uamnarchaeology

[uamnarchaeology]

Artifact of the Month: Axe Head

In late August of 1812, the Russian ship Neva departed from the Siberian port of Okhotsk to deliver passengers and cargo to the Alaskan port of New Archangel (now Sitka). This would be the last time the ship would ever be seen in port. After a difficult voyage, the vessel came within sight of Sitka Sound in January of 1813. In an attempt to reach New Archangel the ship ran aground near Kruzof Island and broke apart amongst the rocks. Thirty-two lives were lost. Amazingly twenty-two survived and made it to land where they set up a camp and waited to be rescued. The survivors were rescued in February after being spotted by Alaska Natives in a canoe.

Axe head that was found in the Neva Survivor’s Camp

This axe head was left by the survivors in their camp and was discovered by archaeologists in 2015-2016. Despite their predicament of being stranded on an Alaskan island in the middle of winter, the survivors of the Neva showed astonishing endurance and persistence. Materials from the wreckage were scavenged and modified into tools for survival; gunflints were used as fire starters, musket balls were filed down to fit into small pistols, nails were altered into fish hooks, and copper was reformed into awls. Even coffins for bodies that washed ashore were built out of scrap metal and wood then buried on the island.

Harbor of St. Paul on the Island of Cadiack, Russian sleep-of-war Neva. Drawn by Capt. Lisiansky, engraved by I. Clark. Published by John Booth, Duke Street, Portland Place, London, 1 March 1814.

The Neva was a 110ft long 372 ton frigate built in England in 1800. Russia purchased the ship for the Russian-American Company in 1803. The Neva had a short but significant existence. It played a vital role in the Battle of Sitka, which was fought between the Sitka Tlingit and Russians in 1804 and successfully completed Russia’s first around-the-world voyage in 1806. The locations of the Neva and the survivors’ camp were lost with time. In 2012 archaeologists conducted reconnaissance work to find the Neva and were able to excavate both the camp and wreckage in 2015-2016 both on land and underwater. This axe head was found in a cache of axes and other materials that were gathered either by the survivors by Alaska Natives.

Written by Fawn Carter

References

Mcmahan, David J. 2017. Archaeology of the 1813 Survivor Camp and wreck site of the Russian-American Company Sailing Ship Neva, Sitka, Alaska.

[uamnarchaeology]

Artifact of the Month: Petroglyph

Petroglyphs are relatively common in southcentral and southeastern Alaska, but are rare within the Brooks Range. Only eight sites have been recorded containing petroglyphs for all of northern Alaska. In 2012 UAMN archaeologists visited two petroglyph sites to better record the rock art and to complete a small test excavation. The petroglyph presented here is from a large rock-line house feature near Burial Lake in Noatak National Preserve.

Petroglyph from the Burial Lake Site.

The Burial Lake site lies within the Noatak River Basin and was occupied by Nuataaġmiut Inupiat and their ancestors off and on for at least the past several hundred years. The site contains the archaeological remains of approximately 20 residential structures. The remnant caribou drive lines along the nearby hillsides and the abundance of caribou bone found during excavation indicate that the inhabitants relied heavily on the animal, taking advantage of migration routes through the area. Within the Burial Lake site are the remains of a large structure interpreted to be a qargi or community hall. This would have been a meeting spot for the people in the village and a place to tell stories and meet on important matters. This particular qargi is composed of 56 cobbles/boulders that were placed in such a way to make a bench for sitting. The boulders had to be transported from over half a mile away, probably via sled, to be built into the qargi during construction. One of the large stones that make up the qargi wall is covered in petroglyphs.

Overview showing Burial Lake and the qargi.

Qargi at Burial Lake

Petroglyphs are a type of rock art where marks are incised into the stone. Sometimes they can be animal or human forms or abstract images. At Burial Lake the art is in the form of cupules, pecked lines, and incised grooves. The exact purpose for these markings is unknown but studies have linked rock art to ritual with an emphasis on performance. The importance is more in the process of creating the design rather than the actual design. Another hypothesis is that the markings were made during tool manufacturing.

Illustration by Eric Carlson depicting all the markings on the petroglyph within the Burial Lake qargi.

Written by Fawn Carter

References:

Carlson E.S., Rasic J.T., and Shirar S.J. 2016. Carvings in Stone: Rock Art in the Far North. National Park Service: Fairbanks Alaska.

[uamnarchaeology]

Artifact of the Month: Fish Rake Head

Fish rake head recovered from the Baychimo.

In October of 2015, Joshua Reuther the Curator of Archaeology at UAMN, was exploring the vast archaeological collection for objects to photograph for a class. He came upon a collection of items that were labeled “Taken from the ‘Beychimo’.” The SS Baychimo is a notorious ghost ship that has been spotted for years in the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea region. After some research, it was found that the objects were given to Otto William Geist to add to the fledgling museum in 1934. The objects remained in the collection but unrecognized for 81 years.

