Betts & Friesen 2004-Quantifying Intensification

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23 (2004) 357384
www.elsevier.com/locate/jaa
Quantifying huntergatherer intensication:

a zooarchaeological case study from Arctic Canada
Matthew W. Betts*, T. Max Friesen
Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, 100 St. George Street, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5S 3G3
Received 26 June 2003; revision received 18 July 2004
Abstract
This paper presents the analysis and interpretation of one instance of huntergatherer economic intensication,
based on three sites in the Mackenzie River Delta, Northwest Territories, Arctic Canada. Quantication of the very
well-preserved archaeofaunas from these sites allows a particularly high-resolution analysis of intensication, because
faunal resources represent nearly 100% of all food consumed in the region. Exploratory multivariate statistics are
applied to the samples, in order to assess the degree to which they vary, and the degree to which faunal variability coin-
cides with chronological relationships among the contexts. The archaeofaunas are then assessed in relation to three
component strategies of intensication [after Morrison, K., 1994. The intensication of production: archaeological
approaches. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 1 (2), 111159]: specialization, the economic focus on
a narrow range of resources; diversication, the increasing reliance on a broader range of resources; and invest-
ment, the development of new technologies and procurement strategies. Results indicate that in the Mackenzie Delta
case, the economy remained specialized throughout the sequence, but diversication and investment increased during
later periods.
2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Zooarchaeology; Intensication; Specialization; Diversication; Whaling; Fishing; Arctic; Mackenzie Delta; Thule;
Mackenzie Inuit; Inuvialuit
The diachronic study of economic systems is central to 2001, p. 357; Morrison, 1994, p. 115). While the develop-
many facets of huntergatherer archaeology, relating as ment of huntergatherer economic and social patterns
it does to topics as diverse as ecological adaptation of hu- should not be seen as strictly unidirectional, from simple
man populations, the development of social complexity, to complex (e.g., Rowley-Conwy, 2001), it remains true
and even the origins of agriculture. Common to many that many instances of intensication occurred in the
theoretical considerations of all of these phenomena is past, leading to the diverse array of huntergatherer
the idea of intensication, which, at its most inclusive economies directly or indirectly observable in the ethno-
level, refers to the ability by human populations to obtain graphic and archaeological records. In this respect, the
more food in a given unit of time or space (e.g., Binford, study of economic intensication is a crucial aspect of
huntergatherer research.
The zooarchaeological investigation of issues relating
*
Corresponding author. Fax: +1 416 978 3217. to intensication (see below) has recently seen an in-
E-mail address: matthew.betts@utoronto.ca (M.W. Betts). crease (e.g., Broughton, 1997, 1999, 2002; Byrd, 1997;
0278-4165/$ - see front matter 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2004.07.001
358 M.W. Betts, T.M. Friesen / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23 (2004) 357384
Cannon, 2000, 2003; Grayson and Delpech, 2002; Gray- incorporated into Ames (1985: p. 158) popular deni-
son et al., 2001; Janetski, 1997; Nagaoka, 2001, 2002; tion of intensication as either increased productivity
Simmons and Nadel, 1998; Stiner and Munro, 2002); per capita or increased production per capita.
however, many of these studies are limited either be- Productivity refers to eciency, that is, the amount
cause they are focused on a restricted range of taxa of production per unit labour. Increases in productiv-
rather than the entire range of fauna, or because they ity/eciency can be achieved through technological or
are compromised by dierential preservation of the organizational means (Boserup, 1965). Production refers
contexts being compared (e.g., Edwards, 1989). In this to the amount of output. Increases in production per ca-
paper, we take advantage of a particularly high-resolu- pita can be achieved either through increased eciency
tion zooarchaeological record from the Mackenzie River or through increased labour per capita. Intensication,
Delta, Northwest Territories, to address the nature of achieved either through increases in eciency or output,
economic change in one instance where intensication does not occur without a cost (Earle, 1980; see also Bos-
can be clearly demonstrated for a single huntergatherer erup, 1965). Earle (1980, p. 20, Fig. 1.4) has dened the
society. Faunal samples from three sites, located within cost relationship of increased intensication, displaying
a 10 km stretch of river bank and spanning approxi- a clear correlation between increasing output and
mately 400 years will be described and compared, and increasing energy expenditure (see also Boserup, 1965).
then interpreted within a framework emphasizing the If eciency or output increases, cost also has to in-
process of intensication. crease, although perhaps not at the same rate. If technol-
The zooarchaeological record which we use here is ogy and organization remain stable, then any increase in
particularly appropriate for the observation of economic output requires more labour input.
processes such as intensication, for at least four Therefore, in an absolute sense, increased eciency
reasons. First, the ecosystem in much of the Arctic can also generally involves increased costs because more
be categorized as less complex than that found in most investment occurs in the manufacture of complex and
regions at lower latitudes, thus making the relationship ecient tools and the organization and implementation
between human societies and their prey species simpler, of complex procurement strategies (Earle, 1980, p. 23
at least in theory. Within this range, however, it must be 25). Furthermore, because increased output from a unit
noted that the coastal Mackenzie Delta contains a of land sometimes results in a longer duration of stay,
relatively diverse fauna when compared to other Arctic increases in output can also be associated with increased
regions, and therefore represents a relatively complex cost, or investment, in the construction of architecture,
arctic ecology. Second, the rarity (but not complete such as dwellings and storage areas (e.g., Kent, 1991).
absence) of plant foods means that subsistence econo- Consistent with this reasoning, Matson (1983, p. 128)
mies can be understood almost in their entirety, based has suggested a denition of economic intensication
on animal bones. Third, a comprehensive ethnographic that takes input into account, consisting of three parts:
record exists which provides detailed information increasing investment, production and eciency.
regarding everything from hunting methods and storage In applying these ideas to the archaeological record,
techniques to the season of acquisition for virtually we follow Morrisons (1994, p. 137) useful approach
every species whose bones are encountered in aban- which breaks the process down into component strate-
doned houses or middens. Fourth, preservation is often gies which are characterized by a suite of archaeologi-
excellent, as many bones are quickly incorporated into cally visible signatures. These component strategies are
the permafrost (permanently frozen soil) following their specialization, diversication and intensication prop-
deposition. er (Morrison, 1994, p. 137, see also Kaiser and Voytek,
1983); we refer to this latter component, intensication
proper, as investment to avoid confusion with the
Archaeological approaches to intensication more general term intensication.
Specialization refers to economies which focus pro-
Archaeologists have devoted increasing attention to duction on a narrow range of species, with an associated
intensication since Boserup (1965) dened intensica- increase in production for those species (and, typically, a
tion as a process of increasing eciency in which more decline in production for other species). Thus, in special-
resources were extracted from a given area of land, or ized economies, one, or a very few, species tend to dom-
a particular unit of labour (see Morrison, 1994, p. inate (e.g., Lyman 1989, p. 73, 1991, p. 190). There is a
115). Yet if labour inputs do not remain static, intensi- well-dened correlation between specialization and
cation may not always be associated with increasing e- mobility (e.g., Binford, 1980; Savelle and McCartney,
ciency. Instead, increased production may result from 1988), with specialization typically being correlated with
increased labour inputs. For this reason, Bender (1978, reduced mobility, because many focal resources tend
p. 205) found it useful to distinguish between productiv- to be spatially and temporally concentrated. As a
ity and production, a conceptualization that was later consequence, specialization can result in both increasing
M.W. Betts, T.M. Friesen / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23 (2004) 357384 359
reliance on a narrow range of species, and increasing (1980, p. 1120), who suggests that both specialization
lengths of stay where those species are procured. Addi- and diversication should increase under the pressure
tionally however, specialization may also be associated of increased production requirements. On closer inspec-
with the development of new technologies and tech- tion, however, they may not be incompatible when
niques necessary for the ecient procurement of a focal viewed over a longer time scale. As Earle (1980, p. 20)
resource. In this respect, it may involve the renement suggests, intensication should be associated with in-
and/or elaboration of existing technology or techniques creased investment and specialization up to a certain
for intense and repeated procurement eorts. point, after which only diversication can continue to
Diversication results in a very dierent economic meet production requirements:
strategy. As Morrison (1994, p. 144) states, diversica-
Hunting and gathering strategies have denite and
tion relates to an increase in the number of components
restricted yield. Intensication in these strategies should
in the productive system (diversity), as well as to changes
thus quickly encounter sharply increasing costs, with the
in the organization of that diversity. In economic sys-
result that a major expansion in output from a subsis-
tems, an increase in diversity typically represents an in-
tence economy would have to come from diversication.
