book chapter

The Aleutian and Commander islands and their inhabitants

Wistar Institute of Anatomy and BiologyPhiladelphiaPublished In 1945 • Pages:

By: Hrdlicka, Ales.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is the author's final work on the Aleut resulting from his archaeological research in the Aleutian Islands in 1937. His survey of the early Aleut includes excerpts from early sources, conclusions from material specimens excavated, and anthropometric analysis of skeletal remains found. On the basis of his archaeological and anthropometric research, he infers the existence of a pre-Aleut population. This conclusion was not reached by Jochelson in his research (see 10: Jochelson) and Quimby disagrees with Hrdlicka's conclusions and postulates a gradual change (see 30: Quimby). No attempt was made to evaluate the validity of Hrdlicka's theory for the Files. Excerpts from early sources were omitted if the early sources themselves are included in this collection. Only a small portion of the author's field journals, kept on both his 1936 and 1937 expeditions, was excerpted since they deal primarily with the author's own experiences. The anthropometric data, either the descriptive or tabular presentation of results was excerpted but not both. Material of primarily archaeological interest and lists of specimens obtained were not included. Finally, it should be noted that the analysis of the clothing, mats, baskets, and cordage excavated on Kagamil Island (Appendix I, pp. 589-608) was made by Miss O. Settles, Professor of Textiles, Iowa State College.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Anthropometry
Descriptive somatology
Prehistory
Mats and basketry
Normal garb
Heating and lighting equipment
General tools
Utensils
Burial practices and funerals
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Aleut
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2007
RegionThe area the document pertains to
North America
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Arctic and Subarctic
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
book chapter
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Archaeologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
3: Good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Leila S. Small ; 1950-1956
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1936-1938
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1781-1938
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Aleutian Islands, Alaska, United States
NotesAdditional notes
[by] Ales Hrdlicka …
This document consists of excerpts
The work is based on a variety of sources, including archeology, historical ethnography, anthropmetry, and the author's own observations. Few historical or archeological dates are given. Hrdlicka postulates the existence of a pre-Aleut, living up until Russian contact. However, the case for a pre-Aleut population is now questioned (see Laughlin, document 24.) Evidence points to two contemporaneous sub-populations of Aleut, an eastern and western group. (I.S. 2005)
Includes bibliographical references (p. 619-624)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
45003639
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Aleuts