Exploratory Models of Intersite Variability in Mid to Late Holocene Central Alaska B.A
ARCTIC VOL. 61, NO. 4 (DECEMBER 2008) P. 407– 425 Exploratory Models of Intersite Variability in Mid to Late Holocene Central Alaska B.A. POTTER1 (Received 27 November 2007; accepted in revised form 10 March 2008) ABSTRACT. Interrelated aspects of technology, site structure, and subsistence patterns in central Alaska are synthesized using a comprehensive database of radiocarbon-dated components. Microblade technology is examined with respect to broad patterns of technology, settlement, and subsistence. Striking changes in the archaeological record during the Late Holocene (~1000 cal BP), including the loss of microblades, are explored through three general models: technological and economic change within existing populations, population replacement or assimilation, and taphonomic bias. The evidence most strongly supports the first: a shift from multiseasonal large mammal hunting strategies with associated high residential mobility to exploitation of seasonally overabundant resources (caribou, fish) and increased logistical mobility and reliance on storage. Key words: Alaska, intersite variability, microblade technology, bison extirpation, Subarctic prehistory, subsistence economy, land-use strategies, Holocene RÉSUMÉ. Les aspects interdépendants de la technologie, de la structure des sites et des modèles de subsistance dans le centre de l’Alaska sont synthétisés en s’appuyant sur une banque de données exhaustives de composantes datées au radiocarbone. La technologie des microlames est examinée par rapport aux modèles élargis en matière de technologie, d’établissement et de subsistance. Des changements marquants sur le plan de l’enregistrement archéologique du Holocène supérieur (~1000 cal. BP), dont la perte des microlames, sont explorés à la lumière de trois modèles généraux : le changement technologique et économique au sein des populations existantes, l’assimilation ou le remplacement de la population, et l’écart taphonomique.
[Show full text]