Data F Ile 85-63 the ARCHAEOLOGY of the MANOKINAK SITE
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Public-data File 85-63 THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE MANOKINAK SITE: A STUDY OF THE CULTUEUL TRANSITION BETWEEN LATE NORTON TRADITION AM) HISTORIC ESKIMO 1 Robert Dane Shaw Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys December 1985 THIS REPORT HAS NOT BEEN REVIEWED FOR TECHNICAL CONTENT (EXCEPT AS NOTED IN TEXT) OR FOR CONFORMITY TO THE EDITORIAL STANDARDS OF DGGS. 794 University Avenue, Basement Fairbanks, Alaska 99709 '~laskaDivision of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, Pouch 7-028, Anchorage, AK 99510 THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE MAPOKIVFK SIT?,: .\ STlJDY OF THE CXLPRAL TRANSTTION RETWEEN L4TF ?JORTOP,I TRADITIOY AYD HISTORIC CSKI?IO BY 9ORERT DANE SHAW A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WASHINGTON STATE [JNIVERSITY Department of Anthropology @ Copyright by ROBERT DANE SHAW 1983 All Rights Reserved To the Faculty of Washington State University: The members of the Committee to examine the dissertation of ROBERT DAME SHAW find it satisfactory and recommend that it be accepted. Field work on which this document is based was initiated with a Doctoral Dissertation Grant from the National Science Foundation and Sigma Xi. Field logistic support was provided for the entire project by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through the management of Clarence Rhode National Wildlife Range. In addition to those organizations I would like to thank the officials of the Calista Corporation and Munam Kitlutsisti along with the citizens of Hooper Bay, Chevak, and Newtok, for their interest and encouragement to perform archaeological research on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Ricky Hoff, William Sheppard, Steven Klingler, and Steven Hosking actually excavated the material. The accommodations were primitive and the conditions often uncomfortable in the extreme, but each did more than their share of the work. For that, I extend my sincere thanks. The artifact illustrations that enhance this report were done by Susan Fair and I thank her for exercising her talent on my behalf. In researching and preparing this manuscript I gratefully acknowledge the able assistance of my wife, Ruth Jean. I thank her for her unswerving support through the years it has taken me to bring this project to fruition. Additionally, I thank Ross Schaff, William Barnwell, and Douglas Reger of the Division of Geological and Geophysical Survey, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, for their encouragement to complete this iii document. Appreciation is extended to Peter Mehringer, Carl Gustafson, and Richard Daugherty who served on my dissertation committee for guidance in preparation of this document. Special thanks is extended to my Dissertation Committee Chairinan, Robert Ackerman. His guidance from conception of the project, obtaining funds, conducting the field work, and writing the manuscript were invaluable. Additional individuals who have aided in the preparation of this document and facilitating the field work on which it is based include: James Akaran Jerry Leinecke Nelson Angapak Calvin Lensink Larry Charles John Lobdell Ignatious Chayalkin Rex Xathlaw Carla Dau Raphael Yurran Christian Dau Jack Panayak Wayne Dawson Don Redfearne Donald Frickie Michael Smith Lee Hotchkiss Rudy Smith Jerold Hout Harold Sparck Chuck Hunt Charles Strickland Pias Inqalar ia Jerold Van Faasen Robert Kigorak Ruth Van Taasen THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE YANOKINAK SITE: A STUDY OF THE CULTURAL TRANSITION RETWFEY LATE NORTON TRADITION AND HISTORIC ESKIMO ABSTRACT by Robert Dane Shaw, Ph.D. Washington State University, 1983 Chairman: Robert E. Ackerman The vanokinak archaeological site (PAR-0B7) is located on the ~ukon-Xuskokwim Delta 168 km northwest of Bethel, Alaska. The site is an abandoned village midden 30 in in diameter and 3 m high. The mound accumulated during successive occupation, abandonment, and reoccupation of sod houses at the locality through the past 1,200 years. Permafrost has preserved the organic remains which were abandoned by successive inhabitants. An 8 by 1 a trench excavated through the deposit yielded an archaeological collection rich in organic artifacts. Continuity with a generalized Eskimo adap,tation is demonstrated for the full occupation span by similarity of organic artifacts recovered from the site to items in ethnographic collections gathered in the 1880s. However, subdivision of the collection into three cultural components is possible based on stratigraphic position and variations in the surface decoration of the pottery. The latest component is of protohistoric age (less than 308 years) and is culturally representative of the economically diverse Eskimo adaptation observed on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta