime adaptations

Anderson, Shelby; Brown, Thomas J.; Junge, Justin; Duelks, Jonathan

doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2019.101100

Cited by 6 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Our data do suggest that this was more likely after 1500 B.P. when shifts in pottery technology and abundance coincide with other evidence of growing population, sedentism, and reliance on marine and aquatic resources around western Alaska and the Bering Strait region (Anderson, Brown et al 2016). Our pre-1500 cal B.P.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Aquatic Adaptations and the Adoption of Arctic Pottery Technology: Results of Residue Analysis

2017

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The late adoption of pottery technology in the North American Arctic between 2,500 and 2,800 years ago coincides with the development of a specialized maritime economy. Arctic pottery technologies present an excellent case study for examining possible correlations between hunter-gatherer pottery and aquatic resource use. Review of the timing and distribution of early pottery in Alaska shows that early pottery is rare and dates at the earliest to 2,500 years ago; the earliest pottery is found in small numbers and primarily in coastal areas. Despite expectations that pottery use would be strongly linked to marine lipids, biomarkers and compound-specific δ13C values of 20 sherds from the Cape Krusenstern site complex, dating from 2700 to 200 cal B.P. years ago, are most consistent with freshwater aquatic resources; mixtures of freshwater aquatic, marine aquatic, and terrestrial resources are also possible. While additional analysis of a larger sample and zooarchaeological reference specimens is necessary, our study suggests that the development of pottery production by Arctic peoples is more complex than previously appreciated. This research is the first synthesis in over 30 years of early pottery in Alaska and is the first to include residue analysis of a small sample of pre-1500 B.P. pottery.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Aquatic Adaptations and the Adoption of Arctic Pottery Technology: Results of Residue Analysis

2017

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“…However, after 1,000 years ago, lowland sites were significantly larger, and occupations were significantly closer to rivers, suggesting that commitment to lowland resources and particularly riverine resources such as fish had increased by this time. These changes in landscape use may be related to a general lowland expansion and increased specialization that spanned the late Holocene or may simply represent preservation bias associated with meandering braided rivers common to the region (Anderson et al 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These concomitant increases suggest that an important demographic shift took place between 3000 and 1000 cal BP. While such a late increase in overall number of sites might be associated with survey or taphonomic bias, research in this region has been focused on occupations related to the initial colonization of the Americas (~12,000 cal BP), and this research bias likely negates taphonomic effects (Anderson et al 2019; Surovell and Brantingham 2007). The number of sites increased before the White River Ash east event and remained consistent after the event, suggesting an alternative explanation for settlement patterning and other behavioral changes: population growth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multiscalar Consideration of the Athabascan Migration

et al. 2020

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Genetic and linguistic evidence suggests that, after living in the Subarctic for thousands of years, Northern Athabascans began migrating to the American Southwest around 1,000 years ago. Anthropologists have proposed that this partial out-migration and several associated in situ behavioral changes were the result of a massive volcanic eruption that decimated regional caribou herds. However, regional populations appear to increase around the time of these changes, a demographic shift that may have led to increased territoriality, resource stress, and specialization. Building on existing syntheses of cultural dynamics in the region, analyses of excavated materials, and landscape data from Alaska and Yukon, this research shows that the Athabascan transition represented a gradual shift toward resource specialization in both salmon and caribou with an overall increase in diet breadth, indicating a behavioral transition that is more consistent with gradual demographic change. Further, this behavioral shift was already in motion at the time of the volcanic eruption circa 1150 cal BP and suggests that the ultimate migration from the area was the result of demographic pressures. In sum, this research elaborates on the complex dynamics of resilience and adaptation in hunter-gatherer groups and provides a testable model for explaining past migrations.

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“…Despite this need for accurate and precise MRE values, until the last decade, few researchers sought to understand the differences between 14 C dates of marine mammal and terrestrial organisms over time across coastal northern Alaska (notable exceptions include Dumond and Griffin 2002;Khassanov and Savinetsky 2006;Ledger et al 2016;Krus et al 2019). In this paper, we document MREs in 14 C dated seal remains from several sites spanning the last 1600 years in the Bering Strait and northern Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea regions (Figure 1), encompassing a period of significant cultural and climatic changes during the late Holocene (Mason and Jordan 1993;Mason and Gerlach 1995;Anderson et al 2018Anderson et al , 2019Mason et al 2019). We present both the differences between 14 C dated marine-terrestrial pairs, R(t) values, and from the global marine curve, ΔR values (Reimer and Reimer 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Marine Reservoir Effects in Seal (Phocidae) Bones in the Northern Bering and Chukchi Seas, Northwestern Alaska

Reuther¹,

Shirar²,

Mason

et al. 2020

Radiocarbon

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We explore marine reservoir effects (MREs) in seal bones from the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas regions. Ringed and bearded seals have served as dietary staples in human populations along the coasts of Arctic northeast Asia and North America for several millennia. Radiocarbon (14C) dates on seal bones and terrestrial materials (caribou, plants seeds, wood, and wood charcoal) were compared from archaeological sites in the Bering Strait region of northwestern Alaska to assess MREs in these sea mammals over time. We also compared these results to 14C dates on modern seal specimens collected in AD 1932 and 1946 from the Bering Sea region. Our paired archaeological samples were recovered from late Holocene archaeological features, including floors from dwellings and cache pits, that date between 1600 and 130 cal BP. 14C dates on seal bones from the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas show differences [R(t)] of 800 ± 140 years from to their terrestrial counterparts, and deviations of 404 ± 112 years (ΔR) from the marine calibration curve.

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Demographic fluctuations and the emergence of arctic maritime adaptations

Cited by 6 publications

References 64 publications

Aquatic Adaptations and the Adoption of Arctic Pottery Technology: Results of Residue Analysis

Aquatic Adaptations and the Adoption of Arctic Pottery Technology: Results of Residue Analysis

A Multiscalar Consideration of the Athabascan Migration

Marine Reservoir Effects in Seal (Phocidae) Bones in the Northern Bering and Chukchi Seas, Northwestern Alaska

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