Enon Valdez Oil Spill Restoration Project Final Report Site Specific
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Enon Valdez Oil Spill Restoration Project Final Report Site Specific Archaeological Restoration at SEW-440 and SEW-488 Restoration Project 95007B Final Report Linda Finn Yarborough United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Chugach National Forest 3301 C St., Suite 300 Anchorage, Alaska 99503 October 1997 Site Specific Archaeological Restoration at SEW440 and SEW488 Restoration Project 95007B Final Report Siw:The project effort was initiated under Restoration Project 94007B.An annual progress report was issued in January, 1995 by Yarborough, L., under the title Restoration ~ -1995. Theproject continued under Restoration Project 95007B, the subject of annual this report. A second progress report was prepared in September 1995 by Yarborough, L., under the title 1s Reuort. Seutember 1995. FY 95 wasthe last field season for this project. Data analysis and project report preparation took place in FY 96 and FY97.Papers were prepared for presentation and peer reviewed publication, and results were presented to the public in FY 97. Abstract: Project 94007 provided for restoration of two archaeological sites damaged during the Exxon Vuldez Oil Spill and its subsequent cleanup program. Test excavations were carried out at both SEW-440 and SEW-488 during 1994. Analysis and completion of excavations at SEW-488 took place in 1995. Analysis continued in 1996 and 1997. Each site was assessed in the field and mapped prior to testing. Data recovery work yielded both environmental and cultural information. Both sites appear to have been intermittently occupied, SEW-440 over a period of almost 2000 years, and SEW-488 for up to 3000 years. Artifact and zooarchaeological analyses resulted in information on prehistoric technology, subsistence, seasonality and site use. The data augment knowledge of cultural ecology and settlement patterns in the PrinceWilliam Sound area. Analysis of sitestratigraphy, soils, pollen and tephra layers haveyielded tectonic, geomorphological, palaeoenvironmental, and volcanic information. The project attained the restoration goals of recovery, analysis, and curation of artifacts, backfilling and surface stabilization, and determination of the nature of each siteand the extent to which information has been compromised or destroyed. Kev Words: archaeology, Chugach, Exxon Vuldez, fauna, geology, geomorphology, palaeo- environment, palynology, pollen, Prince William Sound, Sugpiaq, tephra, zooarchaeology. m:Description ofdutu - Two primary sets of computerized data were compiled during the project, one forartifacts, and the other for fauna.Both include provenience, identification, and descriptive information.Format - Both data sets are in Microsoft Excel 5.0. Custodian - Contact Linda Finn Yarborough through the U.S.D.A.Chugach National Forest, 3301 C St., Suite 300, Anchorage, Alaska (work phone: (907) 271-2511; fax: (907) 271-3992). Availability - Because some of the information is sensitive in nature, the data sets will be made available to researchers on a case by case basis. Citation: Yarborough, L.F. 1997. Site specific archaeological restoration at SEW-440 and SEW-488, Exxon Vuldez Oil Spill Restoration Project Final Report (Restoration Project 95007B), U.S.D.A. Forest Service Chugach National Forest, Anchorage, Alaska. TABLE OF CONTENTS .. Study History/Abstract/KeyDadcitation wordsProject ............................ 11 ... Table of Contents .........................................................111 ListofFigures ............................................................ v List of Tables ............................................................ .vi .. Acknowledgements ........................................................ VII ... List of Acronyms and Abbreviations .......................................... VIII Executivesumma ry ........................................................ ix Chapter 1 : INTRODUCTION ................................................. 1 Regulatory and Compliance Responsibilities ............................. 1 Objectives ....................................................... 3 Methodology ..................................................... 3 Chapter 2: ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING ........... ...........5 Physiography and Geology ...... ........... ...........5 GlacialHistory .................................................... 6 Holocene Tectonics and Geomorphology ................................ 6 Local Geomorphology .............................................. 8 Climate .......................................................... 8 Soils ............................................................ 9 Vegetation ....................................................... 10 Fauna .......................................................... 11 Chapter 3: CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ...................... 15 Ethnography ..................................................... 15 Archaeological Record ............................................. 15 Research History ................................................. 15 Prehistory of Prince William Sound ................................... 16 Prehistoric Settlement Patterns ....................................... 17 Maritime/Terrestrial Adaptations ...................................... 17 Models of Prehistoric Cultural Ecology ................................ 19 RussianPeriod ................................................... 20 AmericanPeriod .................................................. 21 Chapter 4: RESTORATION PROJECT AT SEW-440 .............................. 23 Injury to SEW-440 ................................................ 23 Field Investigations Prior to Restoration ................................ 23 Site Description and Stratigraphy .................................... 23 Features ........................................................ 33 FireCrackedRock ......................................... 33 Tephra ......................................................... 34 Soils ........................................................... 35 ... 111 SiteChronology ....................................................... 36 Artifacts ............................................................. 36 Fauna ............................................................... 44 Cultural Material Distribution and Relationships .............................. 53 Summary of Archaeological Data .......................................... 53 Sitecondition ........................................................ 54 Chapter 5: RESTORATION PROJECT AT SEW-488 .............................. 55 InjurytoSEW-488 ..................................................... 55 Field Investigations Prior to Restoration..................................... 55 Site Description and Stratigraphy .......................................... 55 Features ............................................................. 58 FireCrackedRock ..................................................... 58 Tephra ..............................................................62 Soils ...............................................................62 SiteChronology ....................................................... 63 Artifacts-Historic ....................................................... 66 Artifacts-Prehistoric ................................................... 73 Fauna ............................................................... 99 Cultural Material Distribution and Relationships ............................. 102 Summary of Archaeological Data ......................................... 102 Sitecondition ....................................................... 104 Chapter 6: REGIONAL CONTEXT OF SEW440 AND SEW-488 ...................105 Northern Maritime Adaptations .......................................... 105 Alutiiq Settlement Models .............................................. 108 Chapter7:SU"ARY .................................................... 111 Evaluation of SEW-440 and SEW-488 for the National Register .................111 Restoration Goals and Project Effectiveness ................................. 111 Conclusions ......................................................... 113 REFERENCES CITED .................................................... 115 Appendix A: Analysis of Pollen Samplesfrom Archaeological Site SEW.488. Northeastern Knight Island. by Mary Edwards and Andrea Krumhardt. 131 Appendix B: Observations Concerning Holocene Tectonism and Associated Shoreline Changes in Prince William Sound. Alaska. by Greg Chaney ..................... 137 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. EVOS restoration project area ........................................ 2 Figure 2. Project area. from vicinity of wet meadow pollen tests ...................4 Figure3 . SEW-440 ................................. ..................24 Figure 4 . East wall. unit N25E33. SEW-440 .............. ..................27 Figure 5 . North wall. unit N21E30. SEW-440 ............. ..................28 Figure 6 . East wall. unit N16E27. SEW-440 .............. ..................29 Figure 7 . North wall. N32E38. SEW-440 ................. ..................31 Figure 8 . South wall. unit N12E23. SEW-440 ............. ..................32 Figure 9 . Adze flake (1.29) ........................... ..................37 Figure 10.Quartz crystal gravers (1.15, 1.12) .................................... 37 Figure 11. Slate awl midsection (2.16), slateawl splinter (2.12),unfinished point (tip-1.13; distal portion-1.17) ........................................ 42 Figure 12.Fauna represented at SEW-440