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Specialized Processing of Aquatic Resources in Prehistoric Alaskan Pottery? A Lipid-Residue Analysis of Ceramic Sherds from the Thule-Period Site of Nunalleq, Alaska

Bibliographic Data

ID2620256
AuthorsTom F G Farrell (University of York, corresponding author), P Jordan (0009-0008-1087-2730), Peter D Jordan (0000-0002-2837-3920), Karine Taché (0000-0003-0460-498X, City University of New York), Alexandre Lucquin (0000-0003-4892-6323, University of York), K Gibbs (0000-0002-3669-5700), Alberto Jorge (0000-0002-5178-4912), K Britton (0000-0002-9478-5966, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology), Oliver E Craig (0000-0002-4296-8402, University of York), Richard Knecht
Year2014
Volume51
Issue1
Pages86-100
Publication date2014-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueArctic Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0066-6939 • E-ISSN: 1933-8139
PublisherUniversity of Wisconsin Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.3368/aa.51.1.86
OpenAlexW1878471454
LanguageEN
Citations received23
References cited19

Largely missing from the debate surrounding the use of pottery among arctic and subarctic hunter-gatherers are site-based biomolecular studies of vessel contents. This study used lipid-residue analysis to elucidate vessel function at Nunalleq (GDN-248), a late Thule-period coastal village site in the Yup’ik area of Western Alaska. In total, 31 pottery sherds and five soil samples were analyzed using gas chromatography and/or gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The ubiquitous presence of aquatic biomarkers in all the pottery sherds suggests that pottery function at the site was directly linked to the use of aquatic resources. This indication of relatively specialized use of pottery at Nunalleq is particularly interesting when considered within the context of the site’s broader subsistence strategies, which included use of both aquatic and terrestrial resources. These findings appear to support a more general association between higher-latitude pottery traditions and the use of aquatic resources, though this topic requires further research

Agriculture · Archaeology · Arctic · Art · Biology · Geography · Period (music · Pottery · Prehistory · Subarctic climate · Subsistence agriculture · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Ecology · Indigenous Studies and Ecology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

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Unique citing works23
Citations per year2,09
Citation span2015 - 2026 (12)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 22
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