WALRUS, SEAL, AND SEABIRD FAUNAL REMAINS FROM SUMMIT ISLAND IN BRISTOL BAY, ALASKA: THE SUBSISTENCE PRACTICES OF NORTON PEOPLES IN AN ISLAND ENVIRONMENT (2740–980 CAL B.P.) by MOLLY R. CASPERSON A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of Anthropology and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2017 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Molly R. Casperson Title: Walrus, Seal, and Seabird Faunal Remains from Summit Island in Bristol Bay, Alaska: The Subsistence Practices of Norton Peoples in an Island Environment (2740– 980 Cal B.P.) This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of Anthropology by: Madonna L. Moss Chair Don E. Dumond Core Member Stephen A. Dueppen Core Member Patricia F. McDowell Institutional Representative and Sara D. Hodges Interim Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded September 2017 ii © 2017 Molly R. Casperson iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Molly R. Casperson Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology September 2017 Title: Walrus, Seal, and Seabird Faunal Remains from Summit Island in Bristol Bay, Alaska: The Subsistence Practices of Norton Peoples in an Island Environment (2740– 980 cal B.P.) The Norton Stage (2500-1000 cal B.P.) of the Norton Tradition is typically characterized as a caribou hunting and fishing culture, an idea developed by James Giddings through his formative work at the Iyatayet Site in Norton Sound. The concept of Norton fishers and caribou-hunters has been promoted by the long-term research of Don Dumond in the Naknek and Ugashik drainages on the Alaska Peninsula. While the northern Alaska Peninsula has historically productive salmon runs and abundant caribou populations, the concept that these taxa were essential to the Norton subsistence economy has not been critically evaluated. Giddings based his own assessment of Iyatayet subsistence practices on the animal harvest practices of contemporary Norton Sound Alaska Native communities, rather than directly from the faunal remains he identified during excavations. Several faunal assemblages have been recovered from southwest Alaska, which provide the opportunity to test assumptions regarding Norton subsistence practices. Most of these assemblages come from the Bering Sea coast, a vastly different environment from more temperate coast of the Alaska Peninsula. In an effort to directly document Norton subsistence practices, I procured a sizeable faunal assemblage that Robert Shaw excavated iv in 1985 from 49-XHI-043 and 49-XHI-044. These sites are located on Summit Island, a nearshore island 6 km from the shoreline of northwest Bristol Bay. Prior to my research, no analysis of the Summit Island collection had been conducted. As a result, an assessment of the faunal remains was not possible until I analyzed field notes to establish stratigraphic relationships and procured radiocarbon dates from the sites. I was able to confirm the presence of three discrete analytical components associated with Norton culture including Early Norton I (2740-2380 cal B.P.), Early Norton II (2400-2000 cal B.P.), and Late Norton (1390-980 cal B.P.). My analysis of 9,981 mammal and bird bone specimens resulted in the documentation of an intensive marine- focused subsistence economy. Over approximately 2,000 years, generations of Norton peoples harvested seals, walruses, murres, cormorants, and eiders from the Walrus Island chain. Terrestrial and riverine species were not well represented in the assemblage, despite the proximity of the mainland. v CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Molly R. Casperson GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene Montana State University, Bozeman DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy, Anthropology, 2017, University of Oregon Master of Science, Anthropology, 2009, University of Oregon Bachelor of Science, Anthropology, 2004, Montana State University, Bozeman AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: American Indian Policy Arctic and Subarctic Archaeology Coastal Archaeology Cultural Resource Management Museum Collections and Curation Paleo-Environmental Reconstruction Zooarchaeology PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: District Archaeologist and Cultural Resources Program Manager, Bureau of Land Management, Roseburg, 2011 to present Graduate Research Fellow, Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon, 2008–2012 Archaeologist, Umpqua National Forest, Roseburg, 2008–2011 Graduate Teaching Fellow, Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, 2007–2008 Archaeologist, Lake Clark and Katmai National Parks and Preserves, Anchorage, 