book chapter

Archaeological investigations in the Aleutian Islands

Carnegie Institution of Washington • (367) • Published In 1925 • Pages: ix, 145

By: Jochelson, Waldemar.

Abstract

Jochelson was in the Aleutians in 1909-10 as leader of the anthropological division of the Russian Aleut-Kamchatka Expedition. He was particularly interested in determining the origin of the Aleuts and in their placement in the culture of the Palaeo-asiatic tribes and those of the North Pacific Coast of North America. Part of his time was spent in archaeological research and this report incorporates his findings. His interpretation of his archaeological research is based on information from contemporary Aleuts, earlier literature on Aleut culture, and his own general ethnographic knowledge. This source, therefore, contains excellent material on Aleut material culture, as well as discussions of Aleut prehistory. There is, however, a divergence of opinion about early Aleut history. Hrdlicka (see 33: Hrdlicka), as a result of his archaeological investigations, concluded that there existed a pre-Aleut population. Quimby, on the basis of a review of published reports and museum collections, disagrees with Hrdlicka and hypothecates a gradual change in culture and physical type. In processing, material of primarily archaeological or theoretical interest has been omitted. In addition, the following material is not included: 1. An extensive bibliography which contains Eskimo and archaeological sources as well as Aleut; 2. An ethnographic map of Northeastern Asia and Northwestern America; 3. A glossary of Aleut words which includes the Attu dialect (the words given are primarily those of artifacts encountered by the author in his archaeological research). In presenting his results, the author has relied heavily on the use of plates with explanatory notes on each specimen shown. These plates could not be reproduced for the files, but the explanatory notes have been summarized and included in the files.

HRAF PubDate

2007

Region

North America

Sub Region

Arctic and Subarctic

Document Type

book chapter

Evaluation

Creator Type

Archaeologist

Document Rating

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

Leila S. Small ; 1950-1956

Field Date

1909-1910

Coverage Date

1909-1910

Coverage Place

Aleutian Islands, Alaska, United States

Notes

by Waldemar Jochelson

This document consists of excerpts

Includes bibliographical references

LCCN

25023069

LCSH

Aleuts