Sitka National Historical Park, the Archeology of the Fort Unit Volume 1
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SITKA NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK THE ARCHEOLOGY OF THE FORT UNIT VOLUME I: RESULTS OF THE 2005-2008 INVENTORY by William J. Hunt, Jr. Midwest Archeological Center Occasional Studies No. 35 Volume 1 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Midwest Archeological Center United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Midwest Archeological Center Lincoln, Nebraska 2010 This report has been reviewed against the criteria contained in 43CFR Part 7, Subpart A, Section 7.18 (a) (1) and, upon recommendation of the Midwest Regional Office and the Midwest Archeological Center, has been classified as Available Making the report available meets the criteria of 43CFR Part 7, Subpart A, Section 7.18 (a) (1). ABSTRACT In 2005, SITK invited the National Park Service’s (NPS) Midwest Archeological Center (MWAC) to conduct a Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program (SAIP) parkwide inventory at the park’s Fort Site Unit. This unit incorporates 57 acres of rainforest and nearly 55 acres of wetlands, Indian River channel, and tidal flats. The SAIP’s (and the SITK project’s) goals are to conduct systematic, scientific research to locate, evaluate, and document archeological resources on National Park system lands. Its objectives are to: 1) determine the nature and extent of archeological resources in park areas; 2) record and evaluate those resources in the Archeological Sites Management Information System (ASMIS) database; 3) include nominating eligible properties for listing in the National Register of Historic Places; and 4) recommend appropriate strategies for conserving, protecting, preserving in situ, managing, and interpreting those resources. Four years of inventory were projected to complete the inventory. The first year, 2005, was scheduled for metal detecting, geophysical, and hand-excavated shovel testing surveys. The second field season, in 2006, focused on shovel testing with the goal of completing archeological inventory over as much of the Fort Unit as possible. In 2007, shovel testing was completed and limited test excavations were conducted at select locations where prehistoric and historic features had been previously identified. The final year, 2008, saw additional test excavations at the Fort Clearing, presentations about the project in a regional conference, and preparation of a final report to the park. Seventeen new sites were recorded, one previously recorded site was updated, with 1787 artifacts and 49 soil, charcoal, and other samples recovered and cataloged. Locating the 1804 Kiks.adi fort, Shis’ki-Noow and its associated 1804 battleground has been of primary importance to the park and this inventory. Metal detection and geophysical inventories were able to eliminate one proposed location for the fort. None of the inventory methods were able to confirm the fort’s location at its traditionally acknowledged site in the Fort Clearing largely due to massive disturbances there by the National Park Service itself. The metal detection inventory, however, successfully identified the battlefield as at the Fort Clearing and areas northwest of the clearing. This, along with the data from the 1958 excavations by Hadleigh-West, points to the Fort Clearing as the most likely location for the Kiks.adi fort. In addition, this project has accomplished one of the few 100% archeological inventories for a park in the National Park system and the first such 100% inventory in the Alaska Region. This report provides an overview of the environment, history, and archeology of the Fort Unit. It details the methodology of the work undertaken, reviews the data derived from that work, and provides an interpretation of the data within the framework of the culture history of the Sitka Tlingit and Southeast Alaska region. Sites were evaluated with regard to condition, disturbance levels, and threats. Eligibility for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places was determined through an examination of appropriate eligibility criterion, temporal association, physical integrity, data potential and determination of significance. Finally, recommendations are made with regard to the park’s future scheduling of site condition assessments and possible interpretive options. i SITKA ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Sitka National Historical Park (SITK) Parkwide Inventory was successfully completed due to the efforts of a lot of people from all walks of life. Without their help, the project would not have even gotten off the ground, let alone been successfully completed. Given the four year long life of the project, the list of persons making this accomplishment possible is long. First of all, and most importantly, I want to acknowledge that this project would not have been accomplished without the vision and guidance of SITK Chief of Resource Management Gene Griffin. This project marks the successful conclusion of Gene’s nearly 30 year initiative to thoroughly document SITK cultural resources. The process of documentation began in 1985 when Gene served as an archeologist at the Alaska Regional Office. Preparing for routine compliance-related investigations at SITK, he noticed that archeological excavation data did not conform with historic information for the 1804 Kiks.