2005–2011 vi Archaeological Technician, Gallatin National Forest, Bozeman, 2003 GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Edna English Trust, University of Oregon, 2011 PUBLICATIONS: Casperson, Molly R. 2012 The Importance of Birds in Ocean Bay Subsistence: Results from the Mink Island Site, Katmai National Park and Preserve. Arctic Anthropology 49(1): 18-36. Erlandson, Jon M., Torben, C. Rick, Todd J. Braje, Molly R. Casperson, Brendan Culleton, Brian Fulfrost, Tracy Garcia, Daniel A. Guthrie, Nicholas Jew, Douglas J. Kennett, Madonna L. Moss, Leslie Reader, Craig Skinner, Jack Watts, and Lauren Willis 2011 Paleoindian Seafaring, Maritime Technologies, and Costal Foraging on California's Channel Island. Science 331:1181-1185. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I wish to thank Dr. Madonna Moss for acting as my main advisor through a lengthy graduate career. She deserves untold credit for the years she has spent demanding my best. I will be eternally grateful that I was her graduate student, a singular experience that changed the course of my life. Thank you to Dr. Don Dumond for the active involvement in my dissertation, which greatly improved my research. Part of this included acting as a committee member, but more importantly, being my champion and financial backer when I originally showed interest in the Summit Island Collection. I am very grateful to the people who provided lab space and access to comparative specimens including Drs. Moss and Stephen Dueppen (also a member of my doctoral committee) at the UO, Dr. John Klicka, Robert Faucett, and Jeff Bradley at the Burke Museum, Dr. Deborah Duffield at PSU, and Jim Thomason at NOAA NMML. To use some of these collections, I had to travel away from home. I appreciate the hospitality of my gracious friends Shelby Anderson and Ross Smith in Portland, and Tracy and Jackson McDole in Seattle. My appreciation also goes to Chelsea Buell, lab assistant extraordinaire, who spent hundreds of hours over the last decade processing faunal samples and assisting in bone identifications. Hannah Parrot and Jon Krier also deserve thanks for helping process some of the Summit Island faunal lots. Thank you to Dr. Patricia McDowell for acting as the institutional representative on my doctoral committee. Leah Frazier is an unsung hero for offering support with departmental matters and funding issues. So are my sister Cassie for editing my dissertation and Matt Diederich for providing substantive comments. My gratitude goes to Dr. Jeanne Schaaf for introducing me to the Walrus Islands, and letting me have a hand viii at drafting the National Historic Landmark nomination that informed this dissertation. For facilitating my use of the Summit Island Collection, I thank the staff at the Museum of the North including Fawn Carter, Dr. Jeff Rasic, Dr. Joshua Reuther, Scott Shirar, and Jim Whitney, and AOHA archaeologists Dave McMahan and Dr. Richard Vanderhoek. Thank you to the numerous people who helped me in what some might call “small” ways, but made all the difference in my success. My gratitude goes to Jaime Kennedy for assessing the Summit Island charcoal samples. Thanks to Dr. Diane Hanson for providing a copy of her seal identification manual and Mike Etnier for helping track down comparative specimens. Dr. Robert Shaw graciously provided much needed background on the Summit Island Collection. Thank you to Drs. Kristen Barnett and Anna Prentiss for providing updated information on Old Togiak and to Dr. Dennis Griffin for the copy of Chatters’ obscure 1972 Nunivak report. Thank you to Dr. Andrew Tremayne for the exchange on the state of Arctic archaeology and for writing an excellent dissertation that informed my own. My BLM colleagues Barbara Machado and Carley Smith deserve my gratitude for being supportive and picking up the slack at work. Other colleagues who have provided support and reality checks throughout the years include Dr. Pam Endzweig, Dr. Dennis Griffin, Eric Ingbar, Elizabeth Kallenbach, Dr. Bob Musil, Dr. Brian O’Neill, and Dr. Kathryn Toepel. To my archaeological chums Heather Ulrich, Dustin Kennedy, Jaime Kennedy, Matt Diederich, Carley Smith, Martin Nienstedt, Jessie Plueard, Ross Smith, and Barb and Jerry Boucock: thank you for the continued friendship and shared spirits through this long slog. To my family: thank you for the continued love, knowing better than to ask “how’s it going,” and for not holding the last decade against me. ix For T.S. Berger, who taught me that endeavoring toward a better life is worth the risk. x TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 II. SETTING AND ENVIRONMENTAL BACKGROUND .....................................