Historic Land Use Processes in Alaska's Koyukuk River Area
ARCTIC VOL. 42. NO. 2 (JUNE 1989) P. 148-162 Historic Land Use Processes in Alaska’s Koyukuk River Area WENDY H. ARUNDALE‘ and ELIZA JONES’ (Received 9 February 1988; accepted in revised form 21 September 1988) ABSTRACT. Northern Athabaskans with extensive knowledge of their traditional history and culture are increasingly interested in preserving their heritage. The authors areworking with Allakaket area Koyukon people in Alaska to record data on importanthistoric sites and events, but they are also using ethnoarchaeological approaches, particularly Binford’s models of settlement systems and site mobility, to help make the information they gather more valuable to both local Native people and archaeologists. Drawing on their preliminary data, as well as existing research, they describe changes in the late winter part of the seasonal round, showing how, over time, the Koyukon become more logistically organized as they become more sedentary. These changes have interesting archaeological implications, including effects on site mobility patterns. The Koyukon belief system, withan intricate set of traditional beliefs and practices, has significant, though largely unexplored potential for influencing archaeological variability. Key words: Alaska, Athabaskans, archaeology, belief systems, boreal forest, ethnoarchaeology, historic archaeology, historic sites, Koyukon, Koyukuk River, landscape use, settlement patterns, Subarctic RÉSUMÉ. Les Athabaskans du Nord qui possèdent une connaissance approfondie de leur histoire et de leur culture traditionnelles, sont de plus en plus intéressés à préserver leur patrimoine. Les auteurs travaillent actuellement avec des gens de la tribu Koyukon de la région d’Allakaket en Alaska, à consigner des données sur d’importants sites et événements historiques, mais ils utilisent aussi des approches ethnoarchéologiques, en particulier les modèles de Binford se rapportant aux systèmes de peuplement et de migration d’un site à l’autre, pour rendre l’information recueille plus utile, àla fois à la population autochtoneet aux archéologues.
[Show full text]