ádi fort site. Returning to the park in 1992, Gene began visionary and long-term investigation of park resources. This effort ultimately involved at least 24 historians, oral historians, geologists, geophysicists, ecologists, soils scientists, archeologists, cultural landscape architects, and botanists from at least 12 tribal, federal, state, and private organizations. Ultimately, these investigations have led to a broad understanding of the park’s physical history and land use from circa 4500 years ago when the park lands emerged from the sea through the 20th century. Gene retired shortly after the fieldwork was completed in 2008 but his legacy has been great and will be of importance in park planning, interpretation, and future research for decades to come. An important means of opening this project to a broader segment of society beyond the archeological profession and employees of the National Park Service has been the National Park Service’s Volunteers in Parks (VIP) program. The Volunteers In Parks program proved to be a major element of this project with 16 people participating as part of the archeological crew in 2005 and 2007. Eleven VIPs participated in 2005 including three professional archeologists (Nebraska Wesleyan University Assistant Professor Dr. Melissa Connor, NPS [Intermountain Regional Office, Santa Fe] Archeologist Charles Haecker and Gila National Forest [New Mexico] Archeologist Chris Adams). Non-archeologists serving as VIPS in the project in 2005 were Sitka residents Israel Ginn, Deirdre LaBounty, Aaron Didrickson, Shane Mitchell, Blaine Scouller, and Sandra Vent. In 2007, project VIPs included John Banks (Red Cloud, MN), Jennifer Williams (Norwalk, OH), Laura Crawford (Lincoln, NE), Katie Griffin (Sitka, AK), and Kay Sargent (Bellevue, WA). These individuals worked long days digging and screening dirt (actually mud, since it rained most of the time) as part of the shovel test team with occasional assignments to the geophysical team moving lines or operating instruments. Altogether, the volunteers contributed 952 hours of labor to the project worth an estimated $15,137.00. Gene and I were also ably assisted by a dedicated corps of park personnel. Among those who made this thing work were SITK Superintendents Greg Dudgeon (2005- 2007) and Mary Miller (2008), Chiefs of Administration Liz Roberts (2005-2007) and Julia Rosborough (2007-2008), Historian Kristen Griffin, Chief of Maintenance Randy Rogers, Museum Curator Sue Thorsen, Museum Specialist Ramona East, Education iii SITKA Specialist Lisa Matlock, Biologist Geoffrey Smith, Chief Ranger Clair Roberts, Park Ranger Clarence Wadkins, Maintenance Workers Michal Johnson and Loren Peterson, and Information Technology Specialist Bonnie Brewer. I thank you all. Thanks are also extended to Forest Service Archeologist Jeremy Karchut and Forest Service Education Specialist Jim Case for providing background information on Baranof archeological sites. Jeremy also set aside time to show my crew archeological materials from the Starrigavan and Hidden Falls sites. This was a wonderful learning exercise for all of us and had a very positive affect on the overall accomplishments of the project. Every year, the archeological crew at Sitka National Historical Park was composed of a corps of dedicated professional archeological technicians and non- professional local hires. They included: 2005 (left to right) - VIPs Israel Ginn and Shane Mitchell, SITK Laborer James Craig, VIPs Charlie Haecker and Chris Adams, NPS Archeologist William Hunt, VIP Melissa Connor, NPS Archeologist Douglas Scott, Youth Employment Program and Sitka Works Project employee Alan Carper, NPS Archeologist Steve De Vore, and SITK Laborers Sean Griffin and Jesse Marquez-Hopson. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2006 (left to right) - MWAC Archeological Technician Mike Hammons, MWAC Archeologist William Hunt, SITK Laborer Anne Pollnow, MWAC Archeological Technicians Amanda Davey and John Gapp; SITK Laborers Israel Ginn and Mikile Fager, MWAC Archeologist Anne Vawser, and SITK Laborers Josh Meabon and Ricky Goodall (Angel McCutcheon not shown). 2007 (left to right) - SITK Laborer Fawn Abt, VIPs Katie Griffin and Jennifer Williams, MWAC Archeologist William Hunt, MWAC Archeological Technician Arlo McKee, SITK Laborer Sean Griffin, MWAC Archeological Technician Erin Dempsey, SITK Laborer