Aleutian tradition facts for kids

The Aleutian Tradition was a way of life for people living in the Aleutian Islands from about 2500 BC to AD 1800. These ancient Aleut people made their tools from chipped stone, which was different from the more common tools made from slate. They often used a method called "core and flake" to create sharp points for hunting.

The Aleutian people lived in special winter homes that were partly underground. These houses were built using materials like driftwood, whale bone, and peat (a type of soil). To hunt sea animals for food, they used kayaks, atlatls (tools to throw spears), and harpoons. Around AD 1150, their houses became much larger. They started storing food inside their homes, and weapons became more common. Their diet also changed from mostly sea mammals to a lot of salmon. They also began trading with other groups over long distances.

Language and History

Scientists have different ideas about where the Aleutian language came from. One idea is that it's part of a very old language group called Amerind, which arrived in the Americas a long time ago. This idea suggests that Aleut and Eskimo languages separated around 2000 BC.

Another idea is that Aleut, Eskimo, and NaDene languages are more like the Chukchi language from Siberia. This suggests that these groups might have come from the same ancient people. It's possible that rising sea levels separated some groups, and others developed different ways of speaking based on whether they lived by the coast or inland. This means Aleut and Eskimo languages might come from the same root, but they developed differences, much like Russian and English are different languages today.

Villages, Society, and Daily Life

Archaeologists have found signs that the Aleut people built some of the largest permanent villages for hunter-gatherers in the world. Their economy was very diverse, meaning they used many different resources from both the land and the sea. They hunted many sea mammals like seals and walruses, as well as caribou and muskox. They also gathered wild plants.

Over about 2000 years after 2500 BC, villages in the Aleutian Islands slowly grew. Many large settlements appeared during the first thousand years AD. This growth might be connected to an increase in sea life in the Pacific Ocean during a cooler climate period.

By 1100 AD, the western Alaskan Peninsula and nearby islands had eight to ten huge settlements. There were also many smaller ones, supporting between 7,000 and 12,000 people.

Homes and Community

Villages could have up to 250 semi-underground winter houses. They also had summer homes and storage areas. Winter houses were built about 18 inches into the ground. This helped protect them from wind and rain and kept the temperature steady. The frames were made of driftwood or whalebone, covered with sod or peat. People entered through a hole and ladder on the roof. These houses varied in size, some up to 50 meters long, and could hold 30-60 members of a large family. There were also smaller, temporary sites used for specific tasks or seasons.

Large villages were often built near rivers and streams. These provided important food like salmon and other sea creatures. People also traveled and traded over long distances, connecting Aleutian communities hundreds of miles apart. Their society had different levels:

• Nobles: These were often skilled hunters or warriors.
• Middle class: Regular community members.
• Slaves: These were usually prisoners from other groups or orphans.

Living in large villages had many benefits. It offered protection from attacks by other groups. It also helped with food storage and sharing during tough times. Plus, it provided overall social and economic support.

Hunting and Food

Hunting in the ocean involved special kayak-style boats. These boats were made from animal skins sewn over a flexible wooden frame. Hunters used harpoons, darts, compound fishhooks, atlatls, stone sinkers, digging tools, and ropes.

Animals available all year round included sea lions, sea otters, harbor seals, cod, halibut, and small sea creatures. Migratory animals they hunted included humpback and baleen whales, fur seals, salmon, and birds. On the islands themselves, people relied almost completely on the ocean for food. This is because the land animals were mostly birds, lemmings, and foxes.

Food storage moved from outside to inside the houses during this time. Food storage areas were smaller rooms connected to a main central area by passages. Storing food was very important to prevent starvation. They stored dried roots, berries, fish, and whale meat.

People used fire for cooking and warmth. Archaeologists often find large and small oil lamps, as well as charred griddle stones (used for heating and cooking food). Mammal oil was the main fuel because there wasn't much wood on the Aleutian Islands. Most of the islands had no trees, except for the very eastern end.

Climate and Environment

The climate was a huge part of life for the Aleutian people. On the islands, they faced challenges like volcanic eruptions (there are at least 26 volcanoes!), earthquakes, tsunamis, fog, and strong winds. These conditions affected where they could settle, travel, and hunt.

