Pre-contact adaptations to the Little Ice Age in Southwest Alaska: New evidence from the Nunalleq site
International audience The reconstruction of diet, subsistence strategies and human-animal relationships are integral to understanding past human societies, adaptations and resilience - especially in the circumpolar Arctic. Even in relatively recent periods, climatic excursions may have posed specif...
Published in: | Quaternary International |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
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Online Access: | https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02945263 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2019.05.003 |
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ftuparislumieres:oai:HAL:halshs-02945263v1 2023-06-11T04:09:05+02:00 Pre-contact adaptations to the Little Ice Age in Southwest Alaska: New evidence from the Nunalleq site Masson-Maclean, Edouard Claire, Houmard Knecht, Rick Sidéra, Isabelle Dobney, Keith Britton, Kate University of Aberdeen Préhistoire et Technologie (PréTech) Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) University of Liverpool Labex Les passés dans le présent/Art and Humanities Research Council ALLY: Animals, Lifeways and Lifeworlds in Yup’ik Archaeology (ALLY): Subsistence, Technologies, and Communities of Change 2020-05-30 https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02945263 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2019.05.003 en eng HAL CCSD Elsevier info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.quaint.2019.05.003 halshs-02945263 https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02945263 doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2019.05.003 ISSN: 1040-6182 Quaternary International https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02945263 Quaternary International, 2020, 549, pp.130-141. ⟨10.1016/j.quaint.2019.05.003⟩ https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/quaternary-international Arctic Archaeology zooarchaeology Bone technology isotopes Diet Little Ice Age [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2020 ftuparislumieres https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2019.05.003 2023-04-18T22:49:31Z International audience The reconstruction of diet, subsistence strategies and human-animal relationships are integral to understanding past human societies, adaptations and resilience - especially in the circumpolar Arctic. Even in relatively recent periods, climatic excursions may have posed specific challenges for hunter-gatherer groups living at latitudinal and climatic extremes, and archaeological research in Arctic North America is increasingly looking to better understand the impact of past climate change on human groups. Here, through a unique multi-proxy approach (zooarchaeology, bone technology and stable isotope analysis), we explore human subsistence strategies, adaptation and resilience at Nunalleq, a recently excavated pre-contact Yup'ik coastal site in southwest Alaska. The main phase of occupation of the site (16th-17th centuries AD) corresponds with one of the coolest periods of the Little Ice Age – a climatic interval from the early 14th century through the mid-19th associated with global and more localised cooling events. The analyses reveal a subsistence strategy centred around the exploitation of three major resources, including salmon, marine mammals and caribou, supplemented by secondary resources such as birds and medium-sized mammals. This tripartite resource base (salmon, marine mammals, caribou) is similar to that seen at other Thule-era sites in Alaska and likely permitted a flexibility in resource use in the face of changes in resource availability (and competition over resources) during the Little Ice Age. Comparison of the different datasets, however, reveals variability and nuance in the use of animals for both dietary and broader subsistence needs. While caribou represent a vital and heavily-exploited resource at Nunalleq (evident from both the zooarchaeology and the bone technology), they did not represent a key dietary resource (indicated by stable isotope data). Instead, caribou played an integral and key part as a major source of raw material, especially antler, in order to ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic caribou Climate change Yup'ik Alaska Université Paris Lumières: HAL Arctic Quaternary International 549 130 141 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Université Paris Lumières: HAL |
op_collection_id |
ftuparislumieres |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic Archaeology zooarchaeology Bone technology isotopes Diet Little Ice Age [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory |
spellingShingle |
Arctic Archaeology zooarchaeology Bone technology isotopes Diet Little Ice Age [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory Masson-Maclean, Edouard Claire, Houmard Knecht, Rick Sidéra, Isabelle Dobney, Keith Britton, Kate Pre-contact adaptations to the Little Ice Age in Southwest Alaska: New evidence from the Nunalleq site |
topic_facet |
Arctic Archaeology zooarchaeology Bone technology isotopes Diet Little Ice Age [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory |
description |
International audience The reconstruction of diet, subsistence strategies and human-animal relationships are integral to understanding past human societies, adaptations and resilience - especially in the circumpolar Arctic. Even in relatively recent periods, climatic excursions may have posed specific challenges for hunter-gatherer groups living at latitudinal and climatic extremes, and archaeological research in Arctic North America is increasingly looking to better understand the impact of past climate change on human groups. Here, through a unique multi-proxy approach (zooarchaeology, bone technology and stable isotope analysis), we explore human subsistence strategies, adaptation and resilience at Nunalleq, a recently excavated pre-contact Yup'ik coastal site in southwest Alaska. The main phase of occupation of the site (16th-17th centuries AD) corresponds with one of the coolest periods of the Little Ice Age – a climatic interval from the early 14th century through the mid-19th associated with global and more localised cooling events. The analyses reveal a subsistence strategy centred around the exploitation of three major resources, including salmon, marine mammals and caribou, supplemented by secondary resources such as birds and medium-sized mammals. This tripartite resource base (salmon, marine mammals, caribou) is similar to that seen at other Thule-era sites in Alaska and likely permitted a flexibility in resource use in the face of changes in resource availability (and competition over resources) during the Little Ice Age. Comparison of the different datasets, however, reveals variability and nuance in the use of animals for both dietary and broader subsistence needs. While caribou represent a vital and heavily-exploited resource at Nunalleq (evident from both the zooarchaeology and the bone technology), they did not represent a key dietary resource (indicated by stable isotope data). Instead, caribou played an integral and key part as a major source of raw material, especially antler, in order to ... |
author2 |
University of Aberdeen Préhistoire et Technologie (PréTech) Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) University of Liverpool Labex Les passés dans le présent/Art and Humanities Research Council ALLY: Animals, Lifeways and Lifeworlds in Yup’ik Archaeology (ALLY): Subsistence, Technologies, and Communities of Change |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Masson-Maclean, Edouard Claire, Houmard Knecht, Rick Sidéra, Isabelle Dobney, Keith Britton, Kate |
author_facet |
Masson-Maclean, Edouard Claire, Houmard Knecht, Rick Sidéra, Isabelle Dobney, Keith Britton, Kate |
author_sort |
Masson-Maclean, Edouard |
title |
Pre-contact adaptations to the Little Ice Age in Southwest Alaska: New evidence from the Nunalleq site |
title_short |
Pre-contact adaptations to the Little Ice Age in Southwest Alaska: New evidence from the Nunalleq site |
title_full |
Pre-contact adaptations to the Little Ice Age in Southwest Alaska: New evidence from the Nunalleq site |
title_fullStr |
Pre-contact adaptations to the Little Ice Age in Southwest Alaska: New evidence from the Nunalleq site |
title_full_unstemmed |
Pre-contact adaptations to the Little Ice Age in Southwest Alaska: New evidence from the Nunalleq site |
title_sort |
pre-contact adaptations to the little ice age in southwest alaska: new evidence from the nunalleq site |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02945263 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2019.05.003 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic caribou Climate change Yup'ik Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic caribou Climate change Yup'ik Alaska |
op_source |
ISSN: 1040-6182 Quaternary International https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02945263 Quaternary International, 2020, 549, pp.130-141. ⟨10.1016/j.quaint.2019.05.003⟩ https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/quaternary-international |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.quaint.2019.05.003 halshs-02945263 https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02945263 doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2019.05.003 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2019.05.003 |
container_title |
Quaternary International |
container_volume |
549 |
container_start_page |
130 |
op_container_end_page |
141 |
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1768382798201094144 |