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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2019

Olga A. Krylovich ,
Dmitry D. Vasyukov ,
Bulat F. Khasanov ,
Virginia Hatfield ,
Dixie West  and
Arkady A. Savinetsky
Olga A. Krylovich*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Historical Ecology, Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky pr. 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
Dmitry D. Vasyukov
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Historical Ecology, Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky pr. 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
Bulat F. Khasanov
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Historical Ecology, Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky pr. 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
Virginia Hatfield
Affiliation:
Museum of the Aleutians, 314 Salmon Way, P.O. BOX 648, Unalaska, Alaska99685, USA
Dixie West
Affiliation:
Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas66045, USA
Arkady A. Savinetsky
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Historical Ecology, Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky pr. 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia
*
*Corresponding author at: Laboratory of Historical Ecology, Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky pr. 33, 119071, Moscow, Russia. E-mail address: okrylovich@gmail.com (O.A. Krylovich).
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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.

Keywords

Island zooarchaeologyAleutian IslandsIslands of the Four MountainsNiche breadthStorm-petrelBird populations dynamicsDomestic dogRed fox
Type
Aleutians Special Issue
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 91 , Issue 3 , May 2019 , pp. 983 - 1002
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2019 

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