The SS Baychimo was purchased by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1921 for trade and transportation in the arctic regions. After a stop to Fort Hearne in September of 1931, Baychimo headed south toward the Bering Strait, but the weather took a turn for the worst and the vessel became trapped in sea ice. The crew and passengers abandoned ship and were flown to Nome. A small crew remained behind to guard the ship and its cargo. However, after a storm in late November the ship disappeared and was assumed to have sunk. In December a group of Inupiat hunters reported seeing the vessel but it vanished before the crew could reach it. By February the remaining crew abandoned their endeavor and were flown to Kotzebue. In August of 1933 the crew of the Trader attempted to pull Baychimo to safety but the attempt was unsuccessful. Instead the crew salvaged what they could from the Baychimo and left. The Baychimo continued to be spotted around Alaska’s northwest coast until 1969.

S.S. Baychimo in the ice. Photographed by Captain Cornwell.

The objects housed within UAMN were probably recovered by the crew from the Trader during the last attempt to save the Baychimo. The objects were originally collected from the Copper and Netsilik Inuit by the filmmaker Richard Finnie in 1930 during his tour of the arctic. He collected the ethnographic artifacts with the intent of giving them to the Canadian National Museum in Ottawa. He left the ethnographic collection along with some personal gear at Fort Hearne to be shipped to Vancouver via the Baychimo.

This fish rake head is made of antler with copper spikes as the prongs. The spikes were originally used for securing deck planking in ship constructions. The Inuit probably obtained the spikes via trade or salvage activities.

Written by Fawn Carter

References:

Reuther, J.D. and Rogers, J.S. 2016. Redisovering lost relationships: Canadian Arctic ethnographic materials recovered from the “ghost ship” Baychimo and the University of Alaska Museum of the North. Polar Record.

Dalton, A. 2011 Baychimo: Arctic Ghost Ship. Heritage House.

[uamnarchaeology]

Artifact of the Month: Owl Effigy, Togiak

Owl carved masks, dance fans and painted designs are associated with aspects of Yup’ik traditions in southwest Alaska. The effigy featured this month was found near the village of Togiak. Located in upper Bristol Bay, Togiak is a Yup’ik village with a long history in the area. Local owl species include snowy owls, northern hawk owls, short-eared owls, boreal owls, great grey owls and great horned owls. Owls are rarely used as a food source, rather they are reserved for starvation times because of their plentifulness and rich meat. 

Owl Effigy from the Togiak region in Alaska. 

The owl depicted in this effigy, is likely a great horned owl because of its ear-like features. There are round circles for eyes on both sides of the owl’s head. The design is reminiscent of the ellam iinga motif style. Ellam innga, referred to as the circle-and-dot motif, represents the conceptual symbols of Ellarpak [awareness; the universe]. These designs are associated with religious symbols on objects like drums or as familial ownership designs on pottery or kayaks.

Owl Effigy from the Togiak in Alaska. 

Adjacent to Togiak is the excavation of Nunalleq. Owl images are regularly located at Nunalleq including effigies, masks and atlatl weights. Like Togiak, Yup’ik ancestors inhabited the village of Nunalleq around 1,000 BP to present. However, some Bristol Bay villages date much older like the 6,000-year-old village of Qayassiq on Round Island. Related artifacts between the three villages suggest a longer and more continuous occupation of the Bristol Bay area. As work continues to document prehistoric villages in the Bristol Bay region, owl symbolism may be found to exist even further back in the archaeological record.

Written by Dougless Skinner

Sources:

John, Theresa. 2010. Yuraryararput Kangiit-luu: Our ways of Dance and Their Meanings. Dissertation. University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Nunalleq Excavation: https://nunalleq.wordpress.com/

Togiak National Wildlife Refuge: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/togiak/

[uamnarchaeology]

Artifact of the Month: Wrist Guard

Last month, we introduced the Sikoruk site and discussed the importance of provenience with the Tukuto Lake catalog. Over 9400 artifacts were collected from the Sikoruk site and it wouldn’t be fair not to share at least one of those artifacts. So, this month’s artifact is a wrist guard engraved with a bird hunting scene. The object is made of antler and depicts a human figure with a bow and arrow aimed at a large bird, which had already been struck by an arrow in a very peculiar place. The edges are engraved with strait lines and the bottom is decorated with an almost “saw-tooth”-like design.

Wrist guard from the Sikoruk site (UA2014-053-8144)

Fowl were an important resource for the residents of the Sikoruk site. Not only was their meat an important supplement for people who relied mainly on caribou, but bird-skin was an important component for parkas and frocks. Their skin is comparable to caribou in retaining heat and keeping out the cold. Birds were also hunted with blunt tipped arrows, snares, nets gull hooks, and bolas, in addition hunting them with multiple-pronged arrows, as depicted in the engraving.

Wrist guard from the Sikoruk site (2014-053-8144)

Engraved pictorial art pieces from this region were not commonly made until after contact with Euro-Americans. Early examples have been found along the Alaskan coast and Canada. These other pictorial pieces generally depict caribou hunting or whale/seal hunting scenes. Only a limited amount of research has focused on early engravings from the Brooks Range because of their scarcity in collections. This unique object provides archaeologists a rare opportunity to observe prehistoric life in the far North.

