DDRIG: Exploring Monumental Mound Construction in the Rat Islands, Alaska

Suny At Buffalo, Amherst NY

Investigators

Abstract

More than 114 earth mounds have been documented across five locations within the Rat Islands group of the western Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Common understanding is that these mounds were created by the accumulation of bird guano, but archaeological research has revealed that prehistoric Aleutians constructed at least one of these earth mounds, highlighting the need to more thoroughly research the origins of these mounds. This project investigates these earth mounds to better understand their construction history, then linking to established discussions of Aleut monumentality in the eastern Aleutian Islands and potentially bringing to light a pan-Aleutian tradition of monumental construction spanning at least three millennia. This research will dovetail with regional and global data sets to expand the theoretical understanding of the form and function of monuments and their relationship to human behavior. Better understanding these earth mounds will also advance socioenvironmental theories about the impacts of small-scale societies on their landscapes and will contribute to global anthropological debates regarding group-identity amongst hunter-fisher-gatherer communities. This archaeological research project investigates how earthen mound constructions can signal and reinforce expressions of perceived group identity among prehistoric hunter-fisher-gatherer communities in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. The project has four objectives, (1) examine the depositional history of the Rat Islands mound clusters; (2) examine the role of the mound clusters within Rat Islands Aleut archaeological settlement patterns; (3) contribute knowledge about the human occupation of the Rat Islands; (4) contribute to a global discourse about the archaeological identification of hunter-fisher-gatherer group identity. Stratigraphic analyses, lithic artifact analyses, spatial analyses, and radiometric dating will be employed in the examination of the depositional history of the earth mounds and their role within Aleut prehistoric settlement patterns. The project will also produce unprecedented high-resolution drone imagery of the Rat Islands, which will be an invaluable resource for future researchers, wildlife management, and environmental monitoring. This research is especially pressing, as these cultural sites are threatened by climate change because they occur along coastlines that have already begun to face the effects of erosion. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.