Kachemak Tradition
The Kachemak Tradition refers to a long-standing cultural heritage of a maritime-adapted people centered around Kachemak Bay in Alaska. This tradition is characterized by the use of specialized tools and artifacts, such as fishhooks, stone oil lamps, and toggling harpoons, as well as the production of both flaked and ground stone tools. Initially studied by Frederica DeLaguna in the early 1930s, Kachemak sites revealed a rich array of decorative and functional items, including pendants, figurines, and intricate lamps depicting humans and marine life. The culture is noted for its artistic expressions, utilizing materials like bone, ivory, and soft red stone, which reflect both functional needs and social status through the presence of wealth objects. Evidence of ritual practices, such as trophy heads and human bone artifacts, suggests a complex spiritual life. The Kachemak Tradition eventually transitioned to the Athapaskan culture in the upper and middle Cook Inlet region, while along the outer coast, elements of the tradition likely evolved into what is recognized today as the Pacific Eskimo culture. This historical context highlights the adaptability and cultural richness of the Kachemak people.
On this Page
Kachemak Tradition
Related civilizations: Northwest Coast cultures, Arctic cultures.
Date: 1500 b.c.e.-700 c.e.
Locale: Gulf of Alaska region
Kachemak Tradition
This long cultural tradition began with a maritime-adapted people who used fishhooks, stone oil lamps, labrets (lip ornaments), and simple toggling harpoons and made both flaked and ground stone tools. The sites around Kachemak (kah-chee-mahk) Bay were originally investigated by Frederica DeLaguna in the early 1930s. Through time, the tradition became more elaborate, with an increase in the numbers of wealth objects. Pendants, figurines, labrets, beads, and decorative pins were fashioned from bone, ivory, jet, shell, and soft red stone. Heavy lamps sculptured with figures of humans and sea mammals also occur. Slate was ground to make barbed points and daggers. Ritualism is indicated by trophy heads, artifacts of human bone, and artificial eyes found in the skulls of human burials. In the upper and middle Cook Inlet region, the Kachemak tradition was succeeded by Athapaskan speakers and their culture in the late prehistoric period, whereas on the outer coast, it continued and probably evolved into the Pacific Eskimo.
Bibliography
Damas, David, ed. Arctic. Vol. 5 in Handbook of North American Indians. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1984.
DeLaguna, Frederica. The Archaeology of Cook Inlet, Alaska. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1934.
McCartney, Allen P., Hiroaki Okada, Atsuko Okada, and William Workman, eds. Arctic Anthropology: North Pacific and Bering Sea Maritime Societies, the Archaeology of Prehistoric and Early Historic Coastal Peoples. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1998.