Pre-contact adaptations to the Little Ice Age in Southwest Alaska: New evidence from the Nunalleq site

Gender, Subsistence, Change, and Resilience in Quinhagak’s Present and Past

“…Cultural continuity is visible in Nunalleq's material culture, which resembles post-contact ethnographic collections. The period of Nunalleq's occupation was characterized by changing climate (Masson-MacLean et al 2019) and by forces of political and social change-a situation similar to Quinhagak's today. While the contexts for change in these scenarios are vastly different (e.g., general climatic cooling versus warming, differential access to technology and information, integration into the global commercial economy, etc.…”

“…The ancestors at Nunalleq were avid hunters and fishers (Masson-MacLean et al 2019). Marine mammal hunting, traditionally the realm of men, is represented through harpoon heads, sockets, toggles, float inflators, harpoon and finger rests, throwing boards, and other related technologies.…”

“…Faunal evidence suggests that pinnipeds, mostly ringed and bearded seal, would have been hunted in abundance in the early spring, and the young age of these remains is suggestive of near-shore hunting strategies (McManus-Fry 2015). Fishing was clearly a significant activity at the site, and would have provided a main source of food for village inhabitants, as well as for the numerous dogs kept as traction and companion animals (Britton et al 2018;Masson-MacLean et al 2019;McManus-Fry 2015;McManus-Fry et al 2018). Fishing artifacts from Nunalleq are abundant and include prongs, lures, net sinkers, and net fragments.…”

“…Caribou hunting, indicated by faunal remains and by artifacts like bow staves and arrow endblades, would have occurred primarily in winter (Gigleux et al 2019). The remains from a wide range of small fur-bearing mammals suggest that winter trapping activities were also a part of Nunalleq's subsistence cycle (Masson-MacLean et al 2019). Artifacts like knives, scrapers, hones, drills, beaver-and porcupine-tooth carving tools, shuttles, and gauges would have been used for the manufacture and upkeep of hunting toolkits, indicating another important aspect of male labour.…”

“…At Nunalleq, Masson-MacLean et al (2019) have identified an inherent flexibility in subsistence patterns, with salmon, marine mammals, and caribou utilized to varying degrees through time, likely dependent on climate-related availability. Various techniques for effectively maintaining these harvests would have allowed the community to continue thriving during times of uncertainty: for example, storage of resources like fish and marine mammal oils would have been a buffer against scarcity, while creating warm garments from caribou skins would have guarded against changing temperatures (Masson-MacLean et al 2019). Proper storage of foods and skin-sewing are both women's areas of expertise, suggesting the instrumental contributions that Nunalleq's women made to the viability of their community in the face of dramatic change.…”