The Evolution of Complex Hunter-Gatherers: Archaeological Evidence from the North Pacific

by Ben Fitzhugh

Overview

This book makes a contribution to the developing field of complex hunter-gatherer studies with an archaeological analysis of the development of one such group. It examines the evolution of complex hunter-gatherers on the North Pacific coast of Alaska. It is one of the first books available to examine in depth the social evolution of a specific complex hunter-gatherer tradition on the North Pacific Rim and will be of interest to professional archaeologists, anthropologists, and students of archaeology and anthropology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306477539
Publisher:	Springer US
Publication date:	07/31/2003
Series:	Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology
Edition description:	2003
Pages:	332
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.04(d)

Table of Contents

1 The Evolution of Complex Hunter-Gatherers.- 1.1. Introduction.- 1.1.1. Social Complexity—A Definition.- 1.1.2. Complex Hunter-Gatherers—A Definition.- 1.2. The North Pacific Rim.- 1.2.1. Causality.- 1.3. Theoretical Orientation.- 2 The Kodiak Environment.- 2.1. The Physical Environment.- 2.2 Geology.- 2.3. Ecology.- 2.3.1. Terrestrial Ecozone.- 2.3.2. Littoral Ecozone.- 2.3.3. Marine Ecozone.- 2.3.4. Riverine Ecozone.- 2.4. Temporal Dimensions of Environmental Variability.- 2.4.1. Seasonal Scale Variability.- 2.4.2. Subseasonal Variation.- 2.4.3. Inter-annual Scale Variation.- 2.4.4. Long Scale Variation.- 3 A Historical Framework.- 3.1. Overview.- 3.2. Ocean Bay I and II (7500-3500 BP).- 3.3. Ocean Bay to Kachemak Transition.- 3.4. Early Kachemak/Old Kiavak (3200-2500 BP).- 3.5. Late Kachemak /Three Saints Phase (2500-800 BP).- 3.6. Kachemak-Koniag: Transition, Discontinuity or Replacement?.- 3.7. Koniag (800-200 BP).- 3.8. Alutiiq/Russian-America (AD 1784–1864).- 3.9. Alutiiq/US America (AD 1867-present).- 3.10. Summary.- 4 Complex Hunter-Gatherers on the Kodiak Archipelago.- 4.1. Introduction.- 4.2. Feast and Famine for the Kodiak Alutiiq.- 4.3. Potlatch Feasting.- 4.4. Gender Relations.- 4.5. Leadership.- 4.6. Property Ownership.- 4.7. Trade.- 4.8. Warfare.- 4.9. Slavery.- 4.10. Summary.- 5 Colonization.- 5.1. Background.- 5.2. Maritime Adaptation.- 5.3. Evidence for the Earliest Occupants of Kodiak.- 5.3.1. Estimating the Timing of Colonization.- 5.4. Lifeways of Early Holocene Coastal Peoples.- 6 Modeling Emergent Complexity on the North Pacific.- 6.1. Introduction.- 6.1.1. Modeling.- 6.1.2. Outline of Theoretical Orientation.- 6.2. Modeling Kodiak Social Evolution.- 6.2.1. Act I—A Beginning.- 6.2.2. Act II—Initial Effects of Circumscription.- 6.2.3. Act III—Eluding Malthus: Effects of Technological and Labor Intensification.- 6.2.4. Act IV—Emergence of Social Asymmetry.- 6.3. Conclusion.- 7 The Sitkalidak Archaeological Survey Project.- 7.1. Project Goals.- 7.2. Methods.- 7.2.1. Survey Strategy.- 7.2.2. Site Identification.- 7.2.3. Site Documentation.- 7.2.4. Analytical Units and Precision.- 7.3. Site Chronology.- 7.3.1. Radiocarbon Dating.- 7.3.2. Typological Dating.- 7.4. Material Analysis.- 7.4.1. Artifacts.- 7.4.2. Faunal Materials.- 7.5. Excavations.- 7.5.1. Tanginak Spring Site (KOD 481).- 7.5.2. Bear Island Site (KOD 564).- 7.5.3. Partition Cliff Site (KOD 473).- 7.5.4. Lighthouse Site (KOD 089).- 8 Site Scale Analyses.- 8.1. Introduction.- 8.2. Component Frequencies as a Measure of Changing Settlement Density.- 8.3. Site Size Measures of Population Aggregation.- 8.3.1. Site Area.- 8.3.2. Number of Houses Per Site.- 8.4. Site Function Variability.- 8.4.1. Site Functions from Spatial and Geographical Parameters.- 8.4.2. Artifacts Assemblage Character.- 8.5. Settlement Patterns.- 8.6. Summary.- 9 Social Inequality and Demography.- 9.1. House Attributes as a Measure of Social Variability.- 9.2. Trends in Population Change.- 9.2.1. The House/Site Area Method.- 9.2.2. The Carbon-Date Frequency Method.- 9.3. Summary.- 10 Reconciliation, Extension, and Implications.- 10.1. Interrogating the Model.- 10.1.1. Ocean Bay I: The First Act—Aftermath of Colonization.- 10.1.2. Ocean Bay II: The Second Act—Expansion to Density-Dependence.- 10.1.3. Early Kachemak: The Third Act—Density-Dependence or Near Extinction?.- 10.1.4. Late Kachemak and Koniag: The Fourth Act—Competition and Cooperation in a New World Order.- 10.2. Overtures to Emergent Properties.- 10.3. Summary and Conclusion.- Appendices.- Appendix A.- Appendix B.- Appendix C.- Appendix D.- Endnotes.- References.