Written by Fawn Carter

References

Ray, D.J. (1969). Graphic Arts of the Alaskan Eskimo. Native American Arts 2.U.S, Indian Arts and Crafts Board. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.

Fitzhugh, W.W. (1988). Eskimos: Hunters of the Frozen Coasts. In Crossroads of Continents: Cultures of Siberia and Alaska. Edited by W.W. Fitzhugh and A. Crowell; Smithsonian Institution Press, Kingsport, Tennessee.

[uamnarchaeology]

Artifact of the Month: Tukuto Lake Catalog

The theme for this month is provenience and context. Provenience refers to the exact location (northing, easting, and depth) of an artifact within an archaeological site. A grid system, which is often depicted in archaeological dig photos, aids archaeologists in accurately measuring provenience, which is essential for establishing context. In archaeology, context refers to where an artifact is found in relation to other artifacts, soil layers, features, and the site as a whole. Without provenience data and context archaeologists are unable to determine the age or ages of a site, how different artifacts within a site relate to each other, what activities were happening in different areas within a site, and how artifacts can or should be grouped together to form different assemblages.

Tukuto Lake catalog (UA2014-053)

Tukuto Lake catalog (UA2014-053)

The March 2019 UAMN artifact of the month is the catalog from the Sikoruk site, which is technically not an “artifact” but is just as vital and arguably just as interesting.  The Sikoruk site is located on the northern end of Tukuto Lake in the Brooks Range and is one of the largest and most significant late prehistoric/early historic sites in the interior of northwest Alaska with over 100 house features and an estimated 350 cache pits. Archaeological excavations were carried out at the site in 1968 and 1970 when 15 houses and approximately 3900 ft3 of midden were excavated under the direction of Edwin S. Hall. This work resulted in the collection of nearly 9400 artifacts and three tons of faunal material. The Sikoruk collections were deposited at UAMN in 2014 but without a catalog documenting the provenience information, thus drastically diminishing their research potential. Then in 2016 while work was being completed with Ed Hall’s archives in upstate New York, the catalog was found mixed in with primary documentation from other projects. The catalog, reunited with the collections in 2017, includes feature numbers, locations, and the depth information for where each artifact was found, all of which is the provenience information needed to reconstruct the site and establish context. The catalog now brings new light to the Sikoruk collection and opens up a vast number of research possibilities including radiocarbon dating, feature comparisons, and faunal and lithic analyses. The information from the Sikoruk catalog is currently being entered into Arctos, the UAMN online database, so that this information is preserved and accessible in the future.

Written by Fawn Carter

Thank you to Scott Shirar for the idea, information, and editing.

References

Hall Jr., E.S. (1970). Excavations at Tukuto Lake: The Late Prehistoric/Early Historic Eskimos of Interior Northwest Alaska.  Progress report submitted to National Science Foundation and the Unites States Department of the Interior, Washington D.C., copy on file at the University of Alaska Museum of the North.

Hall Jr., E.S. (1976).Contributions to Anthropology: The Interior Peoples of Northern Alaska. Mercury Series, Archaeological Survey of Canada, Paper No. 49, National Museum of Man, Ottawa.

[uamnarchaeology]

Artifact of the Month: Crescent Blades

Stone tools, or lithics, are common artifacts at prehistoric sites and can take many forms that serve various purposes. Archaeologists analyze lithics to infer culture, diet, environmental change, trade and exchange, and migration patterns among other research topics. Sometimes, unique specimens are found that don’t necessarily fit within a known functional category of tools and this month’s artifact falls into this category.

Crescent blades from the Adamagan Site (UA2017-179-0218 and UA2017-179-0878)

These two crescent blades were collected from the Adamagan Site (XCB-00105), located on the lower Alaska Peninsula above a small channel where the Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea connect. This large Unangax̂ site has over 900 cultural depressions that cover an area of 150,000m2 and dates from 3000-1000 years ago. The massive size of the Adamagan Site along with the large house structures imply a permanent village (sometimes even referred to as a town by researchers) rather than a seasonal village or temporary camp. Year-round habitation at this site was possible because of an abundance of available resources. Animal bones recovered from the site indicate people relied heavily on walrus and whale but sea lion, sea otter, fur seal, cod, salmon, auklet and albatross remains are also common.

Crescent blade made from chert (http://arctos.database.museum/guid/UAM:Arc:UA2014-179-0218)

Crescent blade made from basalt (http://arctos.database.museum/guid/UAM:Arc:UA2014-179-0878)

The exact function of these crescent blades is unknown but it is possible to hypothesize based on their design. Both were knapped to have a curved shape, the basalt blade (UA2017-179-0878) is serrated and the chert blade (UA2017-179-0218) has a base that might have been hafted or attached to something. It is possible they were tied directly to a fishing line or were used as part of a composite fish hook. Perhaps they were specialized knife blades or designed to perform a specific task. What do you think?