creased reliance on a broader range of food species, or
increased richness (e.g., Janetski, 1997, p. 1075; Reitz Thus, on a broad chronological scale, it is possible that
and Wing, 1999, p. 233). Similar to specialization, diver- both specialization and diversication would be em-
sication can also be linked to the development of new ployed sequentially to overcome increased procurement
procurement techniques and technologies, used simulta- requirements. However, it is interesting to note that Bin-
neously with existing strategies. ford (2001: 402) (see also Hayden, 1981; Johnson, 1997)
Investment, which Morrison (1994) termed intensi- has further proposed that diversity promotes stability, in
cation proper, involves increased labor and/or capital the sense that it provides a means for averaging resource
inputs into a plot of land (Morrison, 1994, p. 142), usu- uctuations. Although Binfords denition of diversity is
ally manifested by the development of new technologies somewhat broader than that used here, his implications
and strategies, and therefore is linked directly with the are still applicable; diversied economies promote stabil-
processes of specialization and diversication. Further- ity, while specialized, or narrow, economies are inher-
more, increasing sedentism, as evident in more labour ently unstable. As a result, diversication may occur in
investment in site architecture, can indirectly reect in- response to either resource instability or increasing pro-
creased production from a unit of land. For example, duction requirements, while specialization is primarily a
construction of new or larger storage facilities can indi- response to increasing production requirements.
cate both increased sedentism and technological in-
creases in eciency (see Binford, 1980; Kent, 1991;
Matson, 1983, p. 128). Economically, changes in tech- Nineteenth century Mackenzie Inuit economy
nology may be reected in a relative increase of certain
prey species that are procured with new or improved In the late nineteenth century, the Mackenzie Inuit
technologies (Reitz and Wing, 1999, p. 253), or in al- were a populous, relatively sedentary society occupying
tered age and/or sex frequencies of hunted species, while a region from the Alaska-Yukon border in the west to
increased sedentism would be reected in an increased Cape Bathurst in the east, in northwesternmost Canada.
breadth of seasonality of exploited resources. They were organized into at least six regional groups
These three component strategies for intensication, (McGhee, 1974; Morrison, 1990; Morrison and Arnold,
namely specialization, diversication, and investment, 1994), each of which occupied a well-dened, defended
cannot, of course, be considered mutually exclusive, territory, and probably included from 200 to as many
although all three may not necessarily occur simulta- as 1000 people (Smith, 1984; Usher, 1971; cf. Burch,
neously. For instance, both increased diversication 1980). Each regional group perceived itself as culturally
and specialization can result from the introduction of distinct from its neighbours, and had a unique seasonal
new technologies, which can also be linked to changes round, based on the resources available within its terri-
in investment. Nevertheless, in subsistence studies, tory. To the east and west of the Mackenzie Delta, a
which often focus on diet breadth, diversication and wide range of resources were exploited, although the
specialization are often considered to have an inverse most important included ringed and harbour seals, car-
relationship (e.g., Cleland, 1966). Morrison (1994, p. ibou, migratory waterfowl, beluga and bowhead whales,
143) has implied that intensied economies that exhibit and a broad variety of freshwater, anadromous, and
specialized strategies will exhibit a lower degree of diver- marine sh.
sication. Similarly, Binford (2001, p. 420) has demon- However, on the East Channel of the Mackenzie Riv-
strated that specialized groups often exhibit a er Delta (Fig. 1), a special set of local environmental
reduction in subsistence diversity. These statements ini- conditions led to a unique economic pattern. Every sum-
tially appear incongruent with the predictions of Earle mer, thousands of beluga whales enter the East Channel,
Fig. 1. The East Channel of the Mackenzie River Delta, including sites mentioned in the text.
to take advantage of the relatively warm, shallow and splash the water with their paddles, frightening the
waters, which contain large numbers of sh, and which belugas further into the shallows, where they were easily
may increase survival of newly calved whales (Fraker killed with harpoons and lances. Hunted belugas were
et al., 1978; Sergeant, 1973). The combination of large then towed back to the summer settlements, where they
numbers of beluga whales with extremely shallow waters were butchered. Some meat, fat, and maktak (skin with
led to ideal hunting conditions for Inuit hunting from attached subdermal fat layer) was consumed there, but
kayaks with harpoons and lances. Several ethnographic much was stored in pit caches and retrieved for con-
sources describe large numbers of men forming a drive sumption in the winter. Previous analyses of a faunal
line in their kayaks between pods of belugas and open sample from the Kuukpak site have indicated that belu-
water (e.g., Friesen, 2004; McGhee, 1974; Nuligak, gas were important in the prehistoric period (Friesen
1966; Whittaker, 1937). They would proceed to shout and Arnold, 1995a), and that they were probably hunted
with the same drive methods (Friesen and Arnold, utilitarian clothing, and manufacturing, but also to deli-
1995b). ver social messages, in the form of labrets (lip plugs),
In the late nineteenth century, two major summer set- combs, beads, and decorated clothing. Leadership was
tlements were occupied, on opposite sides of Kugmallit formalized, and manifested in individuals identied by
Bay in the outer Mackenzie Delta. Kitigaaryuit (Kit- early sources as chiefs, although the precise nature
tigazuit) was located on the east side, and is the source of their authority and degree of heredity is not clear.
of the best available ethnographic data, since it contin- The identication of the Mackenzie Inuit as complex
ued to be occupied to the end of the nineteenth century, huntergatherers is relevant to the present study, be-
after massive depopulation of the region had occurred cause intensication of economic systems has often been
due to epidemics (McGhee, 1974). Kuukpak (Gupuk) directly linked to the development of complex hunter
was located on the west side, on Richards Island (Ar- gatherers (e.g., Ames, 1985; Arnold, 1996, p. 89; Bender,
nold, 1988), and was probably abandoned sometime 1978, 1985; Binford, 1983; Matson, 1983; Price and
during the 1860s or 1870s (Stefansson, 1919). At both Brown, 1985, p. 16; Price and Gebauer, 1995, p. 8).
of these settlements, summer hunting occurred from
large tent camps on the beach, during July and August.
These summer occupations leave very little archaeologi- Zooarchaeological samples from the East Channel
cal evidence due to the ephemeral nature of tent struc-
tures and the fact that spring breakup and high water In the Mackenzie Delta region, a number of syn-
might erase any evidence of their presence. However, chronic zooarchaeological analyses have been published
during the winter, many of the sites summer residents (e.g., Balkwill and Rick, 1994; Friesen and Arnold,
returned to live in large, semi-subterranean houses. Oth- 1995a,b; Morrison, 1988, 1997a,b, 2000), but diachronic
ers apparently lived elsewhere during the winter, return- patterns in the regions economic organization have not
ing to obtain sled-loads of beluga whale meat and yet been fully explored. The remainder of this paper pre-
maktak from pit caches lled during the summer (e.g., sents and interprets a zooarchaeological sequence from
Friesen and Morrison, 2002). the East Channel of the Mackenzie River Delta, which
During other seasons, inhabitants of the East Chan- represents the best such sequence currently available.
nel engaged in a variety of additional subsistence pur- A series of six components from three sites have yielded
suits. Following the beluga hunt, caribou were hunted large, screened samples of fauna from deeply buried con-
during the fall, yielding both meat and the very impor- texts. This sequence is particularly good, even by arctic
tant skins necessary for winter clothing. In the winter standards, because unlike in adjacent regions, many of
a restricted range of resources was available, including the sites appear to have been occupied for limited dura-
ptarmigan, sh obtained through the ice, and seals at tions and therefore contain unmixed assemblages. The
breathing holes or open leads in the ice. In the spring, Mackenzie River is slowly silting in, leading to a gradual
migratory birds, especially geese, were hunted. During downstream (northward) movement of beluga whale
all seasons, sh were actively pursued. Fishing technol- concentration areas, as upstream locations become too
ogy, expressed most importantly in a variety of sh hook shallow for optimal beluga movement. Human settle-
types and netting gear, was highly developed. It is gener- ment appears to have followed the belugas, leading to
ally accepted that sh formed an important part of re- a kind of horizontal stratigraphy in which later sites
gional subsistence strategies, due to the large biomass were located further north, downstream, as earlier up-
and great species diversity in the Mackenzie Delta, and stream sites were abandoned (e.g., McGhee, 1974, p. 37).
also because they are relatively predictable, and avail- This sequence of three sites (Fig. 1) also lends itself to
able for much of the year, including in the winter (Alu- economic comparisons because there is very little eco-
nik et al., 2003; Arnold, 1994; Balkwill and Rick, 1994; logical dierence between the sites immediate surround-
Friesen and Arnold, 1995a; Morrison, 2000; Whitridge, ings. The three sites are separated by less than 10 km,
2001). and all are located directly adjacent to the Mackenzie
It is clear that during the nineteenth century this River. All are surrounded by similar proportions of var-
Mackenzie Inuit economic system supported a relatively ious tundra plant communities, freshwater creeks,
complex society (Friesen, 1999, 2004). Mackenzie Inuit ponds, and marshes that attract furbearers, migratory
were relatively sedentary, living for a good part of each birds, moose, and other taxa; and all would have
year in very large households of 2530 people in distinc- roughly equal access to water bodies containing the var-
tive cruciform semi-subterranean houses. Storage was ious species of economically important sh. Further-
highly developed, with meat and fat of several species more, all sites are located in close proximity to a
variously dried, frozen, or rendered into oil and stored system of low hills that are attractive travel routes for
in bags, pits, or on elevated racks. An elaborate material the sporadic caribou populations found on Richards Is-
culture included not only diverse technologies devoted land. The most notable potential dierence between the
to subsistence, transportation (kayaks, umiaks, sleds), sites locations is the slightly closer proximity of the
Pond and Kuukpak sites to the open waters of Kugmal- Although it is impossible to establish contemporaneity
lit Bay. However, based on the faunal analyses reported of the various houses, at least two periods are repre-
below, this does not appear to have had a signicant im- sented, so all houses were not occupied at the same time.
