Maritime Resource Intensification and Lithic Technological Organization at Iyatayet, Cape Denbigh, Alaska

Summary

One of J.L. Giddings’ most important contributions to Arctic archaeology was the discovery and definition of the archaeological cultures known as the Denbigh Flint complex and Norton tradition from the stratified Iyatayet site. There, Giddings produced a descriptive analysis of each culture's tool forms and speculated on their lifeways. His work, however, was designed primarily to answer typological questions rather than processual or adaptive ones. Over the past seventy years, few studies revisited Iyatayet to verify Giddings’ results or address new questions. One of the only known stratified coastal sites, Iyatayet remains an excellent case for understanding the development of Arctic maritime adaptations. This paper discusses recent re-analyses of Iyatayet's Norton and Denbigh stone tool collections, coupled with recently excavated samples, undertaken to test Giddings’ findings. Many of his original observations were confirmed, but I take the evidence further by applying models from foraging theory to explain relationships between changing technological organization and subsistence. Changes through time in technological design do not necessarily reflect hunting capabilities, but rather are adaptive features related to resource intensification and mobility, as Giddings clearly understood.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Envisioning and Re-envisioning Arctic Archaeology: The Enduring Legacies of J. Louis Giddings (1909-1964)

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