Maritime Economies of the Central Gulf of Alaska after 4000 .

Abstract

Alaska’s central gulf coast encompasses four environmentally diverse regions stretching from Prince William Sound to the Pacific coast of the Alaska Peninsula. Despite their unique geographic and biological settings, these regions have a distinct and cohesive cultural history. Here, the historic distribution of Alutiiq or Sugpiaq peoples reflects the distribution of prehistoric cultures, illustrating a broadly unified evolutionary trajectory. Archaeological data from the past 4,000 years suggest the development of prosperous, permanent villages from smaller, more fluid foraging communities through human ingenuity—the ability to harvest resources with increasing efficiency and to manage inevitable fluctuations in the availability of foods and raw materials in a productive but dynamic environment. Together, changes in climate, population growth, technological innovation, and interaction with other peoples shaped the central gulf’s ancient societies into the powerful corporate groups recorded historically.

Human Paleodemography and Paleoecology of the North Pacific Rim from the Mid to Late Holocene

“…From 2500 yr and especially after 1000 yr, southwest and southcentral Alaskan communities grew to include substantial villages associated with smaller seasonal fishing camps. Both prestige contests and violent competition is evident in the use of artifacts of personal adornment, competitive games and feasting, large whale hunting, defensive sites and mortuary treatment (Fitzhugh, 2003;Davis et al, 2016;Steffian et al, 2016). The last phase in this history was initiated by Russian conquest in the late 18 th century, when conscription of Native hunters for sea otter harvesting, impacts of epidemic diseases and missionization transformed Indigenous communities across the region (Veltre and McCartney, 2002;Lührmann, 2008).…”

“…They harvested sea mammals as substantial as gray and humpback whales and fished for cod, halibut, sculpin, and greenling in nearshore environments and on the open shelf, tens of kilometers offshore. They caught salmon and other anadromous fish by the thousands with spears, weirs, nets, and traps, and they harvested shellfish, octopus, seaweeds, and other vital resources in the intertidal zones (Knecht and Davis, 2001;Fitzhugh, 2003Corbett et al, 2010;West et al, 2012;Steffian et al, 2016).…”

Archaeology

“…The interior Outlet Site, while it was primarily a fishing camp, also showed evidence of fall/winter bird hunting and boasted substantial houses. Steffian et al (2016) hypothesize that, as the population on Kodiak grew, the period of use of interior resources was extended and the coastal people, needing to lay stronger claim to their summer settlements, built substantial houses to serve as signs of ownership when they were absent.…”

CLAMS AND CLIMATE IN THE KODIAK ARCHIPELAGO, ALASKA: INSIGHTS FROM OXYGEN ISOTOPE SCLEROCHRONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF S. GIGANTEA FROM MIDDLE TO LATE HOLOCENE ARCHAEOLOGICAL DEPOSITS

“…Within the Kodiak archipelago in the northwestern GOA, fluctuating environmental conditions, population growth, technological transitions, and contact with other communities likely promoted the transition from needs-based maritime hunter-gatherers to surplus-based, semi-permanent villages (Clark, 1984;Fitzhugh, 2003;Steffian et al, 2016); however, the precise role of climate in this transition is poorly understood. Regional reconstructions are useful for generally understanding vast temporal ranges of climate variability but it is insufficient for archaeological research, which oftentimes poses questions about the seasonal timing of resource use and site occupations, requiring sub-annual resolution to answer (West, 2009).…”

“…1). The Kodiak archipelago has low mountains and small glaciers relative to the Alaskan mainland (Steffian et al, 2016). Its coastline contains numerous bays where snow-fed rivers influence estuarine settings.…”