pact on the economy at the various sites. Cache Point House 6 contains a single bench on the
side of the primary room, a kitchen extension, and a
Cache Point very deep entrance tunnel. Based on its location in a
house cluster distant from the current channel of the
Furthest upstream, and earliest, is the Cache Point site. Mackenzie River, this house was assumed to be very
This site was originally excavated in the mid-1980s early within the Mackenzie Delta sequence. Although
(Stromberg, 1984, 1985), and eldwork was renewed in few diagnostic artifacts were recovered, the one proxi-
1998 and 1999 by the Qilalugaq Archaeology Project mal arrowhead fragment from House 6 had a sloping
(Friesen, 2000), one of the chief aims of which was to re- shoulder, which is an early trait (e.g., Morrison, 1990).
cover information relating to the earliest Inuit occupation For Cache Point House 6 and all other contexts de-
of the Mackenzie Delta. The two faunal samples reported scribed herein, arrowhead shoulder and tang form will
here were collected during this latter project. be emphasized since this is the only artifact category
Cache Point is located on a 10-m high blu adjacent which is both chronologically sensitive and occurs in
to the East Channel, and contains a minimum of 23 all contexts. A single AMS radiocarbon assay conrms
semi-subterranean houses as well as numerous pits, most an early date: a Dalls sheep phalanx from the oor
of which must be caches. An unknown number of yielded a date of 820 70 years BP or 11591281 cal
houses have already been lost to erosion. All of the AD at one sigma (all subsequent dates will be given with
houses which have been excavated have driftwood aggregated one sigma ranges; see Table 1 for full infor-
frames, small oval to rectangular main rooms (averaging mation on date calibration). Thus, this house represents
2.5 3 m), deep entrance tunnels, and a single sleeping the earliest known Thule Inuit occupation of the East
bench intended for one or two nuclear families. Channel (Thule is the name given to the earliest
Table 1
Radiocarbon dates (1-Sigma ranges) for sites on the East Channel of the Mackenzie River
Site name Norm. date Calibrated AD Relative area under Material dated
BP and error (1-Sigma) Prob. distribution
Cache Point House 6 820 70 11591281 1.00 Dalls sheep bone collagen
Cache Point House 8 710 70 12461317 0.699 Caribou bone collagen
13531388 0.301
Cache Point House 8 670 50 12841317 0.491 Caribou bone collagen
13531388 0.509
PondH1 640 90 12881333 0.412 Ungulate bone collagen
13381399 0.588
PondH1 640 80 12911331 0.404 Ungulate bone collagen
13411397 0.596
PondH2 610 80 13001373 0.749 Moose bone collagen
13771401 0.251
PondH 2 460 90 13311340 0.038 Caribou bone collagen
13971520 0.814
15911623 0.148
KuukpakH1, A1 730 80 12161309 0.804 Mammal bone collagen
13541387 0.196
KuukpakH1, A1 650 40 12951319 0.388 Moose bone collagen
13521389 0.612
KuukpakH1, A1 360 80 14551463 0.048 Caribou bone collagen
14651528 0.415
15521633 0.537
KuukpakMidden, A2 550 90 13041367 0.526 Caribou bone collagen
13851436 0.474
13841445 0.540
KuukpakMidden, A2 450 90 14011521 0.802 Ungulate bone collagen
15841625 0.198
Neo-Eskimo migrants into the Canadian Arctic, and southern end is situated only about 500 m downstream
represents the rst appearance of people directly ances- from Pond, and from there it extends a further 800 m
tral to modern Inuit populations). along the shore of Richards Island (Arnold, 1994). This
Cache Point House 8 is located in the centre of the very large site contains a minimum of 21 houses (Arnold,
Cache Point blu, and is oriented toward the current 1988, 1994), although additional houses may have been
channel of the Mackenzie River. It contained a single lost to erosion. Between 1985 and 1989, Arnold (1994)
bench at the rear, a kitchen extension, and a deep en- excavated ve houses at the site, of which four were of
trance tunnel. All three arrowheads recovered from se- the extremely large cruciform variety. Cruciform
cure, oor-level, contexts exhibited squared shoulders houses held up to 30 people, and were the predominant
and a ringed tang (also known as collared tang), con- house form in the nineteenth century (Petitot, 1876,
sistent with a later occupation than House 6, although a 1887). Faunal samples discussed here are drawn from
spurred tang arrowhead was recovered from upper two contexts: House 1 in Area 1, and the Area 2 Midden.
levels. Two AMS radiocarbon dates on caribou bones House 1 in Area 1 (hereafter the Kuukpak house)
from the oor of 670 50 years BP (12841388 cal is a large cruciform house containing three well-dened
AD) and 710 70 years BP (12461388 cal AD) are in alcoves and a long entrance tunnel. Its main room is
close agreement with one another. about 3 4 m, and each alcove is about 2 3 m (Arnold,
1994). All eight diagnostic arrowheads had squared
Pond shoulders; seven of these had spurred tangs, and the
eighth had a simple conical tang. Three dates have been
Approximately 8 km downstream from Cache Point obtained for this house; 730 80 years BP (12161387
is the Pond Site, which contains a minimum of seven cal AD), 650 40 years BP (12951389 cal AD), and
houses, although dense willow cover led the excavator 360 80 years BP (14551633 cal AD). The rst two ap-
to suspect the presence of an unknown number of addi- pear too early in relation to the artifact typology, and
tional houses (Arnold, 1994). Pond is located on a small can be questioned on the basis of materials dated. The
creek behind a silted-in area, and was probably aban- earliest date was run on terrestrial mammal bone,
doned when heavy silt made boat access to the site di- which does not exclude taxa such as dog or bear which
cult. Arnold (1994) excavated two houses at the site in could be subject to the marine reservoir eect, and there-
1989. The House 1 fauna was identied by Meadows fore too old. The intermediate date was run on a bone
(personal communication, 2002) and the House 2 fauna tool, which could have been curated, or else manufac-
was identied by Lewis and Reeves (1993). tured on a bone which was already old when the tool
House 1 was apparently similar to the Cache Point was produced (e.g., Nelson and McGhee, 2002). The la-
houses, exhibiting a single rear bench, although it is much ter date, on the other hand, is on caribou bone recovered
larger, with the main oor area about 3 5 m in size, and near the oor, and is provisionally accepted here. Fauna
there is a suggestion of a laterally expanded main room from within the house, and a portion of its associated
(Arnold, 1994, p. 88). Of seven complete arrowhead tangs, midden, has been previously published (Friesen and Ar-
all had squared shoulders; two had ringed tangs, and ve nold, 1995a).
had spurred tangs. House 1 yielded two radiocarbon dates In Area 2 at Kuukpak, a large, deep midden (hereaf-
on moose or caribou bone recovered near the oor: ter the Kuukpak midden) was excavated, yielding a
640 80 years BP (12911397 cal AD) and 640 90 years very large faunal sample. Of 15 diagnostic arrowheads,
BP (12881399 cal AD) (Nolin, 1994). It is possible that all had squared shoulders, 12 had spurred tangs, and 3
both dated bone samples originated from the same indi- had ringed tangs. This midden has produced four radio-
vidual animal. carbon dates on ungulate bone collagen, which range
House 2 was too disturbed to allow interpretation of from 550 90 years BP (13041436 cal AD) to
architectural details, however it yielded a large faunal 350 90 years BP (14711637 cal AD). The faunal fre-
and artifact sample which can be used here. All three quencies reported here represent the aggregation of non-
diagnostic arrowheads had squared shoulders and cetacean fauna identied by Balkwill and Rick (1994)
ringed tangs. Two radiocarbon samples from this house with analyses of beluga whale bones performed on site.