 Written by Fawn Carter

References:

Maschner, Herbert D.G. (1999). Prologue to the Prehistory of the Lower Alaska Peninsula. Arctic Anthropology 36(½):84-102.

Maschner, Herbert D.G. (2004). Traditions Past and Present: Allen McCartney and the Izembek Phase of the Western Alaska Peninsula. Arctic Anthropology 41(2):98-111.

Maschner, Herbert D.G. (2008). Fishtails, Ancestors, and Old Islanders: Chirikof Island, the Alaska Peninsula, and the Dynamics of Wester Alaska Prehistory. Alaska Journal of Anthropology 6(1&2):171-183.

[uamnarchaeology]

Artifact of the Month: Eyeglasses and Case

The UA Museum of the North’s Archaeology Lab is excited to start off 2019 by bringing back the artifact of the month. January’s artifact is a set of eyeglasses and their case from the historic Barnes Creek Cabin, located along Fish Creek in Interior Alaska. Early twentieth century cabins, like Barnes Creek Cabin, are significant for understanding mining and residential development in Interior Alaska. Domestic items such as glasses and other apparel provide valuable insight into the everyday life of miners in Territorial Alaska.

Eyeglasses with case from Barnes Creek Cabin (http://arctos.database.museum/guid/UAM:Arc:UA93-068-0118)

The Barnes Creek Cabin (a.k.a. Burke’s Cabin) was owned by Jerry Burke. Burke came  north during the Klondike Gold Rush and ended up buying three mining claims off of Fish Creek by August of 1921. Remaining a bachelor for all of his life, Burke solely prospected for gold using a type of placer mining called drift mining. His cabin measures 15x15ft and is a gable style log cabin with an underground cellar. To the west of the cabin is a privy and to the south is a trash dump. Excavations in the 1990s uncovered over 500 artifacts. These items showed that Burke kept the cabin well stocked with supplies and provided a glimpse into his everyday life. Grooming objects indicate his daily regime and medications hint to ailments that he suffered from later in his life. Burke may have used these glasses to read the newspapers and magazines that were found in the cabin. If Burke was like most miners during the early 1900s, he worked hard long hours in the summer at his mine then returned to Fairbanks in the winter. His journeys between his claims and Fairbanks was made all the easier in 1928 with the installation of Fish Creek Road. The cabin and its equipment were abandoned in 1941 as a result of wartime mine closures or because of his death.

Gold mining continues in Interior Alaska today, just not on the same scale as in the early twentieth century. Larger operations using gold dredges are more common than the small time Burke-style miners. 

 Written by Fawn Carter

References

Sattler, Robert; Andrew S. Higgs, and Peter M. Bowers (1994). Fort Knox Project Cultural Resources Program Mitigation Report.  Report prepared for Fairbanks Gold Mining, Inc., Fairbanks. NLUR Technical Report 18.

[uamnarchaeology]

Artifact of the Month: Hooper Bay Mask

Although the UAMN currently houses around 60 masks from archaeological sites across Alaska, the meaning behind these objects is a mystery. In Southwest Alaska, Yup’ik communities share a long tradition of mask making that extends back into prehistory. Yup’ik masks are often carved of wood, inset with feathers and other objects, and painted. Masks play a central role in Yup’ik ceremonies and their meaning is determined by the mask maker and the story they want to share (Fienup-Riordan 1996). Wendell Oswalt recovered the mask piece pictured below during excavation at the Hooper Bay Village site.

 Wooden mask inset with traces of red pigment from the Hooper Bay Village Site.

The Hooper Bay Village site consists of the remains of a late prehistoric and historic Yup’ik settlement located along the Bering Sea coast between the Yukon and Kuskoskwim Rivers. The site contains prehistoric houses and midden deposits (refuse piles), one of which was tested in 1951 (Oswalt 1952). Excavations uncovered artifacts including hunting implements, vessels and containers, kayak fragments, toys, and decorated objects. Oswalt compared the wooden artifacts to a regional tree-ring chronology developed by J. Louis Giddings (1941) and dated the oldest occupation at the site to AD 1600.

 Wooden mask inset with traces of red pigment from the Hooper Bay Village Site.

Oswalt (1952) originally described the artifact as a “mask adornment” that served as a part of a larger composite piece. Traces of red pigment are visible on the mouth and around the eyes of the face. The holes drilled into the cheeks possibly held feathers or other ornamentation, or were used to attach the face to a larger piece. Oswalt (1952) suggested that archaeological component in which the mask was found was at least 300 years old.

Since the 1951 excavations, archaeologists have revisited the Hooper Bay Village site on several occasions during construction and maintenance of facilities around the modern village at Hooper Bay. The site provides important information about late prehistoric Yup’ik lifeways and early contact with Russian fur traders and is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

Written by Caitlin R. Holloway

References

Fienup-Riordan, A. (1996). The Living Tradition of Yup’ik Masks: Agayuliyararput, Our Way of Making Prayer. University of Washington Press, Seattle.