The ocean heavily influenced the climate. Summer temperatures were around 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit), and winter temperatures were near 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). Winds often blew at 25 to 35 kilometers per hour (15-22 mph), and they received 100 to 120 centimeters (40-47 inches) of rain each year. Fog was common, especially in July and August. This climate could lead to hypothermia and poor visibility.

The ocean was very productive, meaning there was a lot of sea life. This was due to "nutrient upwelling," where deep, nutrient-rich water rises to the surface. This abundance of food likely helped support the large populations in the settlements. It's also important to remember that climate conditions and natural disasters weren't the same across all the islands. A disaster in one area didn't affect everyone.

Archaeological Discoveries

The warm, dry conditions inside some Aleutian caves helped preserve ancient remains incredibly well. Because dry places prevent water and tiny organisms from causing decay, things like skin, hair, and nails could stay intact without any special mummification. So, the dead were naturally preserved. People might have also helped by drying bodies over a fire or removing organs and filling the body with dry grass.

Anangula Site

The Anangula site shows some of the earliest signs of people living in the Aleutian Islands. Many chipped stone tools were found here, showing the "core and flake" method used for points, knives, and adze points.

There are different ideas about this site:

• Some believe it's an ancestral site dating back to 6000 BC.
• Others think the current Aleut culture is a mix of Eskimo influences and the older Anangula tradition.
• A third idea is that the older Anangula tradition died out and was replaced around 2500 BC.

The first two ideas suggest that the people and culture have been continuous for about 8,000 years.

Western Fox Islands, Rat Islands, and Umnak Island

These areas show signs of people living there for a long time, from 2000 BC to 1000 BC. Archaeologists found semi-underground homes lined with stone slabs and whalebones, which also had fire pits. Some stone paving was also present. Chipped stone points used for hunting sea mammals were common.

In the Nikoiski Bay Area on Umnak Island, people set up main camps, smaller satellite camps, and collecting stations. They used different resource sites at the same time, showing that knowledge about where to find resources and how to get them was passed down through generations. This site was used for 4,000 years.

In the Chaluka area, also on Umnak Island, bone tools like fishhook shanks, spears, and two-piece whalebone sockets were found, dating to about 946 BC. Between 1000 and 1500 AD, slate tools started being used in Chaluka. However, the basic way of life stayed similar, using the same bone harpoon heads, spear points, chisels, awls, and ornaments.

Sheep Creek, northeast of Nikoiski Bay, had layers of charcoal-stained soil dating to about 1342 BC. Stone and bone materials were also found there.

On the Rat Islands, people hunted many sea otters and harbor seals, some migratory whales and fur seals, fish, ducks, geese, sea birds, sea urchins, and limpets. One house found on these islands was five by six meters (about 16 by 20 feet) and dated to about 1500 AD. It had a storage bench inside and a sunken sleeping area around a central fire pit.

Near Islands

A cave on the Near Islands was found in 1998. It's a natural crack in volcanic rock, going 48 meters (about 157 feet) into the hillside and about five meters (16 feet) wide. The cave was carefully mapped, and bones from birds, mammals, and fish were collected. Human burials were photographed and drawn, then either left in place or returned.

Human remains of three individuals were found: an elderly person, a young adult (under 19), and a very young child (3-4 years old). The elderly person had very worn teeth and arthritis. Some bones were missing, which could mean it was a secondary burial site, or that animals or other humans disturbed the remains. Other human remains were found not connected to these three burials. It seems the front of the cave was used as a resting area for travelers and hunters, while the back was a burial site.

Only one cultural item, a small piece of red ochre (a natural pigment), was found with the burials. Other tools were found in the sleeping and sitting areas of the cave. These included a net sinker (a common fishing tool), a barbed harpoon point, and four spoons made from cormorant bird breastbone. Some items from after Russian contact and military debris were also found.

Soil samples from the cave showed eggs from roundworms and tapeworms. These parasites are often passed to humans through eating sea lion meat.

Besides human and parasite remains, 127 non-human bones were identified. Most were Arctic foxes (73), with 36 from sea lions and harbor seals. Over 1,000 bird remains from 16 different species were found. There were also 58 fish remains, mostly Pacific cod.