yielded dates of 610 80 years BP (13001401 cal AD)
and 460 90 (13311623 cal AD). Based on the arrow- Summary
head tang forms, combined with these dates, a mid-four-
teenth century date seems most likely. Based on the information presented above, these six
components collectively represent approximately 400
Kuukpak years of precontact culture history. Importantly, the rel-
ative and, to some degree, absolute dates of these sam-
The site of Kuukpak (Gupuk), as mentioned previ- ples were initially determined on the basis of the sites
ously, was occupied into the nineteenth century. Its geographic position (based on downstream movement
of settlement over time) and on comparison of artifacts Quantifying economic change

with established typological sequences in the Mackenzie
Delta region (e.g., McGhee, 1974; Morrison, 1990). Due The faunal database from the East Channel sequence
to their relatively high frequencies in these six contexts, is large and diverse, containing over 63,000 identied
we have relied largely on arrowhead shoulder and tang specimens, spanning 79 distinct (i.e., non-overlapping)
forms, which follow the established general sequence taxa (Table 2). Each of the six samples is large enough
that begins with sloping shoulders with simple conical to be representative of the occupation from which it
or knobbed tangs in earliest Thule contexts, followed was excavated, with counts varying from 2800 to over
by squared shoulders with ringed tangs, and ends with 38,000 identied specimens. In the case of the ve house
squared shoulders with spurred tangs which continue contexts, the faunal samples represent the total recov-
in use until the late precontact period. The radiocarbon ered fauna from the house combined with fauna from
dates reported in Table 1 serve to conrm the sequence each houses primary associated midden. The Pond
thus derived, and on the basis of all of these data we can and Kuukpak samples were screened through 6 mm
suggest a relatively rm chronology for these contexts. mesh, while the Cache Point samples were screened
For ease of discussion, in the remainder of the paper through a combination of 3 mm (house oors) and
we will refer to approximate, rounded dates for each 6 mm (midden) mesh. Screen-mesh dierences have the
of these contexts, based on the more specic discussions potential to introduce signicant biases in the present
above. It must be remembered, however, that in each analysis, because Mackenzie Delta groups relied heavily
case the contexts represent occupations for an unknown on a number of sh species.
length of time, lasting from perhaps only a few years in In a practical analysis of recovery issues, Cannon
the case of Cache Point House 6, to several centuries in (1999) has emphasized that the eectiveness of screening
the case of the Kuukpak midden. protocols are context specic, and therefore one tech-
Dating to around 1200 cal AD, Cache Point House 6 nique is not necessarily better than another, given local
is the oldest context, followed by Cache Point House 8 variability in species size and fragmentation. Problems
at approximately 13001350 cal AD. The two Pond site arise, however, based on specimen sizes (the average
houses both date to about 13501400 cal AD, although size of bone fragments) of certain faunas (Cannon,
based on the artifact sample Pond House 2 is the earlier 1999, p. 212). If a site is heavily dominated by small spec-
of the two. The Kuukpak house is probably signicantly imen sizes (as a result of smaller species or fragmentation),
later, perhaps dating to around 1550 cal AD, and the then assemblages will be biased if screened with larger
Kuukpak midden represents a longer period of deposi- mesh sizes. However, if average specimen size is larger,
tion, probably accumulating at least from 1400 to 1600 then coarse screening (or none at all) may provide equally
cal AD. It is likely that there is some overlap in the dat- accurate relative abundance measures.
ing of the sites as a whole; that is, it is quite possible that The eect of screening protocols on arctic faunal
Cache Point continued to be occupied for some time assemblages has not been studied in detail. Nevertheless,
after the initial occupation of Pond, and similarly Pond concern has been expressed in relation to the collection
may not have been completely abandoned when Kuuk- of sh remains (e.g., Morrison, 2000; Whitridge, 2001).
pak was rst occupied. Nevertheless, based on the over- It is generally assumed that screen mesh eects on sh
all agreement between the locational, artifactual, and remains will tend to have a lesser impact in the Arctic
radiocarbon data, we are condent that the dates sug- than in other regions, simply because most economically
gested for this sequence can be used as a rm anchor important arctic sh species are quite large. For exam-
for the discussion of economic change which forms the ple, in the Mackenzie Delta region, whitesh, among
core of this paper. the smallest of the major economically important sh
A further consideration is that the end of this archae- exploited in the region, average 2.3 kg (Friesen and Ar-
ological sequence coincides with the beginning of the nold, 1995a). Fish of this size are so large that the major-
Little Ice Age, a period of generally cooler climate. ity of bones, save for rays, ribs, and spines, would not
The eects of this potential climate change on faunal pass through 6 mm mesh. As ribs and spines typically re-
availability are dicult to assess, especially given the in- main unidentied to species in most assemblages, it is
land riverine character of the sites. For present purposes, therefore assumed that 6 mm mesh is adequate for
we acknowledge the existence of climate change, but do recovering most, if not all, identiable sh fragments
not believe that it had any obvious major impacts on the in these contexts (see Balkwill and Rick, 1994). As a re-
processes discussed in this paper. In analyses presented sult, assemblages recovered with 6 and 3 mm mesh
below, we demonstrate that major patterns of economic should result in similar proportions of identiable sh
change began during the occupation of the Pond site, remains. Any dierences between 6 and 3 mm screen
which was occupied before the onset of the Little Ice should predominately be reected in class counts and
Age, and therefore there is a lack of close correlation be- not in the relative abundance of the lower taxonomic
tween climate change and economic change. designations in the identied sample. Therefore, for
Table 2
NISP and % NISP frequencies, for the East Channel faunal assemblages
Taxon Cache Point % Cache Point % Pond % Pond % Kuukpak % Kuukpak %
House 6 House 8 House 1 House 2 Area 1 House 1 Midden
Snowshoe hare 20 0.714 5 0.133 27 0.417 30 0.410 460 1.210
Snowshoe/Arctic hare 101 2.033 65 1.004 7 0.018
Arctic ground squirrel 5 0.178 15 0.302 1 0.015 40 0.547 19 0.050
Beaver 1 0.036 3 0.080 3 0.060 4 0.062 97 0.255
M.W. Betts, T.M. Friesen / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23 (2004) 357384

Muskrat 3 0.080 46 0.926 60 0.927 805 11.009 4354 11.452
Meadow vole 12 0.164
Tundra vole 2 0.027
Vole sp. 3 0.107 17 0.342 2 0.027
Lemming/vole 3 0.060 38 0.520
Brown lemming 1 0.036 8 0.109
Collard lemming 10 0.137
Brown/Collard lemming 5 0.101 2 0.031 10 0.137
Rodentia 3 0.046 3 0.008
Beluga whale 1080 38.544 1252 33.333 1053 21.196 2160 33.364 2266 30. 990 9404 24.736
Bowhead whale 1 0.014
Coyote 2 0.053 2 0.031
Wolf 3 0.107 2 0.005
Dog 2 0.071 9 0.240 15 0.302 1 0.015 99 1.354 29 0.076
Wolf/Dog 2 0.071 56 1.491 14 0.282 20 0.053
Canis sp. 1 0.036 20 0.532
Arctic fox 26 0.692 8 0.161 25 0.342 72 0.189
Red fox 1 0.036 23 0.612 8 0.161 41 0.561 39 0.103
Arctic/Red fox 3 0.107 34 0.905 1 0.020 52 0.803 19 0.260 116 0.305
Canidae 69 1.066 3 0.008
Polar bear 1 0.014
Polar/Grizzly bear 5 0.068 7 0.018
Marten 10 0.357 14 0.373 18 0.362 5 0.077 49 0.670 61 0.160
Mink 3 0.107 3 0.060 32 0.084
Mink/Marten 20 0.714 2 0.053 4 0.011
Wolverine 11 0.393 2 0.053 2 0.040 17 0.232 15 0.039
Musetella Sp. 8 0.286
Ringed/Harbour seal 12 0.428 170 4.526 322 6.481 284 4.387 251 3.433 622 1.636
Bearded seal 1 0.027 1 0.020 5 0.068 4 0.011
Phocidae 5 0.013
Pinnepedia 5 0.013
Elk 2 0.031
Moose 1 0.036 3 0.080 4 0.081 12 0.185 5 0.068 246 0.647
Caribou 3 0.107 38 1.012 80 1.610 20 0.309 191 2.612 946 2.488
Caribou/Moose 4 0.081 41 0.633 1 0.014 90 0.237
Cervidae 3 0.080
365
(continued on next page)
Table 2 (continued)
366
Dalls Sheep 24 0.857 2 0.053
Artiodactyla 38 0.100
Unidentied mammal 1433 1310 2309 1083 1390 1957
Total mammal 2647 2978 4032 3893 5323 18657

Red-Throated loon 2 0.027
Arctic loon 2 0.027
Red-Throated loon/Pacic loon 39 0.103
Pacic loon 1 0.003
Common loon 5 0.068
Common loon/Yellow-billed loon 37 0.097
Loon Sp. 1 0.036 7 0.141 9 0.139
Horned grebe 2 0.005
Red-necked grebe 2 0.040 14 0.037
Grebe sp. 2 0.040 3 0.046
Greater white-fronted goose 3 0.008
Lesser snow goose 2 0.027 9 0.024
Greater w-f goose/Snow goose 7 0.018
Canada goose 4 0.062 4 0.055 4 0.011
Lesser snow/Canada goose 2 0.005
