The role of salmon fishing in the adoption of pottery technology in subarctic Alaska

Abstract

Ceramic technology makes an abrupt appearance in the New World Arctic at circa 2800 cal BP. While there is general consensus that the ultimate source of these Alaskan pottery traditions lay in continental NE Asia, the motivations for the adoption of pottery in Alaska have remained unclear. Through organic residue analysis we investigated the function of Norton pottery in Southwest Alaska, and the extent to which its function changed in later periods under the increasing northern influence of Thule culture in the region (from ca. 1000 cal BP). Our results show clear evidence of aquatic resource processing in all pottery vessels. Regional variability due to environmental and ecological differences are apparent in the pottery. The majority of Norton pottery was from inland riverine locations and the function of this early pottery was to process anadromous fish, with only limited evidence of other resources. After 1000 cal BP more sites appear on the coast, and while pottery technology changes dramatically at this time, this is not as clear in pottery function which remains aimed at local abundant aquatic resources. We hypothesize that pottery was adopted into Alaska as part of a riverine adaptation and suggest that targeted human exploitation of large riverine systems may have facilitated its expansion into Southwest Alaska. Furthermore, we suggest that this pattern might extend back into Siberia where Alaskan pottery originates.