at European contact (c. 1825). The middle component is approximately 300 to 1,000 old and is related to the Western Thule Tradition. The earliest component (Component 1) is 1,000 to 1,300 years old and contains check stamp pottery characteristic of the Norton Tradition which dates from approximately 2,500 to 1,000 years ago. Yorton Tradition is characterized in the archaeological literature by remains consisting primarily of stone and pottery that are typologically distinctive from types found during subsequent cultural phases. Along with the culturally diagnostic check stamp pottery that relates Component 1 to the Norton Tradition, organic artifacts were recovered that are usually not preserved in Norton Tradition sites. Ground slate harpoon blades and knives, woven grass mats, a hunting helmet decoration, a snowshoe fragment, a flint flaking tool, kayak paddles, ocher painted wooden objects, and carved wood figurines analogous to specimens in the ethnographic collections, relate Component 1 to the middle component of the site and, in turn, to the historical Eskimo cultural continuum. It has been demonstrated that the Manokinak site is a cultural link between early phases of the Morton Tradition and subsequent Eskimo cultures. Along with relating Component 1 to the ethnographic collections, these unique artifacts have enriched the archaeologically known cultural inventory of the late Norton Tradition. Sased on these items, new interpretations are possible in the social aspects of 'Torton culture. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEIIENTS .....................i i ABSTRACT ......................... iv LIST OF TABLES ......................xi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .................. xii Chapter 1 . INTRODUCTION ................... 1 2 THE YUKON-!<USKORWIM DELTA PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGION . 9 GeneralDescription ............... 9 Surf icial Geology ................ 10 Bedrock Geology ................. 15 Climate ..................... 16 Vegetation ................... 26 Fauna ...................... 29 Ethnology ..................... 34 European Contact and Development ....... 34 Delta Peoples ................. 38 Seasonal Round ................ 39 Previous Archaeological Investigations ..... 41 SITE DESCRIPTION Site Location and Setting ............ 45 Additional Sites in the vicinity of XAR-0B7 ... 56 History of Investigations at ?TAR-007 ...... 58 Trench 1 ................... 60 Excavation Area 4 ............... 63 Excavation Area B ............... 68 4 . STRATIGRAPHY ................... 72 Transformations of Deposits ........... 74 Cultural rans sf or mat ions ........... 75 Noncultural Transformations .......... 78 Physical Characteristics of Deposits ...... 81 Housewall .................. 85 House F~OOKS ................. 91 HouseLoci ................... 99 LOCUS 1 ....................105 LOCUS 2 .................... 106 LOCUS 3 ....................107 vii Formation of Components .............109 Radiocarbon Dates ................113 Stratigraphic Summary and Cultural Component Diagrams ....................113 5 . ARTIFACT DESCRIPTION ............... 117 Artifacts of Wood ................ 118 Wooden Fishing and Hunting Tools .......124 Fish Traps .................124 Fish ~illingClub ..............124 Fishing rod .................127 Fishhook ..................139 Harpoon Sheath ...............131 3ow Fragments ................132 Arrow Fragments ............... 133 Dart Fragments ............... 134 Snowshoe Yrame ...............135 Kayak paddles ................138 Cord Handle ................. 142 Wooden Plugs ................142 Wooden Tools for On-Site Use ..... Wooden Bowl ............. Bent Wood Box ............ Vessel 3ottoms ........... Pegs ................ Stakes ............... Birch Bark Container ........ Buzz Toy .............. Spoon ................ Carvings and Elaborately Painted Wood Anthropomorphic Figures ...... Zoomorphic Figures ........ Carved and/or Painted Disks .... Painted Vessel sottom ....... Drum Rim .............. Fire Drills ............. Story Knives ............ Engraving Tools ........... Flaking tool ............ Stand for Pottery Vessel ...... Wooden Items of Unknown Function .......177 Artifact4/338 ...............177 Artifact4/438 ...............178 Artifact 6/43 and 4/259 ...........179 Artifact4/381 ............... 182 Artifact 4/384 and 7/31 ...........183 Artifact 3/123 ...............183 Artifact 5/232 ............... 186 Artifacts of Stone ...............193 Flaked Stone Tools ..............194 Flaked End Blades ..............194 End Scraper .................197 Flake-Knife .................197 Utilized Blakes ...............198 Ground Stone Tools .............. 198 Knives ...................198 Slate End Plades ..............215 P-dzes ....................219 Drill .................... 220 Ground Burin ................ 221 Ground Slate Chisel ............