Greater w-f goose/Canada goose 1 0.003
Brant goose 1 0.003
Branta sp. 2 0.005
Anserini (goose) 24 0.483 18 0.278 2 0.027 110 0.289
Trumpeter swan 2 0.071 1 0.027 10 0.137 30 0.079
Tundra swan 8 0.109 46 0.121
Tundra/Trumpeter swan 41 0.108
Swan sp. 1 0.036 6 0.121 11 0.170
Swan/goose 1 0.020
Wigeon sp. 1 0.003
Pintail 5 0.013
Anas sp. 6 0.016
Greater scaup 3 0.008
Aytha sp. 1 0.003
Common scoter 2 0.027
Melanitta sp. 2 0.005
Oldsquaw 1 0.036 1 0.014 9 0.024
Anatinae (duck) 4 0.143 23 0.463 2 0.031 3 0.041 14 0.037
Duck/Goose 6 0.016
Anatidae (duck/goose/swan) 12 0.185
Bald eagle 2 0.005
Northern goshawk 1 0.003
Bald/Golden eagle 1 0.003
Falconidae 3 0.107
Willow ptarmigan 2 0.027 21 0.055
Spruce grouse/Willow Ptarmigan 6 0.016
Rock ptarmigan 5 0.068 13 0.034
Willow/Rock ptarmigan 65 2.320 133 3.541 710 14.291 4 0.011
Rock pt./Spruce grouse 6 0.016

Sharp-Tailed grouse 8 0.109 23 0.060
Willow pt./Sharp-Tailed grouse 127 0.334
Tetraoninae (grouse/ptarmigan) 418 6.457 188 2.571 1366 3.593
Lesser Golden plover 5 0.013
Lesser gold/Black-bellied plover 1 0.003
Charadriidae (Plovers) 1 0.003
Whimbrel 2 0.027
Phalarope 1 0.014
Scolopacidae (pipers) 2 0.040 1 0.003
Pomarine jaeger 2 0.005
Parasitic jaeger 3 0.008
Long-Tailed jaeger 3 0.008
Stercorariinae (jaegers) 4 0.055 3 0.008
Mew gull 7 0.018
Herring gull 1 0.003
Glaucous gull 5 0.068 9 0.024
Herring/Glaucus gull 49 0.129
Ivory Gull 2 0.005
Gull sp. 1 0.020 2 0.031 4 0.055 7 0.018
Arctic tern 1 0.015
Laridae (Gulls, jaegers and terns) 4 0.011
Charadriiformes (Gulls, shorebirds, etc.) 1 0.003
Strigidae (owls) 1 0.020
Grey jay 2 0.027
Raven 1 0.036 3 0.008
Passeriform 2 0.040
Unidentied bird 36 61 185 29 47 503
Total bird 113 195 966 509 309 2571
Pacic herring 1 0.014 1 0.003
Arctic Char 2 0.027 1 0.003
Lake trout 10 0.357 5 0.133 1 0.020 60 0.821 82 0.216
Arctic char/Lake trout 9 0.321 78 1.570 44 0.680 75 1.026 268 0.705
Salmoninae 118 4.211 1 0.014
Arctic cisco 23 0.315 4 0.011
Least cisco 48 0.656 1 0.003
Cisco sp. 8 0.109
367
(continued on next page)
368
Table 2 (continued)
Broad whitesh 36 0.492 8 0.021
Lake whitesh 3 0.041 4 0.011
Lake/Broad whitesh 41 0.561 1 0.003
Coregonus sp. 1 0.027 264 5.314 113 1.545 1630 4.287
Inconnu 221 7.887 51 1.358 641 12.903 1015 15.678 797 10.900 4720 12. 415
Coregoninae 1 0.036 59 1.571 68 1.369 55 0.850 445 6.086 5265 13.849
Salmonidae 81 2.891 292 7.774 5 0.101 35 0.479 466 1.226
Cypriinidae 1 0.003
Northern pike 16 0.571 11 0.293 17 0.342 15 0.232 37 0.506 204 0.537
Longnose sucker 1 0.014 2 0.005
Sucker 10 0.026
Burbot 1054 37.616 1535 40.868 1390 27.979 2053 31.711 1391 19. 024 6580 17.308
Walleye 2 0.031
Fourhorn sculpin 1 0.003
Cottidae 1 0.003
Unidentied sh 3605 2086 13232 706 2893 6368
Total sh 1510 1954 2464 3184 3117 19250
Unidentied mollusk 2 1 1
Class unidentied 7 11 43 151
Total sample size 7884 7225 20695 8292 11685 46997
Total identied (all classes) 2802 3756 4968 6474 7312 38018
the present analysis, mesh size dierences can be consid- sider the relationships between the six samples at the
ered a minor factor when comparing fauna from dier- broadest level. This will allow an initial exploration of
ent contexts. Furthermore, it is important to stress patterning, as well as an assessment of the degree to
that taphonomic factors are similar for all samples, with which dierences between the samples correlate with
excellent preservation throughout the sequence, since the chronological sequence outlined above.
Edwards (1989) has shown that the interpretation of Correspondence analysis (CA) reduces the variabil-
intensication processes can be hampered in cases of dif- ity in a data matrix to a low number of dimensions
ferential preservation. (in this case two), so as to permit a visual interpretation
Dierences in taxonomic classication schemes are a of relationships between datasets. The output produces
signicant drawback to the comparison of assemblages a two dimensional plot of similarities and dierences
on a regional scale, such as those used here (see Stiner between the assemblages in such a way that those
and Munro, 2002, p. 186). To compare assemblages, assemblages with similar faunal compositions cluster
zooarchaeologists are often forced to reduce datasets spatially. Thus, the closer the assemblages appear on
from species to genus and sub-family levels, often lead- the plot, the more closely they are related in terms of
ing to a loss of detail. Zooarchaeologists typically avoid their faunal frequencies. Fig. 2 displays the rst two
this problem by focusing on a limited range of taxa in dimensions of a correspondence analysis, based on the
their analyses. Unfortunately, these problems are com- %NISP (Number of Identied Specimens) contribution
pounded in the present analysis because we include the of 20 major taxa for the six samples (see rst table of
entire species range across all assemblages. In this paper, the Appendix). The two dimensions account for
we use a number of aggregation methods in an attempt approximately 89% of the inertia, suggesting that the
to standardize the dierent faunal databases utilized. In representation is reliable (see Table 3 for associated
all cases, we attempt to minimize the amount of detail statistics).
lost through aggregation. The Appendix provides details Despite the small number of cases, the plot is
of these aggregation methods. strongly suggestive of a horseshoe-shaped curve or
Guttman eect, typical of chronological systems
The diachronic sequence (Baxter, 1994, p. 119). Ordering the data on the rst
dimension, from left to right, we end up with a sequence
Before proceeding to the comparative analysis of the that starts with Cache Point House 6, followed, in order,
structure of these faunal assemblages, it is useful to con- by Cache Point House 8, Pond House 2, Pond House 1,
Fig. 2. Correspondence analysis of East Channel Faunal Assemblages (2D plot of column coordinates on dimensions 1 and 2; row and
column prole standardization).
Table 3
Column coordinates and contributions to inertia for CA (Input table 21 6, standardization: row and column proles)
Column Coordinate Coordinate Mass Quality Relative Inertia Cosine2 Inertia Cosine2
number Dim. 1 Dim. 2 inertia Dim. 1 Dim. 1 Dim. 2 Dim. 2
Cache Point F6 1 0.230 0.163 0.167 0.853 0.202 0.202 0.567 0.178 0.286
Cache Point F8 2 0.215 0.039 0.167 0.772 0.135 0.178 0.747 0.010 0.025
Pond House 1 3 0.007 0.322 0.167 0.984 0.229 0.000 0.000 0.694 0.984
Pond House 2 4 0.103 0.048 0.167 0.738 0.038 0.041 0.604 0.016 0.134
Kuukpak House 1 5 0.222 0.107 0.167 0.866 0.153 0.189 0.701 0.077 0.165
Kuukpak Midden 6 0.319 0.060 0.167 0.946 0.243 0.391 0.913 0.024 0.033
the Kuukpak house, and ending with the Kuukpak mid- ble of the Appendix) suggests this is primarily a result of
den. This sequence corresponds precisely with the chro- high frequencies of pinniped (seal) and tetraonid (ptar-
nological sequence outlined above, strongly suggesting migan and grouse) remains in the Pond House 1 sample.
that change in faunal assemblages, and therefore eco- Nevertheless, an obvious dierence is suggested between
nomic structure, coincides with the age of the samples. the Cache Point and Kuukpak samples, while the Pond
As such, this analysis suggests that in some cases where contexts appear to be more variable, and probably
incremental economic dierences are indicated, CA can transitional.
be used as a form of assemblage seriation, in which vary- These relationships can be further claried by per-
ing faunal frequencies can be used to suggest, or clarify, forming a cluster analysis on the same aggregated sam-
chronological relationships. If an archaeofaunal assem- ple used in the CA (cf. Lebart, 1994, p. 162). Fig. 3
blage can be understood as a list of traits that vary in displays a cluster analysis (average linkage method) on
frequency over time, in which volumes of certain species the data. As predicted by the CA, the most closely re-
steadily increase or decrease, then it can be viewed as a lated assemblages are those from Cache Point, which
type of Petrie Matrix. Interestingly, correspondence can also be grouped with the Pond House 2 assemblage.
analysis will tend to pick up the order of such a seriation The Kuukpak contexts are also closely related to each
on the rst axis (Baxter, 1994, p. 118119). Sometimes, other, but at a somewhat coarser level than the Pond
the seriation is expressed on both axes, creating a curve; House 2/Cache Point group. Although the distinctive-
this is known as the Guttman, or Horseshoe, eect (Bax- ness of Pond House 1 is still displayed in the plot, it is
ter, 1994, p. 118). Given the strong chronological associ- more closely related to the Pond House 2/Cache Point
ations with the order of the assemblages on the rst axis, cluster than it is to the Kuukpak samples. In fact, what
we interpret this CA as demonstrating incremental and is most striking from the cluster analysis is the clear and
progressive economic change over the East Channel signicant separation between the Kuukpak group and
sequence. the rest of the sequence.
