The Oxford Handbook of the Prehistoric Arctic

The North American Arctic was one of the last regions on Earth to be settled by humans, due to its extreme climate, limited range of resources, and remoteness from populated areas. Despite these factors, it holds a complex and lengthy history relating to Inuit, I?upiat, Inuvialuit, Yup'ik and Aleut peoples and their ancestors. The artifacts, dwellings, and food remains of these ancient peoples are remarkably well-preserved due to cold temperatures and permafrost, allowing archaeologists to reconstruct their lifeways with great accuracy. Furthermore, the combination of modern Elders' traditional knowledge with the region's high resolution ethnographic record allows past peoples' lives to be reconstructed to a level simply not possible elsewhere. Combined, these factors yield an archaeological record of global significance--the Arctic provides ideal case studies relating to issues as diverse as the impacts of climate change on human societies, the complex process of interaction between indigenous peoples and Europeans, and the dynamic relationships between environment, economy, social organization, and ideology in hunter-gatherer societies.In the The Oxford Handbook of the Prehistoric Arctic, each arctic cultural tradition is described in detail, with up-to-date coverage of recent interpretations of all aspects of their lifeways. Additional chapters cover broad themes applicable to the full range of arctic cultures, such as trade, stone tool technology, ancient DNA research, and the relationship between archaeology and modern arctic communities. The resulting volume, written by the region's leading researchers, contains by far the most comprehensive coverage of arctic archaeology ever assembled.

The North American Arctic was one of the last regions on Earth to be settled by humans, due to its extreme climate, limited range of resources, and remoteness from populated areas. Despite these factors, it holds a complex and lengthy history relating to Inuit, I?upiat, Inuvialuit, Yup'ik and Aleut peoples and their ancestors. The artifacts, dwellings, and food remains of these ancient peoples are remarkably well-preserved due to cold temperatures and permafrost, allowing archaeologists to reconstruct their lifeways with great accuracy. Furthermore, the combination of modern Elders' traditional knowledge with the region's high resolution ethnographic record allows past peoples' lives to be reconstructed to a level simply not possible elsewhere. Combined, these factors yield an archaeological record of global significance--the Arctic provides ideal case studies relating to issues as diverse as the impacts of climate change on human societies, the complex process of interaction between indigenous peoples and Europeans, and the dynamic relationships between environment, economy, social organization, and ideology in hunter-gatherer societies. In the The Oxford Handbook of the Prehistoric Arctic, each arctic cultural tradition is described in detail, with up-to-date coverage of recent interpretations of all aspects of their lifeways. Additional chapters cover broad themes applicable to the full range of arctic cultures, such as trade, stone tool technology, ancient DNA research, and the relationship between archaeology and modern arctic communities. The resulting volume, written by the region's leading researchers, contains by far the most comprehensive coverage of arctic archaeology ever assembled.

The Oxford Handbook of the Prehistoric ArcticEdited by T. Max Friesen and Owen K. MasonArchaeology of the North American Arctic: Introduction?T. Max Friesen and Owen K. MasonCross-Cutting ThemesMolecular Genetic Evidence for the Origins of North American Populations?Rohina C. Rubicz and Michael H. CrawfordAncient DNA and Stable Isotopes: Windows on Arctic Prehistory?Justin Tackney, Joan Coltrain, Jennifer Raff, and Dennis O'RourkeZooarchaeology and the Reconstruction of Ancient Human-Animal Relationships in the Arctic?Matthew W. BettsA Critical Resource: Wood Use and Technology in the North American Arctic?Claire AlixArchaeological Evidence for Transport, Trade and Exchange in the North American Arctic?Jeffrey T. RasicPalaeoeskimo Lithic Technology?Pierre M. Desrosiers and Mikkel S?rensenArctic Archaeometallurgy?H. Kory CooperArchaeology and Native Northerners: The Rise of Community-Based Practice Across the North American Arctic?Natasha LyonsWestern ArcticFirst Traces: Late Pleistocene Human Settlement of the Arctic?Ted Goebel and Ben A. PotterThe Origins and Development of Arctic Maritime Adaptations in the Pacific Subarctic?Ben FitzhughFirst Maritime Cultures of the Aleutians?Richard Davis, Richard Knecht, and Jason RogersMaritime Economies of the Central Gulf of Alaska after 4,000 BP?Amy Steffian, Patrick Saltonstall, and Linda Finn YarboroughArchaeology of the Eastern Aleut Region?Herbert D. G. MaschnerThe Denbigh Flint Complex of Northern Alaska?Andrew H. Tremayne and Jeffrey T. RasicThe Enigmatic Choris and Old Whaling Cultures of the Western Arctic?Christyann M. Darwent and John DarwentNorton Hunters and Fisherfolk of Southern Alaska?Don E. DumondThe Old Bering Sea Florescence about Bering Strait?Owen K. MasonFrom the Norton Culture to the Ipiutak Cult in northwest Alaska?Owen K. MasonAncient Eskimo Cultures of Chukotka?Mikhail M. Bronshtein, Kirill A. Dneprovsky, and Arkady B. SavinetskyThule Origins in the Old Bering Sea culture: The Inter-relationship of Punuk and Birnirk cultures?Owen K. MasonArchaeology of the Late Western Thule/Inupiat in North Alaska (AD 1300-1750)?Anne M. JensenHolocene Prehistory of the Northwestern Subarctic?Ben A. PotterThe Precontact History of Subarctic Northwest Canada?Glen MacKay and Thomas D. AndrewsDevelopment of Mackenzie Inuit Culture?Charles ArnoldThe Aleutian Tradition: The Last 4000 years?Debra Corbett and Michael YarboroughContact and Post-Contact I?upiat Ethnohistory?Anne M. Jensen and Glenn W. SheehanEastern ArcticReconstructing Middle and Late Holocene Paleoclimates of the Eastern Arctic and Greenland?Sarah A. FinkelsteinPan-Arctic Population Movements: The Early Paleo-Inuit and Thule Inuit Migrations?T. Max FriesenPre-Dorset culture?S. Brooke Milne and Robert W. ParkIndependence I and Saqqaq: The First Greenlanders?Bjarne Gr?nnowGreenlandic Dorset?Jens Fog JensenThe 'Dorset Problem' Revisited - the Transitional and Early and Middle Dorset Periods in the Eastern Arctic?Karen RyanLate Dorset?Martin Appelt, Eric Damkjar, and T. Max FriesenThe Dorset-Thule Transition?Robert W. ParkClassic Thule [Classic Precontact Inuit]?Peter WhitridgeLabrador Inuit: thriving on the periphery of the Inuit world?Susan A. Kaplan and James M. WoollettDevelopment of Polar Inughuit Culture in the Smith Sound Region?Genevieve M. LeMoine and Christyann M. DarwentInuit-European Interactions in Greenland?Hans Christian Gull?vThule-Inuit succession in the Central Arctic?Peter DawsonArchaeology of the Inuit of Southern Labrador and the Quebec Lower North Shore?William W. Fitzhugh