Oswalt, W. (1952). The Archaeology of Hooper Bay Village, Alaska. Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska, Vol. 1 (1).

[uamnarchaeology]

Artifact of the Month: Ivory Polar Bear

Many of the artifacts that prehistoric archaeologist deal with on a regular basis are functional tools and implements or the remains of basic human necessities, such as eating and seeking shelter from the elements. When non-utilitarian artifacts such as decorative objects, art, and toys are recovered from sites, these items provide insight into aspects of human behavior that are generally not visible in the archaeological record. These artifacts allow archaeologists to address topics such as social structure, trade and interaction, ideology, and childhood. The carved ivory nanuq (Iñupiaq for polar bear) figurine pictured below was recovered during excavations around Kotzebue Sound.

Carved ivory polar bear figurine from Giddings’ 1941 Kotzebue collection (1400 – 1550 AD).

  During the 1941 field season, archaeologists J. Louis Giddings and Simon J. Newcomb completed excavations at sites along the Kobuk River and around Kotzebue Sound in northwest Alaska (Giddings 1952). Excavations along beach ridges near the current location of Kotzebue revealed house pits from two small villages, termed Intermediate and Old Kotzebue. Giddings collecting tree-ring samples from posts found in the house pits and dated the sites to 1550 and 1400 AD, respectively (see October 2015 post for more details on dendrochronology).

The recovery of a nanuq figurine from the Kotzebue sites suggests similarities between late prehistoric and historic Iñupiaq ideology. Polar bears were highly respected as the masters of bears in traditional Iñupiaq mythology and specific cultural practices were required for a successful hunt. Although infrequent, the archaeological record from Kotzebue Sound contains polar bear remains, suggesting that the animals were hunted prehistorically (Giddings and Anderson 1986). Until the passing of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972, Kotzebue was a popular destination for polar bear hunting.

 Carved ivory polar bear figurine from Giddings’ 1941 Kotzebue collection (1400 – 1550 AD).

  The UAMN currently houses 60 accessions associated with Giddings’ Kobuk River collection. The research completed during the 1940s led to the definition of the Arctic Woodland Culture, a concept used to describe prehistoric populations in northwest Alaska that were adapted to life in both an interior forested environment and along the arctic coast. The collection continues to provide insight into the culture history of northwest Alaska.

  Written by Caitlin R. Holloway

 References

Giddings, J. Louis (1952). The Arctic Woodland Culture of the Kobuk River. Museum Monographs. University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia.

Giddings, J. Louis, and Douglas D. Anderson (1986). Beach Ridge Archaeology of Cape Krusenstern: Eskimo and Pre-Eskimo Settlements around Kotzebue Sound, Alaska. Publications in Archaeology 20. National Park Service. USDOI. Washington, DC.

[uamnarchaeology]

Artifact of the Month: Grass Basket

The Museum of the North houses approximately 140 items identified as baskets, basket fragments, or basketry in the archaeological collections. These items were recovered from sites across Alaska; from Katmai to Utqiaġvik (Barrow) and the Aleutian Islands to Gulkana in the Copper River Basin. This month on the blog we are featuring a complete grass basket that was recovered during excavations at the Hooper Bay Village Site in 1951 by Wendell Oswalt.

 The modern Yup’ik village of Hooper Bay is located on the Bering Sea coast in western Alaska and occupies a series of three knolls on the northern end of the bay. The archaeological site of Hooper Bay is an Eskimo village site that consists of prehistoric houses and middens that extend along the knoll located nearest the slough. Although the archaeological site extended along the whole length of the natural mound, modern homes and businesses also located there limited excavations to two test areas measuring 36 x 36 feet and 6 x 18 feet (Oswalt 1952: 48). Cultural materials recovered from the site included hunting tools such as harpoon heads and arrowheads, fishing tools, household items such as pottery and baskets, and transportation items such as kayak and sled parts. Analysis of the artifacts from the Hooper Bay Village site concluded that all the material from the test cuts were from a single period in time (Oswalt 1952: 49), which dated to roughly 1600 A.D. at the lowest level of excavation.

 Complete Grass Basket from Hooper Bay Village Site, Alaska. UA1-1950-2099 © All rights reserved.

  The grass basket pictured above was recovered from the Hooper Bay Village Site in 1951. The basket has a semi-open twined weave and has been crushed flat and has some rim damage on one side. It measures 7 cm in height and 9.7 cm in diameter. A basket with a loose weave, such as this one, would probably be used primarily for gathering or storage.  Pictured below is an example of a modern basket from Hooper Bay Alaska made by Anna Smart. This is a modern Yup’ik coiled and lidded grass basket with alternating patterns of dyed grass and is housed at the museum in the Ethnology and History Collection. Baskets are primarily made as collectables and souvenirs for tourists in present Hooper Bay but they still provide a visual representation of the evolution of style of baskets within the community.

 Modern Grass Basket from Hooper Bay, Alaska. Made by Anna Smart. UA81-003-0169AB © All rights reserved.

  For more information on either of the specimens mentioned in this post, please follow the links below to ARCTOS, UAMN’s online collection management system.