As noted previously, based on radiometric evidence These multivariate analyses provide a good baseline
alone, it is dicult to determine which of the two Pond reference for the study of economic intensication in
houses may have been occupied rst, although the arti- the East Channel Sequence. The cluster analysis indi-
fact samples indicate that Pond House 2 was likely ear- cates two distinct groups with unique faunal frequen-
lier. We believe that the CA reinforces this chronological cies a Cache Point/Pond group and a Kuukpak
interpretation, in that it too indicates that Pond House 2 group. In combination with the CA, this indicates both
is, in fact, earlier than House 1. Nevertheless, we note a chronologically ordered and progressive change in
that transposing either assemblage in the analyses that subsistence economies, and a particularly marked
follow does not severely undermine the interpretation change between the earlier Cache Point/Pond samples
of economic change over the sequence. Overall, an incre- and the later two samples from Kuukpak. We now
mental progression of procurement shifts is indicated turn to more specic measures of faunal variability, or-
from one site to another, regardless of whether Pond ganized into the three aspects of intensication out-
House 1 occurs earlier in the sequence. lined above: specialization, diversication, and
Although partially distorted by the Guttman eect, investment.
the CA map also suggests the degree of similarities
and dierences between the faunal samples. Strong sim- Specialization
ilarities are suggested for the two Cache Point contexts,
and also for the two Kuukpak contexts. For the Pond Specialization has been an increasingly important
assemblages, House 2 is similar to the Cache Point sam- subject of zooarchaeological study in recent years (e.g.,
ples, while House 1 is signicantly dierent from all Grayson, 1991; Grayson and Delpech, 1998, 2002;
other contexts. Investigation of the data matrix (rst ta- Grayson et al., 2001). In particular, evenness indices
Fig. 3. Cluster analysis of East Channel Faunal Assemblages (unweighted pair-group average, euclidean distances).
drawn from ecology have been used to display the dom- the proportion of the ith taxon in the identied sample
inance of a narrow range of prey resources (e.g., Gray- (Reitz and Wing, 1999, p. 235). The ShannonWeaver
son, 1984, 1991; Grayson and Delpech, 1998, 2002; evenness index ranges between 1 and 0; values close to
Grayson et al., 2001; Nagaoka, 2001; Stiner and Munro, zero reect a sample dominated by one species, while
2002). Such index measures are advantageous because values closer to 1 reect even abundance across all taxa.
they are easily compared across numerous contexts; In order to compare the evenness values between assem-
however they provide little information on the actual blages (which often used slightly diering taxonomic
faunal compositions of the contexts they are comparing. classication schemes), we produced a standardized tax-
As a result, they must be evaluated against the relative onomic list to be used for all sites. A description of the
abundance of taxa in the faunal sample. Lyman (1991) aggregation methods we used for this comparison ap-
suggests a simplied systematic approach along these pears in the second table of the Appendix.
lines. Specialized (i.e., collector, sensu Binford, 1980) Fig. 4 displays a plot of the evenness values for the
strategies should concentrate on a few densely occur- East Channel sequence. The graph demonstrates mod-
ring resources, and therefore the relative percentage erate evenness levels throughout the sequence, with V 0
of focal species should be far greater than the mean varying between the values of 0.47 and 0.59. This sug-
abundance of the other species in the population (cf. Ly- gests that, while one species does not dominate any
man, 1991, p. 191). In the following discussion, we use assemblage, all species do not contribute equally. What
evenness indices to measure changes in procurement spe- is striking from this graph is how little the evenness
cialization throughout the sequence, and relative abun- values vary throughout the system. The moderate even-
dance measures to understand the nature of that ness and lack of marked diachronic change appear to
specialization. be a result of a few key species consistently contribut-
A measure of evenness (V0) can be calculated from ing to a large proportion of the faunal assemblages.
the ShannonWeaver Function (H0), where V0 = H0/ Despite evidence of increasing diet breadth (see below),
ln S (after Reitz and Wing, 1999, p. 235, see also Gray- the same key species occur in relatively high (though
son et al., 2001, p. 117). Following others, we measure S obviously variable) frequencies throughout the
as the number of non-overlapping taxa in the assem- sequence.
blage (e.g., Grayson and Delpech, 2002, p. 1440), omit- Fig. 5 presents a simplied distribution of the relative
ting the microtine rodents, which we assume are importance of key taxonomic groups in each assem-
intrusive. H0 is dened as R (pi) (ln pi), where pi is blage. Based on this graph, the moderate evenness in
Fig. 4. Plot of Evenness values (ShannonWeaver Function) across the East Channel sequence.
Fig. 5. NISP distribution for major taxa across the East Channel sequence.
the assemblages can be explained by the large numbers fact, there is a slight increase in evenness throughout
of beluga and sh in most of the samples. In all contexts, the sample, the implication being that the most special-
sh and beluga whales combined contribute between 71 ized contexts are earlier (Cache Point House 6 has the
and 92% of all identied specimens. This distribution lowest evenness value).
represents an economic strategy that is, broadly speak-
ing, specialized towards the procurement of beluga Diversication
whales and various species of sh. What is intriguing,
however, is that specialization does not appear to in- The process of diversication can be measured
crease through time in the East Channel Sequence. In through the absolute number of species hunted at a site
(richness), or through a calculation that takes both the moderately positively correlated (r = 0.76, P > 0.13).
total number of species and the relative proportion of Furthermore, when the data is plotted with logged
each species into account (diversity). Diversity functions axes to increase linearity (Fig. 7), and a best t line
are preferred by ecologists because they are sensitive to plotted, the Kuukpak House clearly falls outside the
the actual proportions of species in the environment, 0.95 condence limit. Indeed at 0.90, Pond House 2
thus they reect the breadth of carrying capacity of an falls outside the condence limits as well. Therefore,
ecosystem. They have also been used in archaeological while sample size undoubtedly plays some role in these
studies of diet, with some eect (Grayson, 1984; Stiner results, especially in contributing to the high richness
and Munro, 2002). However, following Byrd (1997: 5); value for the Kuukpak midden sample, it does not ac-
(see also Hill, 1973), we believe that diversity indices count for all of the variability. The similarity of sam-
can potentially mask the overall breadth of the procure- ple sizes between the Kuukpak house and the four
ment adaptation, and that a better measure of diversity earlier assemblages indicates a signicant dierence
is obtained through the separate consideration of diver- in richness between Kuukpak and the Cache Point/
sity and richness. Therefore, the present discussion will Pond assemblages that cannot be explained by sample
be focused on richness. size alone.
Fig. 6 displays a plot of richness against sample Fig. 8 displays the richness values across three taxo-
size for the East Channel sequence. Richness was mea- nomic classes for the East Channel Sequence. While
sured as the number of non-overlapping taxa in each mammalian richness remains relatively stable through-
assemblage disregarding intrusive microtine rodents out the sequence, signicant increases occur in the rich-
and molluscs. It is clear from the plot that species ness of bird and sh species, particularly in the Kuukpak
richness remains relatively stable between the Cache samples. A closer inspection of the faunal database (Ta-
Point and Pond contexts (varying between 23 and 31 ble 1), suggests that diversication occurred in two pri-
taxa) after which there is a major jump in species mary ways. First, migratory bird species, such as
richness in the Kuukpak assemblages (between 43 waterfowl and shorebirds, were added to a ptarmigan/
and 61 taxa). In these samples, species richness and grouse base. Second, sh of genus Coregonus (i.e., white-
NISP (identied sample) are strongly correlated sh and ciscoes) were added to a predominately burbot
(r = 0.91, P < 0.05). However, when the extremely (Lota lota ) sh base. We explore these changes in more
large Kuukpak midden sample is removed, no signi- detail in the following discussion of the concept of
cant relationship exists, despite the fact that they are investment.
Fig. 6. Plot of Richness (number of taxa) against sample size (NISP) across the East Channel sequence.
Fig. 7. LogLog plot of Richness (number of taxa) against sample size (NISP) across the East Channel sequence.
