Nauyalik Fish Camp: An Ethnoarchaeological Study in Activity-Area Formation

This ethnoarchaeological study of an Inupiat Eskimo fish camp examines the formation of activity areas through time-motion studies and the analyses of activity episodes. These observations on two adults using the site during the summer of 1982 are used as examples of how spatially discrete activity...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American Antiquity
Main Author: Chang, Claudia
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1988
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/281160
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0002731600069870
Description
Summary:This ethnoarchaeological study of an Inupiat Eskimo fish camp examines the formation of activity areas through time-motion studies and the analyses of activity episodes. These observations on two adults using the site during the summer of 1982 are used as examples of how spatially discrete activity areas are shaped by behavioral processes. In this case, activity-area formation is tied to the adaptive strategies of the Inupiat Eskimo cultural system. Specific subsistence-related activities such as food processing, animal butchering, and equipment maintenance leave material residues after tasks are completed. Cognitive and adaptive aspects of the Inupiat cultural system contribute to the spatial organization of this fish camp.