 Archaeological specimen UA1-1950-2009: http://arctos.database.museum/guid/UAM:Arc:1-1950-2099

Ethnology and History specimen UA81-003-0169AB: http://arctos.database.museum/guid/UAM:EH:UA81-003-0169AB

 Thank you to Angela Linn and Scott Shirar of UAMN for collections assistance.

 Written by Jill Baxter-McIntosh

  References

Oswalt, Wendell (1952) The Archaeology of Hooper Bay Village, Alaska. Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska 1(1): 46-92.

[uamnarchaeology]

Artifact of the Month: Antler Combs

The UA Museum of the North houses around 150 combs from archaeological sites across Alaska. Many of these implements are carved from ivory and were excavated in the 1930s and 1940s by archaeologists working at coastal sites in northwest Alaska and on St. Lawrence Island. The few interior counterparts are generally carved from antler, such as the combs recovered from the archaeological site Aniganigurak, a small historic Nunamiut village located in the eastern Brooks Range near Atigun Canyon.

Antler combs recovered from Aniganigurak, eastern Brooks Range, Alaska. The comb on the left was recovered from the site surface outside of the main activity areas. The comb on the right was found during excavation of a residential structure.

In the early 1970s, the proposed route of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline was set to pass through the location of Aniganigurak, first noted by archaeologist Herbert Alexander in 1967. As a part of a larger project to survey and assess the impact of the haul road and pipeline construction on cultural resources, James Corbin led excavations at the site in 1970 and 1971. The crew uncovered the remains of five moss houses and six tents, primarily occupied during the winters between 1880 and 1890.

Archaeologists excavating the remains of a structure at Aniganigurak (1970-1971) during the Trans-Alaska Pipeline archaeology project.

Archaeologists recovered one antler comb from the ground surface outside of the main activity areas of the site. The crew uncovered the second comb while excavating the remains of a structure preserved at Aniganigurak. The comb was found within a concentration of bone, trade beads, and cartridge cases near a hearth feature (fire pit). The range of documented artifacts allowed archaeologists to interpret what activities occurred within the structure. The combs were carved with a saw and the handle of one comb was removed.

Antler combs recovered from Aniganigurak, eastern Brooks Range, Alaska. The comb on the left has a complete handle. The handle on right comb was removed.

Aniganigurak was one of the first historic Nunamiut sites to be excavated – beforehand, most archaeologists chose to focus on prehistoric occupations in the region. The combination of traditional artifacts and Euroamerican trade goods provides insight into the cultural changes that occured at the turn of the century and the impact that trade and interaction had on foraging communities in Alaska.

  Written by Caitlin R. Holloway

 References

Cook, John P., editor (1971). Final Report of the Archaeological Survey and Excavations along the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company Route. To fulfill requirements of Task Order 9. Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska.

Corbin, James E. (1975). Aniganigaruk: A Study in Nunamiut Eskimo Archaeology. PhD Dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Washington State University.

[uamnarchaeology]

Artifact of the Month: Politkofsky Copper Spike

The sidewheel steam tug Politkofsky was the last ship built in Russian America. Completed in 1863 by the Russian American Company, the 129-foot vessel had a hull made of locally milled yellow cedar, an armament of cannons, one of the largest brass steam whistles in the world, a locally forged copper boiler, and a 60-horsepower crosshead steam engine which was originally intended for the steamer Nikolai I (Burwell 1999). The vessel was purchased by the Alaska Commercial Company following the transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States in 1867. In 1869 the Politkofsky was purchased by the owners of Port Madison Mill who operated her as a combination tow and passenger boat on Puget Sound for a number of years. In 1897 the Politkofsky was converted to a coal barge by her new owners, the Yukon Trading Company, and she became part of the Eliza Anderson expedition to the mouth of the Yukon River at St. Michael (Burwell 1999, Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society 2002). Shortly after arrival in St. Michal, the vessel changed hands again to the North American Transportation Trading Company (NAT&T), who after a short life as a lightering platform and landing barge, tied her up near the shore warehouses and retired the vessel from service in 1898.

 Photo of the sidewheel steam tug Politkofsky.

 The Politkofsky remained wrecked on the shore of St. Michael where she gradually deteriorated over the next 18 years. Over time the remains of the vessel would be scavenged by local residents and tourists, eager for a piece of history. Of particular favor and value on the tourist market were the hand-forged copper spikes that were used to fasten the planking to the ribs of the hull. These spikes ranged from 8 to 36 inches long and were incised on the sides to give the spikes greater holding power with the wood. Copper spikes from the Politkofsky continue to surface in public and private collections in Alaska and along the Pacific Coast, oftentimes with the copper spikes being reshaped into letter openers (Burwell 1999).

 Copper spike donated to Alaska College Museum in 1930. © All rights reserved.

 The artifact shown in the photo above is a piece of one such spike salvaged from the Politkofsky. This piece was donated to the Alaska College Museum in 1930 (Farthest-North Collegian 1930). This artifact has incised lines along the edges and the body is slightly bowed in shape and broken.

