End-Blade Artifact
Rick Davis is our anthropology teacher. He has done archaeological excavations all over the world; his expertise has insured that the manner in which we do our dig is proper, but more importantly, professional. We began with a quick discussion at the site about the Nunivak Eskimos, the Nuniwarmiut, who lived here and what we could find digging in a site of an old sod house. The excavation began with gridding out the dig zone in to 2 by 2 meter squares (total size about 4 by 8 meters) and the removal of the top sod layer. Doug Lucas, Ben Kuntz, and I have been digging in a square designated as Test Trench One.
Test Trench One is outside of the depression once containing a sod house. The purpose of Test Trench One is to find what activities or tools would be done/found outside of the living quarters and to sample for earlier occupations. Our finds have included a mixture of Norton era objects such as checkstamped ceramics to modern objects as nails, fishing nets, and tar paper. The most amazing find was a intact end-blade, most likely used as an arrow head within the Norton Era which dates as far back as AD500.
The End-blade, as seen, shows extensive knapping marks. The end-blade was made by striking stone or antler against volcanic chert rock. According to an article that we’ve read, bows and arrows were used in hunting caribou. Many caribou-hunting techniques were developed around bow and arrows: Lavniarculuteng, in which the hunters carefully stalked their prey; Can’ircutulit, in which the hunters were located in the path of fleeing caribou and shot as they passed by; and another technique using grass mat and driftwood fences to trap caribou, making them easier to shoot (Pratt 2001, “Ethnohistory of Caribou Hunting and Interior Land Use on Nunivak Island”). Our end-blade may have been used in such manners or may not have met the creators’ standards and been tossed.
The end-blade shows the mastery with which early Nunivak Island people managed a subsistence living. It showed that they had magnificent patience and craftsmanship to create such a beautiful find. Unfortunately for the caribou, the Nunivak hunters, together with other unwelcome natives from various regions along the west coast, hunted the caribou to extinction in the late 1880s.
–Daniel–
July 1st, 2007 06:09
Who wrote End-Blade Artifact???
July 1st, 2007 06:55
So very cool. you guys are doing a great job reporting and locating some good finds….as above…who is the author?
Look forward to more from your group.
July 1st, 2007 07:22
It is neat to be able to see the things you have found and read about them with the pictures.
July 2nd, 2007 12:50
Hi, Daniel!
Great job on documenting your find on the end-blade in both words and photo. Wonder how you managed to see it in the dirt, and what procedures and guidelines you follow to “dig” a site professionally.
Thanks for explaining the mystery of the caribou. I didn’t know that caribou had ever roamed Nunivak Island. Any speculation as to how they reached Nunivak in the first place? An ice bridge?
Keep up the great effort in all of these awesome learning experiences. Mom
July 2nd, 2007 21:12
First off, Daniel Updegrove wrote the article.
To “dig” professionally, we use troughs and dustbins as we dig. we fill a five gallon bucket with the dirt we remove and take it to the screens. The screens are 1/4 inch wide and we sift the dirt until just rocks and hopefully artifacts are left.
The caribou possibly came over on the land bridge or floated over on packed ice.