Three Generations Under One Roof? Bayesian Modeling of Radiocarbon Data From Nunalleq, Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska

Abstract

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.

New Isotope Evidence for Diachronic and Site-Spatial Variation in Precontact Diet during the Little Ice Age at Nunalleq, Southwest Alaska

“…Phase II followed another phase of remodelling (occurring between cal AD 1640-1660), and is estimated to have been shorter, at a maximum of twenty-five years. Samples utilized here originate from house floors related to the occupation events associated with Phase III and Phase II, known as Event H (Phase III) and Event F (Phase II) (Ledger et al 2018).…”

“…More recent field seasons (2013-2015) focused on Area A and a midden (Area B), and employed single context recording. This approach has allowed a site matrix to be produced (see Branch et al 2005, 34), which has in turn enabled an advanced programme of radiocarbon dating that includes Bayesian modelling (Ledger et al 2018), identifying and dating successive phases of construction, occupation, and remodelling events at the site. Zooarchaeological analysis of material from the more recent research excavations have revealed possible diachronic trends in resource procurement and use across these different occupation events, particularly regarding the proportion of fish and marine mammals (see Figure 1; adapted from Masson-MacLean et al 2019, Figure 4).…”

“…Taxonomic spectrum (Number of Identified Specimens, or %NISP) from Nunalleq Phases III (cal AD 1620-1650), and II (cal AD 1640 and 1660), adapted from Masson-MacLean et al (2019,Figure 4). Dates fromLedger et al (2018).…”

High-Precision Bayesian Chronological Modeling on a Calibration Plateau: The Niedertiefenbach Gallery Grave

“…The most compelling case studies often report dates of events at "generational" precision (multi-decadal but sub-centennial uncertainty at 68% or 95% probability), or even better (e.g. Marciniak et al 2015;Ledger et al 2018), but it is harder to find examples of generational precision for sequences located entirely on calibration plateaus, such as the "Hallstatt plateau" (800-400 cal BC) (e.g. Hamilton et al 2015).…”

Gender, Subsistence, Change, and Resilience in Quinhagak’s Present and Past

“…The Nunalleq archaeological site is a Thule-era Yup'ik village comprised of a large sod house complex inhabited from approximately AD 1570 to 1675, likely spanning three generations (Ledger et al 2018). The nearly year-round occupation of the site (McManus-Fry 2015) and the remarkably well-preserved artifacts, ecofacts, and features found there allow us to explore questions of gender and social life that are often difficult to access in other archaeological contexts.…”