Northern Archaic Tradition
The Northern Archaic Tradition refers to a loosely defined cultural group associated with the prehistoric inhabitants of the northern subarctic regions, characterized by a diverse array of flaked stone tools used primarily for hunting and fishing. Artifacts from this tradition include lanceolate bifaces, notched spear points, microblades, and various end scrapers, which share similarities with tools from other traditions across North America. This suggests a complex interplay of cultural practices, possibly resulting from either the exchange of ideas among different groups or the blending of technological elements from seasonal migrations. The Northern Archaic peoples predominantly hunted caribou, indicating their adaptation to the northern landscape and subsistence strategies. Initially proposed by D. D. Anderson, the Northern Archaic Tradition is often linked to the earlier Paleo-Arctic tradition, with various phases identified, although neither phase exhibited microblade technology. The historical occupation of this area by Northern Athapaskan-speaking peoples raises the possibility that the Northern Archaic assemblages may represent the cultural ancestors of these groups. Overall, the Northern Archaic Tradition illustrates the rich and nuanced history of human adaptation and cultural exchange in the northern subarctic environment.
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Northern Archaic Tradition
Related civilization: Athapaskan.
Date: 4000 b.c.e.-100 c.e.
Locale: Interior Alaska and the Yukon
Northern Archaic Tradition
This poorly defined cultural group includes assemblages that contain a variety of flaked stone tools indicative of the hunting and lake fishing way of life of northern subarctic peoples. Many of the artifacts found are characteristic of other traditions. Lanceolate bifaces similar to those of the Plano tradition, notched spear points like those found in many places in interior North America, microblades and cores like those of the Northwest Microblade tradition, notched pebble sinkers that have a wide geographic distribution, and numerous end scrapers like those found in many hunting cultures occur in the northern Archaic tradition. It is uncertain whether this amalgamation of technologies is the result of interaction and borrowing between existing cultures or of the mixing of components left during short-term occupations by different seasonally migrant peoples. Specialists disagree on the utility of this grouping.
The term was originally proposed by D. D. Anderson as the successor to assemblages of the American Paleo-Arctic tradition at the Onion Portage site. Two phases, Palisades and Portage, were recognized; neither contained evidence of microblade technology. Northern Athapaskan-speaking peoples occupied this region historically, and it is possible that northern Archaic assemblages were left by their ancestors.
Bibliography
Harris, Cole R., ed. Historical Atlas of Canada. Vol. 1. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987.
Helm, June, ed. Subarctic. Vol. 6 in Handbook of North American Indians. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981.