Animal Resource Use at Nash Harbor (49-NI-003), Nunivak Island, Alaska
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements
for the Master of Science Degree
Department of Anthropology,
University of Oregon
Original Text June 9, 1997
Internet Text August 15, 1997; revised September 7, 1998
Analyses of faunal remains from middens at the Ellikarrmiut Village Site reveal a broadly-based late Thule economy, but with specialized spring and summer seasonal economies involving Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), walrus (Odobenus rosmarus), seals (Phocidae), and cliff birds (Alcidae, Laridae, and Phalacrocoracidae). Patterns of butchery and refuse disposal emergent in faunal data, when compared with oral-historical and ethnographic data, suggest that the Ellikarrmiut relied most heavily on storage of cod and seals, and traded cliff bird skins with residents in Mekoryuk and on the mainland.
Contents
- Introduction and Background
- Geography & Biogeography of Nunivak Island
- Archaeology on Nunivak Island & Lower Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
- Archaeology at Nash Harbor
- Faunal Research: Goals & Methods
- Review of Results by Sample Unit
- Distribution of Faunal Materials
- Ellikarrmiut Animal Resource Economies
- Acknowledgments & References Cited