Fuel Use and Hearth Function in the Later Prehistory of Northwestern Alaska – Micromorphology of Combustion Structures at Birnirk and Thule Site of the Cape Espenberg Spit

Résumé En

In Northwest Alaska, human societies have adapted their subsistence strategies to extreme conditions. At the coastal Cape Espenberg site, excellent conservation conditions have allowed the preservation of many cultural features (architecture, hearths, middens) within a series of aggrading beach ridges. Remains of semi­subterranean houses and associated material culture indicate the sites relate to the Birnirk and the Thule cultures. The houses associated with the Birnirk culture are in ridge E­6 and reveal a multi­room architecture and two to three occupation levels dated to the 11th­13th century. Thule and later Kotzebue period houses are found on ridge E­5 and E­4. They show a long entrance tunnel leading to a rectangular room that contains a sleeping platform elevated above the occupation level. Unusual concentrations of archaeological charcoal and burned organic matter have been uncovered inside and outside of Birnirk houses, revealing the presence of small domestic hearths inside and firepits outside. However, Thule culture houses only have external burned areas and firepits. Ceramic lamps appear to be the sole source of light and heat inside these houses. The variability in the form, fill, and spatial organization of combustion structures raises questions regarding their usage, status and maintenance by people who occupied these houses. To further understand fire management in the arctic tundra, and the function and status of combustion structures, soil samples were collected from combustion structures (hearths, firepits, charcoal's concentration and soil occupation, ...) for anthracological and micromorphological analysis. This sampling protocole provides the opportunity for a multivariate, comparative and diachronic analysis of combustion structures between one Birnirk house and three Thule houses at Cape Espenberg. Our goal is to identify the diversity of fire­related activities in the excavated Birnirk and Thule houses, whether domestic (cooking, boiling water, heating, lighting, etc.) or specialized (ceramic firing, smoking and / or drying of foods, etc.). In this poster we present results of the soil micromorphology analysis and compare the areas sampled in terms of function and spatial organization in light of prior results of charcoal analyses.