 Thank you to Scott Shirar and Josh Reuther of UAMN for collections and research assistance.

Written by Jill Baxter-McIntosh

References

 Burwell, Michael (1999) The Steamer Politkofsky: The Chronicle of a Russian-American Tug, Part I, II, and IV. The Sea Chest 32: 75-94, 99-120, 147-179.

Farthest-North Collegian [College, Alaska] (1930) “College Museum Receives Specimens”. 1 December: 6. College, Alaska.

Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society (2002) Maritime Seattle: Images of America. Arcadia Publishing, Washington.

[uamnarchaeology]

Artifact of the Month: Coconut Vessels

During the field seasons of 1931-1935, Alaskan archaeologist Otto Geist led the excavation of two midden mounds at the archaeological site of Kukulik, located near Savoonga on the north coast of St. Lawrence Island. The excavations revealed the remains of several occupations, including houses and meat caches. Inhabitants of the island used the site continuously – once one house deteriorated past the point of use, they constructed another on top of the old remains. The oldest occupations contained decorated artifacts associated with the Old Bering Sea Culture, which appeared in the Bering Strait region around 200 BC. The youngest remains found at the site represent historic use of the area into the 1870s.

Coconut vessels from Kukulik, St. Lawrence Island, AK.

St. Lawrence Island lies in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Siberia and cannot support trees, so the excavators at Kukulik were likely surprised when they uncovered coconut fragments in various stages of modification. Geist (1936: 144) speculated that ocean currents, rather than trade, carried the shells north to St. Lawrence Island because they were not found in association with other exotic goods. Despite the mysterious arrival of the coconuts to St. Lawrence Island, it is clear that the inhabitants of Kukulik made use of all of the resources available to them. The tops of the coconuts pictured here were cut off to create vessels, possibly for storing trinkets and beads.

Coconut vessels from Kukulik, St. Lawrence Island, AK.

Thanks to Fawn Carter for the reference material.

Written by Caitlin R. Holloway

 References

Geist, O.W. and F.G. Rainey (1936) Archaeological Excavations at Kukulik, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Volume II of the Miscellaneous Publications of the University of Alaska. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

[uamnarchaeology]

Artifact of the Month: Squirt Soda Bottle

This month’s post features a green glass Squirt Soda Bottle which is part of the Barnett Collection housed here at the University of Alaska Museum of the North. I found this bottle of particular interest because of its excellent state of preservation as well as the fact that it was bottled and distributed right here in Fairbanks!

In case you’re not familiar, Squirt Soda is a carbonated grapefruit drink that was created by Herb Bishop in 1938 in Phoenix Arizona. To boost promotion and advertising, “Little Squirt” was created in 1941 to personify the brand and thus the popularity of the drink spread nationwide (Dr. Pepper Snapple Group 2017).

 Image of “Little Squirt” promoting the sale of the new soda in the 1940s. Photo courtesy of papergate.com.

 7 fl oz glass Squirt Bottle from the Barnett Street Collection. © All rights reserved.

 7 fl oz glass Squirt Bottle, back panel view. © All rights reserved.

 The bottle above was discovered during the excavations for the Barnett Street Reconstruction Project in 1992. Excavations for this project were conducted at the intersection of First Avenue and Barnett Street in downtown Fairbanks (near the edge of the Chena River bank) and covered an area approximately 60 x 100 feet and 10 feet deep (Bowers and Gannon 1998). Archaeologists recovered over 100,000 well preserved artifacts ranging in date from the founding of Fairbanks in 1901 through the mid-20th century. Artifacts included items from the earliest cabins, saloons, and buried cellars such as full bottles of whisky and ale, dice, poker chips, shot glasses, eye glasses, light bulbs, newspaper clippings from the Alaska Daily Citizen, and much more. The state of preservation and the vastness of the collection provides valuable insight into the early history of the Golden Heart City.

 Thank you to Steve Lanford for collection and research assistance. Happy Halloween!

 Written by Jill Baxter-McIntosh

References

 Bowers, Peter M. and Brian L. Gannon (compilers and editors) 1998 Historical Development of the Chena River Waterfront, Fairbanks, Alaska: An Archaeological Perspective. Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Fairbanks.

 Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (2017) Squirt. Electronic document, https://www.drpeppersnapplegroup.com/brands/squirt, accessed October 27, 2017.

[uamnarchaeology]

Artifact of the Month: Whale Harpoon Head

With the crisp winds of autumn starting to blow across the state, northern coastal communities have been tracking the seasonal migration of the Bowhead Whale in anticipation of the hunt and harvest. Nuiqsut and Kaktovik, two communities on the North Slope of Alaska, have already pulled in their first whales of the season (Oliver 2017). Whales have been an integral part of subsistence economies and culture in the arctic for thousands of years and as coastal villages keep an eye on the horizon we’ll take a look at one type of tool that would have been utilized; harpoon heads.

