Exploring the Antiquity of the Dene Potlatch in Interior Alaska

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Pickupsticks site in the Shaw Creek Flats of the Middle Tanana Valley region of interior Alaska represents a short-term ceremonial occupation site of the early Dene tradition (~930 rcybp). In 2010, the remains of a large structural feature were identified there. Intermittent excavations over the following decade confirmed the structural remains were identical to traditional Alaska Native houses described from the nearby Goodpaster River village. However, numerous lines of evidence suggest short-term use. This paper will describe the analytical results that strongly indicate the structure was intended and used for a single event rather than for long-term residential behaviors. We interpret that event to have likely been a traditional regional potlatch, the oldest definitive archaeological evidence of such a ceremony yet observed.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 35539.0