The Bow and Arrow War Days on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta of Alaska

Funk, Caroline

doi:10.1215/00141801-2010-036

Cited by 19 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Each is differentiated by episodes of architectural remodeling of the larger sod structure. The occupational deposits are sealed by charred sod and collapsed structural remains that may relate to conflict connected to the Bow and Arrow Wars (Funk, 2010;Fienup-Riordan and Rearden, 2016). Resting above these layers are further sod deposits linked with the long-term collapse of the structure (Figs.…”

Section: Nunalleqmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dating and Digging Stratified Archaeology in Circumpolar North America: A View from Nunalleq, Southwestern Alaska

Ledger¹,

Forbes²,

Masson-MacLean³

et al. 2016

ARCTIC

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ABSTRACT. Through the case study of the Thule-era village site of Nunalleq (GDN-248), this paper presents 14 C dating results and perspectives on the issues associated with radiocarbon dating stratified archaeological sites in circumpolar North America. The objective was to investigate relative variation in the 14 C age of ecofacts with the aim of establishing a hierarchy of dating suitability for Nunalleq that could more widely inform 14 C sample selection on archaeological sites across the North American sub-Arctic and Arctic and Greenland. Owing to the complexities associated with interpreting and establishing the relative chronology of the deeply stratified sod deposits at Nunalleq, we adopted open-area excavation and single-context recording methods. This approach, we suggest, allowed us to eliminate stratigraphic complexity as a source of variation in 14 C measurements and to assess the taphonomic issues associated with dating different ecofacts. In total, 16 samples were submitted for dating, comprising two sets of eight different ecofacts, one from each of two stratigraphically contemporary but spatially discrete contexts. In most instances, the 14 C ages of ecofacts were statistically indistinguishable between the two contexts and support the relative chronological relationships established by excavation. Only Elymus arenarius (grass) manufactures and Heleomyzidae (fly) puparia produced different ages in the two contexts, variations that suggest that these items are unreliable dating materials. As noted in previous studies, Phoca sp. (seal) and Oncorhynchus sp. (salmon) bone collagen demonstrated a strong marine reservoir effect (c. 700 14 C yr.). Picea sp. (wood chips) were marginally older than seeds from edible berries (Rubus chamaemorus and Empetrum nigrum) and caribou (Rangifer tarandus) bone collagen, which provided the most consistent ages.Key words: radiocarbon dating; single-context recording; Arctic; Alaska; Thule; archaeology RÉSUMÉ. Par le biais d'une étude portant sur le village de Nunalleq (GDN-248), appartenant à l'ère thuléenne, cet article présente les résultats de datations par le carbone 14 ainsi que les problèmes liés à la datation des sites archéologiques stratifiés situés dans la zone circumpolaire de l'Amérique du Nord. L'objectif consistait à examiner les variations relatives entre les âges C14 obtenus pour différents types d'écofacts, dans le but d'établir une hiérarchie pour Nunalleq qui pourrait plus largement informer la sélection de matériel à dater sur les sites archéologiques à l'échelle des régions subarctiques et arctiques de l'Amérique du Nord ainsi que du Groenland. Afin de faciliter l'interprétation et l'établissement d'une chronologie relative pour les dépôts de tourbe profondément stratifiés à Nunalleq, nous avons effectué des fouilles archéologiques à aire ouverte et adopté le « single context recording » comme système d'enregistrement. Nous suggérons que cela nous a permis d'éliminer la complexité stratigraphique comme source de variation dans les mesures de l'ac...

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Section: Nunalleqmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dating and Digging Stratified Archaeology in Circumpolar North America: A View from Nunalleq, Southwestern Alaska

Ledger¹,

Forbes²,

Masson-MacLean³

et al. 2016

ARCTIC

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“…These houses do, however, resemble those described by other authors for the Yupiit during the "Bow-and-Arrow War days." McManus-Fry et al (2016) and Ledger et al (2016: Fig. 3) described such houses at Nunalleq, while Frink (2006Frink ( , 2016 noted others elsewhere in southwestern Alaska (see also Nelson, [1889Nelson, [ ] 1983VanStone, 1968;Funk, 2010;FienupRiordan and Rearden, 2016). Various authors describe a series of rooms connected by a labyrinth of tunnels, which functioned as escape routes and defensive holds during inter-village attacks.…”

Section: Prehistoric/early Historic Yup'ik: Ad 1400 -Mid-1800smentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The houses at the Shaktoolik Airport site seem to most closely resemble those described ethnographically by Nelson ([1889Nelson ([ ] 1983 and others (e.g., Frink, 2006Frink, , 2016, and references therein) for the Yukon-Kuskokwim/Nunivak Island area. In this area, these interconnected networks of tunnels served as clandestine escape routes during warfare and raids (Funk, 2010;Fienup-Riordan and Reardan, 2016).…”

Section: House Shapesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Archaeological Investigations near the Native Village of Shaktoolik, Norton Sound, Alaska + Supplementary Appendix 1 (See Article Tools)

Darwent¹,

Darwent²,

Eldridge³

et al. 2017

ARCTIC

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ABSTRACT. Since the early 1950s, when J.L. Giddings completed his work at Cape Denbigh, archaeological investigations in the area of Shaktoolik, Alaska, have been limited. Here we report on renewed investigations in the region that have led to the identification of 134 house features, dating from AD 1100 to the early 1900s, at a site next to the village's airport. This period spans one of continuity from the Nukleet archaeological culture to the ethnographic Yupiit, followed by a period of upheaval related to Russian trade and a smallpox epidemic that devastated the Indigenous population of the area. Inupiat from the north migrated to Shaktoolik and have occupied the area since the mid-1800s. Sixteen test units were excavated to understand the density of site occupation, extent of organic preservation, age of the deposits, and changes in subsistence over this 800-year period. The most recent Inupiat inhabitants built houses typical of mid 19th-to early 20th-century structures described for the northern Seward Peninsula, which were square, one-room structures with a single, long entrance tunnel. This house style replaced the previous Yup'ik-style multi-roomed structures replete with a labyrinth of tunnels used for defense and escape during inter-village conflict.

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“…What they found was a village of sod houses, containing tens of thousands of well-preserved organic and inorganic artefacts, traces of a fire that had been used to smoke out the 50 or so residents, and the skeletal remains of men, women and children who had died in a violent attack in around 1660 AD. The conflict is preserved in Yup'ik oral history as the Bow and Arrow Wars (Funk 2010, Knecht 2014, Fienup-Riordan et al 2015.…”

Section: Citizen Science: the Nunalleq Project Alaskamentioning

confidence: 99%

Transdisciplinary Archaeology and the Future of Archaeological Practice: Citizen Science, Portable Science, Ethical Science

Milek¹

2018

Norwegian Archaeological Review

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The Bow and Arrow War Days on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta of Alaska

Cited by 19 publications

References 8 publications

Dating and Digging Stratified Archaeology in Circumpolar North America: A View from Nunalleq, Southwestern Alaska

Dating and Digging Stratified Archaeology in Circumpolar North America: A View from Nunalleq, Southwestern Alaska

Recent Archaeological Investigations near the Native Village of Shaktoolik, Norton Sound, Alaska + Supplementary Appendix 1 (See Article Tools)

Transdisciplinary Archaeology and the Future of Archaeological Practice: Citizen Science, Portable Science, Ethical Science

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