Adamagan, Alaska
| Adamagan | |
|---|---|
Location of Adamagan in Alaska | |
Interactive map of Adamagan | |
| Location | Morzhovoi Bay, Alaska Peninsula |
| Area | 37 acres (0.15 km2) |
| Built | 1700 BC |
Adamagan was an Aleut village that, at its peak, had about 1000 residents and covered almost 37 acres, making it one of the largest villages in the ancient Arctic or subarctic. The site has over 250 winter houses, in addition to summer houses, underground storage pits, and many more smaller structures.[1] "Adamagan" is the Aleut word for Morzhovoi Bay.[2]
History and culture
Adamagan was first occupied around 1700 BC, and had subsequent discontinuous occupations until around 1000 AD, although the peak population occurred between 400 BC and 100 AD.[3] The people built dugouts for winter living,[1] covered by whale bones as well as some peat or sod that would keep wind out. The villagers subsisted on marine mammals and fish[4] that they hunted with harpoons.[5] They also buried offerings under their house, believing it helped protect them as well as improve their chances of success during hunting. Use of labrets also became common during Adamagan's peak.[6]
The site was excavated in 2000.[3]
References
- ^ a b Maschner & Reedy-Maschner 2005, pp. 63–64
- ^ Baker 1906, p. 445
- ^ a b Maschner 2008, p. 174
- ^ Maschner 1999, pp. 94, 99
- ^ Maschner 2004
- ^ Maschner 2004, p. 103
Bibliography
- Baker, Marcus (1906). Geographic Dictionary of Alaska. Washington: Government Printing Office.
- Fagan, Brian (2005). Ancient North America. Thames and Hudson.
- Maschner, Herbert (1999). "Prologue to the Prehistory of the Lower Alaska Peninsula". Arctic Anthropology. 36 (1&2): 84–102. JSTOR 40316507.
- Maschner, Herbert (2004). "Traditions Past and Present: Allen McCartney and the Izembek Phase of the Western Alaska Peninsula". Arctic Anthropology. 41 (2): 98–111. JSTOR 40316621.
- Maschner, Herbert (2008). "Fishtails, Ancestors, and Old Islanders: Chirikof Island, the Alaska Peninsula, and the Dynamics of Western Alaska Prehistory". Alaska Journal of Anthropology. 6 (1&2): 171–183.
- Maschner, Herbert; Reedy-Maschner, Katherine (2005). "Aleuts and the Sea". Archeology. 58 (2): 63–70.