Archaeofaunal representation of late Western Thule regionalization: Insights from the Snake River Sandspit site in Nome, Alaska

• Main Author: Eldridge, Kelly Anne
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Alaska Anchorage 2012
• Subjects: Archaeology|Native American studies; Sandspit; Nome; Seward Peninsula; Alaska
• Online Access: http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1521294

This thesis explores the connection between Western Thule regionalization and historic Iñupiat socioterritories on the Seward Peninsula by comparing archaeofaunal assemblages to territory-specific subsistence patterns. A faunal analysis of the Snake River Sandspit site (NOM-146) in Nome, Alaska, and published faunal analyses of 15 additional Western Thule sites are used to test the antiquity of historic Iñupiat socioterritorial subsistence patterns. In general, results indicate that regional subsistence practices linked with territorial boundaries on the Seward Peninsula have changed little since Western Thule occupation.