Fig. 8. Number of taxa (Richness) by class across the East Channel sequence.
Investment now further explore several aspects of the changes ob-

served. Although investment can be manifested in a vari-
The analyses presented thus far indicate that over ety of ways, we will emphasize the adoption of new
time, the degree of specialization remained relatively procurement techniques and strategies, and indicators
stable, and diversity increased throughout the se- of seasonality as they relate to duration of occupation of
quence. Through the concept of investment, we will the sites.
Given the numerical predominance of sh in all sam- Channel of the Mackenzie River. The graph displays
ples, we will begin with a consideration of changes in very low to non-existent levels of netted sh in the Cache
shing practices on the East Channel. The ethnographic Point and Pond House 2 contexts, followed by a 10% in-
record from the Mackenzie Delta region (and northern crease in the importance of coregonids in the Pond
Alaska) indicates an important division between the House 1 and the Kuukpak house samples. The nal con-
technologies used to procure dierent sh species. Com- text in the sequence, the Kuukpak midden, shows a fur-
plex composite jigging gear was intended mainly for jig- ther 50% increase in the importance of netted species.
ging burbot and inconnu (Stenodus leucichthys) during At the same time that shing strategies were changing
the winter months (Friesen, 2004; Murdoch, 1988, p. on the East Channel, the relative importance of other
281). Net shing gear, on the other hand, appears to species also changed, albeit in a less dramatic fashion.
have been designed primarily for the capture of various Fig. 10 displays a similar index measure describing the
species of whitesh and ciscoes (Murdoch, 1988, p. 284; relative abundance of furbearers within the mammalian
Whittaker, 1937, p. 190). While we acknowledge the po- sample (R Furbearers/R Total Mammals). This graph
tential for some amount of unintended by-catch with indicates an increase in the relative frequencies of fur-
each of these technologies, the ethnographic record sug- bearers over time, with a particularly marked increase
gests that an analysis of the proportions of burbot and in the two Kuukpak assemblages. Because mammalian
inconnu to whitesh and ciscoes in a faunal sample richness remains stable over time, as indicated above,
should indicate, on a coarse scale, the relative impor- this change could have only occurred through an in-
tance of jigging versus netting (see Morrison, 2000). crease in investment, as indicated either in increased la-
To measure these changes, we use an index measure bour investment in furbearer procurement, or in the
(cf. Bayham, 1979, 1982; Broughton, 1994a,b, 1997, development of new techniques for their procurement.
1999; Darwent, 2001), where the relative importance of A third category of data related to investment is the
netted sh is measured with the following function: R duration of site occupation, as reected in seasonal indi-
Coregonus sp./R Coregonus sp. + inconnu + burbot. Be- cators. Altered patterns of site seasonality must indicate
cause these values are normed, they provide an index a modication in the scheduling of resource acquisition
that ranges between 0 and 1, with 0 indicating an ab- strategies. As described previously, all of these sites
sence of coregonids, and 1 indicating their complete would have had both warm and cold season compo-
dominance. Other sh species are not included, since nents, with semi-subterranean houses occupied primar-
technologies used to obtain them are less clearly dened ily during cold seasons, and tent camps on the beach
in the ethnographic record. Fig. 9 displays this index occupied during the summer beluga hunt; although in
measure for each context, providing dramatic evidence some cases semi-subterranean houses may also have
for the development of net shing strategies on the East been used, to some degree, during the summer (Nagy,
Fig. 9. Plot of net shing index across the East Channel sequence.
Fig. 10. Plot of Furbearer index across the East Channel sequence.
Fig. 11. Plot of migratory bird and tetraoninae indices across the East Channel sequence.
1994). It is important to recognize that all of the faunal variability in seasonal indicators is not necessarily a di-
samples described here are from semi-subterranean rect or easily interpreted reection of the seasonality of
houses, and therefore warm season species occurring site occupation, if the seasonal use of semi-subterranean
within them could be derived either from foods stored houses changed over time.
from the summer and consumed in the winter, or from Probably the best seasonal indicator is the relative
bones discarded during the warm season if these houses, frequency of migratory birds (mainly waterfowl, present
or their middens, were used during summer. As a result, only in the warm season) versus birds which are year-
Fig. 12. Plot of Beluga whale index across the East Channel sequence.
round residents (mainly Tetraonids (ptarmigan or movement of Mackenzie Inuit settlements as the East
grouse)). The relative importance of migratory birds is Channel was inlled over time. The two houses at Cache
here measured as a ratio of migratory birds/ total birds Point, probably separated from each other by about 100
(Fig. 11). With the exception of Cache Point House 6 years, represent Early Thule Inuit occupation of the East
(likely due, at least in part, to the relatively small bird Channel. Upon their arrival, Thule people immediately
sample), there is an apparent increase over time in the specialized in hunting beluga whales, the presence of
importance of migratory birds. Frequencies of tetrao- which undoubtedly drew them into the Mackenzie Delta
nids are almost the exact inverse of migratory birds, from the coast. In the Cache Point faunal samples, other
and therefore display the opposite trend, decreasing in facets of a specialized economy are linked to seasonality.
relative importance over time. The most likely explana- Within the sh subsample, burbot dominate, which is
tion for these patterns is that a greater amount of time signicant because they are the only winter spawners.
was spent annually on site each year during later peri- Within the bird subsample, the most frequent birds were
ods, especially at Kuukpak. tetraonids, which, unlike most other taxa, are available
Finally, it is important to note that the increases in year-round, and therefore also point to a winter
various taxa described above could only occur with a occupation.
simultaneous decrease in the relative frequencies of The two houses at Pond were probably occupied very
other species. Fig. 12 displays a plot of the relative close in time to each other, and only slightly later than
importance of beluga whales for the East Channel se- Cache Point House 8. During their occupation, frequen-
quence (R Beluga whales/R Total Mammals), indicating cies of birds rose, beluga whales declined slightly, and
a clear decline over time in this species frequencies. net shing appears to have made its initial appearance
However, even with this decline, the economy as a whole as a signicant economic pursuit, based on the higher
was still clearly specialized, with beluga whales contrib- numbers of coregonids present in Pond House 1. After
uting at least half, and likely signicantly more, of all a gap of 100200 years, the two components at Kuuk-
food by weight to the diet at Kuukpak (Friesen and Ar- pak see signicant changes from their predecessors, as
nold, 1995a). indicated dramatically in the correspondence analysis
and cluster analysis presented earlier. A signicant in-
crease in richness reects the addition of new faunal taxa
Discussion to the inhabitants diet, and in particular new bird and
sh species are added. Net shing is maintained in the
Taken together, these six large faunal assemblages Kuukpak house at the level of Pond House 1, and in-
tell a compelling story of one instance of huntergather- creases dramatically in the Kuukpak midden sample.
er economic change, coinciding with the downstream Furbearers also increase in number.
The pattern observed in these faunal samples, and organization, which remained relatively stable until
reected in the ethnographic record for the region, the early historic period, may have come about within
can unambiguously be considered a case in which an just a few generations, probably during the early f-
initially specialized economy remained specialized, teenth century AD.
while witnessing a signicant degree of diversication. A nal issue which we will address with this zooar-
Thule people arrived in the Canadian Arctic with a chaeological sequence is the relationship between eco-
very complex and diverse technology which allowed nomic intensication and demographic changes in the
ecient acquisition of a broad range of resources Mackenzie Delta region. The process of economic inten-
(Maxwell, 1985; Taylor, 1966). While the overall fre- sication is complex and varied, and a variety of envi-
quency of beluga whales declines slightly through the ronmental, social, technological, and demographic
system (ranging between 38 and 21% of all identied factors have been proposed to account for particular
specimens), coincident with an expanding procurement cases of this phenomenon (e.g., Ames, 1985; Bender,
strategy, beluga remains one of the two most common 1978, 1985; Boserup, 1965; Cohen, 1985; Hayden,
taxa in each assemblage. These levels are well above 1981; Morrison, 1994; Soer, 1985; Winterhalder and
the mean %NISP of other species, and therefore Goland, 1993; Zvelebil, 1995). In reality, most intensi-
clearly represent a specialized resource in every East ed economies can probably be fully understood only
Channel context (e.g., Lyman, 1991, p. 1, and see through a multicausal consideration of a full array of
above). Furthermore, even at the low levels displayed factors. However, in almost all models, demographic
in the latest occupations at Kuukpak, where beluga factors, as expressed in the balance between population
represents 24.7% of NISP, this species has been esti- and resources, are fundamental to the process of intensi-
mated to provide well over one half, and perhaps as cation. Increasing populations are often seen as a pre-
much as two thirds, of all available meat (Friesen condition or even primary motivating factor for
and Arnold, 1995a, p. 26). The second greatest con- intensication, although the hypothesized eects of
tributor to the diet at Kuukpak consisted of small increasing populations vary. As discussed previously,
seals, at only 7% of available meat. Therefore, it ap- Binford (2001, p. 420) has suggested that in some in-
pears that no other species played a dominant second- stances specialization should increase under the pres-
ary role in the diet. By any denition, this is a sures of increasing population, while overall diversity
specialized economy. Yet, at the same time, richness may actually decrease. Earle (1980); (cf., Binford 1968;
increases throughout the sequence, clearly representing Flannery 1969), on the other hand, suggests that popu-
diversication. The addition of new species would lation expansion should initially be associated with in-
undoubtedly have reduced the risks associated with a creased investment and specialization, after which only
specialized economy heavily focussed on a single re- diversication can continue to meet subsistence needs.