Baleen whales, such as bowhead, fin, and humpback, were typically hunted from large open skinned boats called umiaks, with 6-10 person crews using thrusting harpoons with large toggling heads and floats attached (Whitridge 1999). Whales were usually pursued in spring as they migrated north through narrow breaks in the sea ice, during summer while feeding in shallower waters or in the fall on the migrations south to wintering grounds.

 Model of a harpoon head fit on a throwing shaft. © All rights reserved

 Model of a harpoon head showing how it fits together with the foreshaft. © All rights reserved

 Whale toggling harpoon heads, such as the one featured in this month’s post, were typically fashioned from bone or ivory and are distinguished from seal and walrus harpoon heads by their large size. Harpoon heads would be fit with a stone blade at the one end and attached to a foreshaft at the other. The photo above shows a model of this setup. When an animal was struck, the harpoon head would detach from the foreshaft and toggle, or rotate within the wound, and provide a secure anchor for the line and floats (Whitridge 1999).

 Whale harpoon head with slate blade from the Kukulik Site on St. Lawrence Island. © All rights reserved

 The whale harpoon head featured in the photo above is from the Kukulik Site which is located on the northern coast of St. Lawrence Island on Cape Kukuliak. The site, which was excavated in 1934 and 1935 by Otto Geist, consists of two mounds that follow the contour of the shore line; the Main Midden and the West Mound (Geist and Rainey 1936). This harpoon head is made from ivory and fitted with a slate point and measures 21.5 cm (8.5 in) long and 5 cm (2 in) wide.

 Thank you to Fawn Carter for collections and research assistance.

 Written by Jill Baxter-McIntosh

References

Geist, Otto W. and Froelich Rainey 1936 Archaeological Excavations at Kukulik. United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

Oliver, Shady G.  2017 Nuiqsut lands first whales of fall. Electronic Document, http://www.thearcticsounder.com/article/1736nuiqsut_lands_first_whales_of_fall, accessed September 12, 2017.

Whitridge, Peter. 1999 The Prehistory of Inuit and Yupik Whale Use. Pan American Institute of Geography and History,16: 99-154.

[uamnarchaeology]

Artifact of the Month: Hills Bros Coffee Can

For so many of us, an important part of the morning involves enjoying a cup of coffee. Whether it be drip, espresso, cold brew, or another form, coffee is integral to the daily lives of many people. Today we are lucky to have a wide variety of brands to choose from; national brands such as Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, age old favorites like Folgers and Maxwell House, and local Alaskan brands like Kaladi Brothers and North Pole Coffee. Early historic settlers in Alaska weren’t any different in that they also had several brands to choose from. One brand of particular popularity was Hills Bros Coffee.

 Hills Bros Coffee started in San Francisco, CA in the late 1800’s. Originally operating out of a stall in Bay City Market, brothers Austin and R.W. Hill sold coffee, tea, extracts and dairy products (Massimo Zanetti Beverage 2017). A store was opened in 1890 and operated under the name of Arabian Coffee and Spice Mills until it officially became Hills Bros in 1906. Hills Bros Coffee was the first to introduce vacuum-packed cans to the market and the cans are particularly well-known throughout their history due to the design of the lithographic panels. Through time the images and information on the labels changed subtly, yet in distinctive ways (Lanford and Mills 2006) making these cans very helpful for dating archaeological sites.

 Example of Hills Bros Coffee Can with full color lithography. Photo courtesy of www.icollector.com

 Throughout much of their history, Hills Bros Coffee cans have featured a figure on the label, known within Hills Bros historical archives as the “coffee taster” (Massimo Zanetti Beverage 2017). This iconic figure, along with other stylized aspects of the label, make these coffee cans of particular interest to historical archaeologists. In 2006, a handbook was published by the BLM that identified a series of attributes and logic trees to help categorize and date a Hills Bros Coffee Can to within a fairly narrow window of time (Lanford and Mills). Some of those attributes include the format of the lower case “r” in Hills Bros, the thickness and style of the filigree boarder, and the presence/absence of the left foot of the taster. Using a combination of these attributes, archaeologists can use Hills Bros Coffee cans to tentatively date a site or feature while in the field as well as back in the lab.

 2 ½ lb Hills Bros Coffee Can. © All rights reserved.

 The can featured in the photo above was found at the Rock Oven Cabin site during excavations performed by the BLM. This particular can most likely dates to between ca 1920-1922 or 1932-1936. These date ranges are based upon a list of attributes that can be observed and identified from the lithography remaining on the can. This dating information from this can along with other materials or dating methods can help archaeologists to paint a better picture of the time period and activities of those who occupied a particular site.

 Thank you to Scott Shirar of the archaeology department at UAMN for collection assistance. Cheers!

 Written by Jill Baxter-McIntosh

 References

 Lanford, Steve and Robin Mills (2006) Hills Bros. Coffee Can Chronology Field Guide. BLM – Alaska Open File Report 109. U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management, Fairbanks.

 Massimo Zanetti Beverage (2017) History – Hills Bros Coffee. Electronic document, http://www.hillsbros.com/history/, accessed August 28, 2017.