A Clay source provenance survey in Northwest Alaska: Late Holocene ceramic production in the Arctic

Abstract

Ceramic compositional analysis can contribute to the study of late Holocene Arctic hunter-gatherer social interaction through reconstruction of past ceramic distribution patterns. The results of an ethnographically informed clay source survey in Northwest Alaska are presented here. The survey provided contextual data on clay depositional environments, clay variability, and local environmental factors that influenced pre-contact clay availability. Geochemical analysis of clays and tempers clarified the location of ceramic production zones. Concurrence between survey results and ethnographic data highlights the persistence of clay knowledge despite post-contact absence of pottery making. This research demonstrates that ethnographically informed source survey can aid in interpreting ceramic geochemical data and yield important insights into pre-contact ceramic production processes.

Keywords:

• Source survey
• compositional analysis
• hunter-gatherer ceramics
• Arctic

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Ross Smith for his invaluable assistance with the field portion of the clay survey and for reading earlier drafts of this paper. Thank you to Murphy Custer, Lorrel Griest, Nick Jans, Marci Johnson, Seth Kantner, Lorry Schuerch, and the communities of Kobuk Village, Shungnak, Ambler, and Kiana for survey logistical support. Ken Pratt's assistance in researching the ANCSA archives at the Anchorage Bureau of Indian Affairs office was critical to the success of this project, as was advice from Owen Mason and Brandy Rinck. Scott Shirar and Michael Holt contributed several clay samples. Many thanks to Matthew Boulanger and Michael Glascock at the Missouri Research Reactor for their collaboration on ceramic and clay geochemistry analysis. Thank you to the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service (NPS), and Northwest Alaska Native Association for permission to conduct research on agency and organization lands. This research was funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) Dissertation Improvement Grant (NSF ARC-0936696), the Cape Espenberg Project (NSF ARC-0755725), a NPS Murie Science and Learning Fellowship, and a Lewis and Clark Fund Fellowship from the American Philosophical Society. Research at the MURR Archaeometry Laboratory is supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF 1415403). Johonna Shea and Rhiannon Held provided assistance with graphics and technical editing.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shelby L. Anderson

Shelby Anderson (Ph.D. 2011, University of Washington) is Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Portland State University. Research interests include past hunter-gatherer societies, human ecodynamics, evolutionary theory, ceramic technologies, applied archaeology, and archaeology of the Arctic, Sub-arctic and Pacific Northwest.