©Copyright 2011 Stephen Colby Phillips
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©Copyright 2011 Stephen Colby Phillips Networked Glass: Lithic Raw Material Consumption and Social Networks in the Kuril Islands, Far Eastern Russia Stephen Colby Phillips A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2011 Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Anthropology University of Washington Abstract Networked Glass: Lithic Raw Material Consumption and Social Networks in the Kuril Islands, Far Eastern Russia Stephen Colby Phillips Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Associate Professor J. Benjamin Fitzhugh Anthropology This research assesses the effects of environmental conditions on the strategic decisions of low-density foragers in regards to their stone tool raw material procurement and consumption behavior. Social as well as technological adaptations allow human groups to meet the challenges of environments that are circumscribed due to geographic isolation, low biodiversity, and the potential impacts of natural events. Efficient resource management and participation in social networks can be viewed within the framework of human behavioral ecology as optimal forms of behavior aimed at increasing the chances of successful adaptations to dynamic island environments. A lithic resource consumption behavioral model is constructed and predictions derived from the model are tested through the analysis of lithic flake debitage from artifact assemblages representing 2,100 years of human occupation in the Kuril Islands of Far Eastern Russia in the North Pacific Ocean. The relative proportions of debitage across lithic reduction sequence stages provides a measure of lithic reduction intensity, which is compared with the model predictions based on the environmental conditions and local availability of lithic resources in six archaeological sites. A specific raw material type, nonlocal obsidian, was further analyzed through a source provenance study that traces the procurement, transportation, and use of obsidian from Hokkaido and Kamchatka in the Kuril Islands. The distribution and diversity of obsidian sources in Kuril Island archaeological sites provide the basis for constructing and analyzing past social networks of human relationships. Results indicate that the marine-adapted hunter-gatherers of the late Holocene Kuril Islands adapted their lithic technology to meet the conditions of specific island environments in relation to lithic resource availability and subsistence resource predictability, particularly in the Central Kuril Islands. Changes in the level of lithic reduction intensity were detected in conjunction with a change in the specific culture group who occupied the island chain that occurred around 1400 BP. Variation in the distribution and diversity of obsidian from sources in Hokkaido and Kamchatka also coincided with this population change, suggesting a re-orientation of social networks that provided access to nonlocal resources. This study supports the growing body of evidence that living in an island environment does not necessarily equate to living in social isolation, but that insular island societies display a high degree of communication and interaction which may refer to a successful adaptation against the potential perils of isolation. Table of Contents List of Figures .................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ....................................................................................................... v Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................ 1 Islands and Insularity .................................................................... 1 The Kuril Islands .......................................................................... 3 A Theoretical Framework ............................................................. 4 Aim and Scope .............................................................................. 7 Dissertation Organization .............................................................. 7 Chapter 2: A Model of Lithic Resource Procurement and Consumption and Social Networks ............................................................................................ 9 Exchange and Social Networks ................................................... 17 A Simple Integrated Model ......................................................... 22 Summary .................................................................................... 33 Chapter 3: Environmental Setting of the Kuril Islands ........................................ 34 Geography, Climate, and Paleoenvironment ................................ 34 Flora and Fauna .......................................................................... 38 Geology and Lithic Resources ..................................................... 43 Summary .................................................................................... 47 Chapter 4: Kuril Island Culture History and a Proposal of a New Chronological Framework .................................................. 49 History of Archaeological Research in the Kuril Islands.............. 49 Current Cultural Periods of Northern Japan and Kuril Islands ..... 52 A Chronological Historical Sequence .......................................... 60 Chapter 5: Analysis of Kuril Island Debitage Assemblages ................................ 68 Debitage Analysis Overview ....................................................... 69 Research Questions ..................................................................... 70 Sample Assemblage Description ................................................. 73 Kuril Tool Technology ................................................................ 80 Results of Debitage Analysis....................................................... 85 Overall Assemblage Comparisons ............................................. 101 Discussion and Conclusions ...................................................... 110 Chapter 6: Source Provenance Analysis of Obsidian Debitage From the Kuril Islands ..................................................................................... 115 Obsidian Formation and Physical Characteristics ...................... 115 Obsidian Chemical Characterization ......................................... 117 Relevant Obsidian Source Characterization Studies in Northeast Asia ...................................................................... 125 Kuril Island Obsidian Artifacts.................................................. 133 Kuril Island Obsidian Artifact Source Provenance Analysis ...... 135 Overall Pattern of Obsidian Source Group Distribution ............. 138 Obsidian Source Diversity Measurement and Results ................ 146 Discussion and Conclusions ...................................................... 152 i Chapter 7: Social Network Analysis of Kuril Island Obsidian .......................... 157 Social Network Analysis ........................................................... 157 Applying SNA to Archaeological Cases .................................... 160 Network Construction and Description ...................................... 162 Kuril Island Networks ............................................................... 164 Kuril Island Network Measurements ......................................... 175 Network Modeling .................................................................... 176 Discussion and Conclusions ...................................................... 180 Chapter 8: Summary and Conclusions .............................................................. 185 Significant Results and Their Importance .................................. 186 Contributions and Broader Implications .................................... 193 Future Research ........................................................................ 194 References ....................................................................................................... 197 Appendix A: Lithic Analysis Coding Sheet ...................................................... 229 Appendix B: Obsidian Source Diversity Simulation R Code ............................ 233 Vita .................................................................................................................. 235 ii List of Figures 2.1 Lithic resource availability and subsistence resource predictability matrix .................................................................................. 26 2.2 Relationship between obsidian source diversity and network centrality...... 28 3.1 Map of the Kuril Islands ............................................................................ 36 4.1 Distribution of Kuril Island radiocarbon dates in 50-year bins ................... 63 4.2 Distribution of Kuril Island radiocarbon dates in 100-year bins ................. 64 5.1 Southern island Phase III distribution of raw material types ....................... 87 5.2 Southern island Phase III distribution of raw material types across lithic reduction stages by count ....................................................... 88 5.3 Southern island Phase III distribution of raw material types across lithic reduction stages by mass ........................................................ 88 5.4 Southern island Phase III average flake mass by raw material type ............ 89 5.5 Central island Phase III distribution of raw material types ......................... 90 5.6 Central island