This article presents the results of a program of radiocarbon dating and Bayesian modeling from the precontact Yup'ik site of Nunalleq (GDN-248) in subarctic southwestern Alaska. Nunalleq is deeply stratified, presenting a robust relative chronological framework of well-defined individual house floors abundant in ecofacts suitable for radiocarbon dating. Capitalizing on this potential, we present the results of one of the first applications of Bayesian statistical modeling of radiocarbon data from an archaeological site in the North American Arctic. Using these methods, we demonstrate that it is possible to generate robust, high-resolution chronological models from Arctic archaeology. Radiocarbon dates, procured prior to the program of dating and modeling presented here, suggested an approximately three-century duration of occupation at the site. The results of Bayesian modeling nuance this interpretation. While it is possible that there may have been activity for almost three centuries (beginning in the late fourteenth century), occupation of the dwelling complex, which dominates the site, was more likely to have endured for no more than a century. The results presented here suggest that the occupation of Nunalleq likely encompassed three generations beginning cal AD 1570–1630 before being curtailed by conflict around cal AD 1645–1675.

ABSTRACT. Through the case study of the Thule-era village site of Nunalleq (GDN-248), this paper presents 14 C dating results and perspectives on the issues associated with radiocarbon dating stratified archaeological sites in circumpolar North America. The objective was to investigate relative variation in the 14 C age of ecofacts with the aim of establishing a hierarchy of dating suitability for Nunalleq that could more widely inform 14 C sample selection on archaeological sites across the North American sub-Arctic and Arctic and Greenland. Owing to the complexities associated with interpreting and establishing the relative chronology of the deeply stratified sod deposits at Nunalleq, we adopted open-area excavation and single-context recording methods. This approach, we suggest, allowed us to eliminate stratigraphic complexity as a source of variation in 14 C measurements and to assess the taphonomic issues associated with dating different ecofacts. In total, 16 samples were submitted for dating, comprising two sets of eight different ecofacts, one from each of two stratigraphically contemporary but spatially discrete contexts. In most instances, the 14 C ages of ecofacts were statistically indistinguishable between the two contexts and support the relative chronological relationships established by excavation. Only Elymus arenarius (grass) manufactures and Heleomyzidae (fly) puparia produced different ages in the two contexts, variations that suggest that these items are unreliable dating materials. As noted in previous studies, Phoca sp. (seal) and Oncorhynchus sp. (salmon) bone collagen demonstrated a strong marine reservoir effect (c. 700 14 C yr.). Picea sp. (wood chips) were marginally older than seeds from edible berries (Rubus chamaemorus and Empetrum nigrum) and caribou (Rangifer tarandus) bone collagen, which provided the most consistent ages.Key words: radiocarbon dating; single-context recording; Arctic; Alaska; Thule; archaeology RÉSUMÉ. Par le biais d'une étude portant sur le village de Nunalleq (GDN-248), appartenant à l'ère thuléenne, cet article présente les résultats de datations par le carbone 14 ainsi que les problèmes liés à la datation des sites archéologiques stratifiés situés dans la zone circumpolaire de l'Amérique du Nord. L'objectif consistait à examiner les variations relatives entre les âges C14 obtenus pour différents types d'écofacts, dans le but d'établir une hiérarchie pour Nunalleq qui pourrait plus largement informer la sélection de matériel à dater sur les sites archéologiques à l'échelle des régions subarctiques et arctiques de l'Amérique du Nord ainsi que du Groenland. Afin de faciliter l'interprétation et l'établissement d'une chronologie relative pour les dépôts de tourbe profondément stratifiés à Nunalleq, nous avons effectué des fouilles archéologiques à aire ouverte et adopté le « single context recording » comme système d'enregistrement. Nous suggérons que cela nous a permis d'éliminer la complexité stratigraphique comme source de variation dans les mesures de l'ac...

At Nunalleq, a pre-contact Yup'ik Eskimo village site in Alaska (14th-17th century AD), abundant insect remains from highly organic substrates preserved within permafrost offer a unique opportunity to investigate past ecological and living conditions. This paper presents the preliminary results obtained from the analysis of two samples collected from floor layers in sod houses. The numerous and diverse insect remains highlight the exciting potential of archaeoentomology for reconstructing past ecological conditions, resource exploitation and the use of space at northern hunter-gatherer sites and have permitted the development of a strategy for the future collection of archaeoentomological data at permafrost-preserved sites in Alaska and elsewhere.