Hunter-gatherers subsistence and impact on fauna in the Islands of Four Mountains, Eastern Aleutians, Alaska, over 3000 yr

Abstract

This first zooarchaeological analysis for the Islands of Four Mountains (IFM), Aleutian Islands, Alaska, provides data about local hunter-gatherer resource exploitation over three thousand yr. The majority of zooarchaeological material represents faunal resources that were harvested within several kilometers of villages. Our analysis shows that IFM subsistence system was shaped by the small size of these islands, which is mostly true for all of the Aleutian Islands. The archaeological middens indicate that Aleuts readily exploited new resources when they became available, expanding their dietary niche. Despite human harvesting, most faunal populations remained stable; however, Aleuts overexploited the storm-petrel colony on Carlisle Island.

A 7300-yr-old environmental history of seabird, human, and volcano impacts on Carlisle Island (the Islands of Four Mountains, eastern Aleutians, Alaska)

“…5) because of severe human predation. In unit 5 at the Ulyagan archaeological site on Carisle Island, Krylovich et al (2018) identified an abundance of storm petrel remains in midden deposits that formed 500–300 cal yr BP. Ulyagan unit 2, dating to ca.…”

“…Ulyagan unit 2, dating to ca. 150 cal yr BP, reflects sparse amounts of storm petrel remains (Krylovich et al, 2018). This combined evidence suggests that a large nesting seabird colony, which had once deposited large amounts of guano onto the landscape and ultimately into the peat deposit, was significantly reduced in size.…”

Present-Day Assemblage of Birds and Mammals in the Islands of Four Mountains, Eastern Aleutians, Alaska

“…The information that has been obtained does serve as a baseline for understanding the fauna that would have been available to prehistoric Aleutian hunter-gatherers who occupied this island group from ca. 4000 years ago to Russian contact (Hatfield et al, 2016; Krylovich et al, forthcoming).…”

“…Examples of hunting pressure include Steller’s sea cow ( Hydrodamalis gigas ), which became extinct in the Aleutians by 1768 (Domning et al, 2007), and sea otters ( Enhydra lutris ), which were hunted to near extinction by 1911, when commercial hunting ceased (Doroff et al, 2003). Aleutian maritime hunter-gatherers used the most available offshore and inshore resources, including birds and mammals (Krylovich et al, forthcoming), for food as well as for skin, feathers, and bones to provide raw material for clothing and tools and for religious purposes (Corbett, 2016). While the prehistoric record indicates most faunal populations remained stable throughout the history of occupation in the Islands of Four Mountains, there is evidence of overexploitation of storm-petrels ( Oceanodroma spp.)…”

“…While the prehistoric record indicates most faunal populations remained stable throughout the history of occupation in the Islands of Four Mountains, there is evidence of overexploitation of storm-petrels ( Oceanodroma spp.) on Carlisle Island (Krylovich et al, forthcoming).…”