Santander, February 19th-22nd 2008 - Aranzadi

MUNIBE(Suplemento/Gehigarria) - nº nº 3100 120-127 000-000 DONOSTIA-SAN SEBASTIÁN 2010 2003 D.L. ISSN SS-1055-2010
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Analysis of malacofauna remains from
archaeological sites on Adak Island (Aleutian Islands, USA)
Análisis de los restos malacológicos de los yacimientos
de la Isla de Adak (Islas Aleutianas, USA)
KEY WORDS: Shell midden, Aleutian Islands, Holocene, palaeoenvironmental reconstructions
PALABRAS CLAVE: Concheros, Islas Aleutianas, Holoceno, reconstrucciones paleoambientales
GAKO-HITZAK: Maskortegiak, Aleutiar uharteak, Holozenoa, Berregite paleoanbientalak.
Zhanna ANTIPUSHINA (1)
ABSTRACT
Two shell middens on Adak Island, Aleutian Islands (Alaska, U.S.A) have been investigated to reconstruct the dynamics of palaeoenvironmental
conditions. Radiocarbon data showed that a first shell midden near Clam lagoon was formed about 6500 years ago. Shell analysis shows that
the taxonomic composition changed significantly during the existence of this settlement. The second shell midden, situated near Sweeper Cove,
was dated from the 8th century to the 19th century AD. Analysis of these remains allows us to distinguish different climatic periods in the development
of the ancient settlement. However, the intertidal environment has not change since the 8th century AD.
RESUMEN
Se han investigado dos concheros en la isla de Adak, en las islas Aleutianas (Alaska, Estados Unidos) para reconstruir la dinámica de las
condiciones palaeoambientales. Los datos de radiocarbono demostraron que un primer conchero cerca a Clam lagoon se formó hace aproximadamente
6500 años. El análisis de sus moluscos demuestra que la composición taxonómica cambió perceptiblemente durante la existencia
de este asentamiento. El segundo conchero, situado cerca de Sweeper Cove, se fechó entre los siglos VIII y XIX d.C. Los análisis de estos
restos permitieron distinguir diversos períodos climáticos en el desarrollo del antiguo asentamiento. Sin embargo, el ambiente intermareal no
presenta cambios desde el siglo VIII d.C.
LABURPENA
Adak uhartean, Aleutiar uharteetan (Alaska, AEB), bi maskortegi ikertu dira, baldintza paleoanbientalen dinamika berregiteko.
Erradiokarbonoaren datuek frogatu zuten Clam lagoonetik hurbil dagoen lehen maskortegia duela 6.500 urte inguru eratu zela. Moluskuen analisiak
frogatzen du konposizio taxonomikoa modu adierazgarrian aldatzen dela kokaleku hori dagoen artean. Bigarren maskortegia, Sweeper
Covetik hurbil dagoena, K.o. VIII. eta XIX. mendeen artean datatu zen. Hondakin horien analisiari esker, zenbait klima-periodo bereizi ziren antzinako
kokalekuaren garapenean. Dena den, marearteko giroan ez da aldaketarik nabarmentzen K.o. VIII. mendeaz geroztik.
1. INTRODUCTION
Shell midden formations are characteristic of
ancient coastal communities. These deposits are
widely-distributed over costal zones around the
world. Our study focuses on the North Pacific, an
area with relatively cold climatic conditions.
The history of Aleutian Islands started about 8700
14
C years BP (Laughlin 1975). The inhabitants of this
region based their subsistence on the consumption
of marine resources (Veniaminov 1984, McCartney,
1975, Veltre and Veltre 1983). They kept their traditional
hunting and gathering strategies until the 18 th –
19 th centuries AD. As a result, mollusc remains were
accumulated during the entire period of existence of
these settlements for several millennia.
William Dall conducted the first archaeological
excavation of the Aleutian shell middens in 1870-
1874 (Dall 1877). He identified invertebrate
remains from shell middens in several islands.
Since that time, the interest in these deposits has
not decreased.
In spite of the great number of archaeological
sites and more than 100-years of research (Collins
1937, Spaulding 1962, Desautels et al. 1970,
Veltre 1974, 1975, Clark 1996, Luttrell and Corbett
2000), some of these shell mounds have not yet
been analyzed.
Mollusc remains can give us important data for
palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, as an excellent
material to recreate past ecological dynamics.
(1)
A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS, Leninsky Pr., 33, Moscow, Russia (zhannaipee@mail.ru).