Residential and Logistical Strategies in the Evolution of Complex Hunter-Gatherers on the Kodiak Archipelago

Abstract

My goal in this chapter is to model and evaluate evolutionary change in hunter-gatherer settlement and subsistence strategies on the North Pacific coast, specifically the southeastern portion of the Kodiak Archipelago in the Gulf of Alaska. The North Pacific forms an interesting case with reference to Binford’s forager—collector model because it is characterized by a diverse and seasonally productive maritime environment (in summer) punctuated by seasonal impoverishment (in winter). A combination of oceanographic, geological, and climatic factors encourages high primary productivity, and a variety of resident and migratory species can he found in the near shore and littoral zones. In many areas, complex coastlines are characterized by tight ecological packing of exposed rocky shorelines, deep fjords, open etnbayments, and lagoons. This compression encourages considerable ecological diversity across a limited distance. These are conditions that Binford and others have claimed should encourage logistical mobility and a reliance on seasonal storage (Binford 1980, 1990; Steffian et al. 1998; Yesner 1980, 1998)