source, and would therefore promote economic stabil- While we acknowledge that the archaeological recon-
ity (Binford, 2001). It also would have increased struction of demography is fraught with uncertainty,
regional carrying capacities. Increasing investment is and that the demonstration of contemporaneity of dif-
also related to this increase in richness, and can be ferent dwellings within a site, and dierent sites within
seen in the development of net shing, increasing use a region, is dicult, we believe that the evidence points
of a wider variety of migratory birds, and the acquisi- to a marked increase in population on the Mackenzie
tion of more furbearers. River East Channel during the period from 1200 to
Of particular note is the apparent rate of subsistence 1600 cal AD. Through time, sites become larger, mid-
change. Does this Mackenzie Inuit sequence represent a dens become deeper, and individual dwellings increase
gradual alteration in economic pursuits over time, or is in size to their ethnographic form, in which each house
it more akin to a sort of punctuated equilibrium, held up to 30 people. This same pattern appears to have
with major step-wise change(s) occurring in the form occurred in a similar archaeological sequence on the
of brief events (cf., Rowley-Conwy, 2001, p. 54)? It is opposite, eastern shore of the East Channel (McGhee,
dicult to answer this question conclusively with pres- 1974). Thus, the process of intensication is linked to
ent data, due to the fact that the analysed components an increase in population; but what is the nature of that
are not spaced evenly in time. The greatest change in link?
economy quite clearly occurs between the Pond and As outlined above, the process in the Mackenzie
Kuukpak occupations, but there is also a longer tem- Delta is one in which Thule people arrived with an in-
poral gap between these sites than exists between any tensive economy already in place, in the form of a
of the Cache Point and Pond assemblages. Despite this specialization in beluga whale hunting evident from
caveat, we interpret the Kuukpak assemblage to repre- the earliest occupation in Cache Point House 6. The
sent a qualitatively changed economy, foreshadowed, key change occurred during the next phase of inten-
but not mirrored, by its Pond site predecessor. The - sication namely the economic diversication which
nal conguration of Mackenzie Inuit socio-economic occurs after 1400 cal AD, thus matching Earles (1980)
model of specialization followed by diversication. Was indicated by radiocarbon and typological data, and that
population pressure a prime mover, somehow forc- the latest site, Kuukpak, is signicantly dierent from
ing this diversication? While increasing populations the other two. The nature of the economic change indi-
must be considered an important part of any explana- cates that a high degree of specialization in beluga whale
tion for this phenomenon, the explanation is likely to hunting existed throughout the sequence, but that diver-
be more complex, based in part on the fact that there sication and investment increased over time, with a
is no direct evidence in the archaeological record for particularly marked increase evident at Kuukpak. The
any sort of economic stress (although, admittedly, sub- sequence as a whole is interpreted as one in which an al-
sistence stress will not necessarily have a high level of ready-specialized Thule Inuit society arrived in a rela-
archaeological visibility). tively rich environment and, after perhaps two
The earliest occupations at Cache Point almost cer- centuries of experimentation, rapidly diversied its re-
tainly represent the initial movement by Thule people source base. This in turn led to conditions of increasing
into an unknown environment. As such, the economic populations and the emergence of the very successful
changes seen over the next few centuries may reect a Mackenzie Inuit society which maintained its specialized
ne-tuning of technology and resource acquisition and diversied economic system well into the nineteenth
strategies to local conditions a process of acquiring century.
and responding to environmental knowledge (c.f., Nagy,
1997). While the process of economic diversication was
almost certainly at least in part an attempt to reduce the Acknowledgments
risks inherent in specialized beluga whale hunting, by
providing alternate food sources, this risk reduction Our greatest thanks go to Charles Arnold, director
would have been desirable even in the absence of rising of the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, who
populations. Once diversication had been achieved, for played a major part in stimulating our interest in
example with an increased reliance on net shing, a sig- Mackenzie Delta archaeology, and who was very gen-
nicantly higher carrying capacity would have resulted, erous with his time, ideas, expertise, and data. We are
and populations may have risen as a result. Thus, this also grateful to the faunal analysts whose work we
case is at least partially characterized by a pull toward have relied on for many of these samples, including
higher population densities and diversication, in a sort Darlene Balkwill, Anne Rick, Mike Meadows, Caro-
of Mackenzie Delta as Garden of Eden scenario (with lyn Lewis, and Maureen Reeves. We also thank the
apologies to Binford, 1983, p. 199203). This contrasts two anonymous reviewers, who provided valuable
with the demographic push implicit or explicit in feedback on a previous draft of this manuscript.
many models of intensication. Put another way, in this Funding to T.M.F. for the Cache Point excavations
case intensication may have led to, rather than resulted was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities
from, increasing populations. Research Council of Canada, the Polar Continental
This process is not necessarily generalizable to other Shelf Project, the Aurora Research Institute, and the
cases of intensication, and in fact it may be specic to University of Toronto. M.W.B was funded by a Social
those particular, and perhaps rare, instances in which a Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
society exists at a signicantly lower population density doctoral fellowship. Both authors contributed equally
than the local environments carrying capacity, based on to this paper.
available technology. In the Mackenzie Delta case out-
lined here, this occurred because a relatively small initial
population migrated into an uninhabited, but rich Appendix A
environment containing many dense resources readily
exploitable by existing Thule Inuit technologies. Similar For the dataset presented in Table 2, every attempt
patterns might occur elsewhere in situations of migra- was made to maximize the number of taxa, considering
tion into new environments, in cases where signicant the broad taxonomic classications used in some of the
environmental change leads to a radical increase in analyses. To avoid unnecessary aggregation of taxa, and
available resources, or with the development or import therefore an articial reduction in richness, some of the
of signicantly advantageous technologies or procure- broader taxonomic categories used in some of the anal-
ment strategies. yses were eliminated; these include:
In sum, the well-preserved faunal samples from
Cache Point, Pond, and Kuukpak provide a vivid illus- Artiodactyla in Kuukpak Midden
tration of the process of intensication in one particular Swan/Goose in Pond House 1
huntergatherer context. Exploratory multivariate sta- Duck/Goose in Kuukpak Midden
tistics revealed that change in the composition of archae- Duck/Goose/Swan in Pond House 2
ofaunas coincides with the chronological sequence Charadriiformes in Kuukpak Midden
380
NISP and % NISP frequencies of 20 major taxa for the east channel assemblages

Taxon (in order) Cache Point % Cache Point % Pond % Pond % Kuukpak % Kuukpak %
Beluga whale 1080 38.599 1252 33.333 1053 21.303 2160 33.390 2266 31. 212 9404 24.738
Bowhead whale 1 0.014
Ursidae 6 0.083 7 0.018
Furbearers 90 3.217 199 5.298 234 4.734 286 4.421 1125 15.496 5330 14. 021
Pinnepedia 12 0.429 171 4.553 323 6.534 284 4.390 256 3.526 636 1.673
Cerividae 4 0.143 44 1.171 88 1.780 75 1.159 197 2.713 1320 3.472
Bovidae 24 0.858 2 0.053
Gavidae and 1 0.036 11 0.223 12 0.186 9 0.124 93 0.245
Podicipedidae
Anatidae 8 0.286 1 0.027 54 1.092 47 0.727 62 0.854 303 0.797
Falconidae and Strigidae 3 0.107 1 0.020 4 0.011
Tetraoninae 65 2.323 133 3.541 710 14.364 418 6.462 203 2.796 1566 4.119
Charadriiformes 3 0.061 3 0.046 16 0.220 99 0.260
Passeriform 1 0.036 2 0.040 2 0.028 3 0.008
Salmonidae 440 15.726 408 10.863 1057 21.384 1114 17.221 1688 23. 251 12451 32.753
Cypriinidae 1 0.003
Esocidae 16 0.572 11 0.293 17 0.344 15 0.232 37 0.510 204 0.537
Catostomidae 1 0.014 12 0.032
Gadidae 1054 37.670 1535 40.868 1390 28.121 2053 31.736 1391 19. 160 6580 17.309
Percidae 2 0.031
Cottidae 2 0.005
Total NISP 2798 3756 4943 6469 7260 38015
NISP frequencies of 34 taxa for the East Channel Faunal Assemblages, used for the calculation of the Shannon-Weaver
evenness index
Taxon (in order) Cache Point Cache Point Pond Pond Kuukpak Kuukpak
Mammals
Snowshoe/Arctic hare 20 5 101 92 30 467
Arctic ground squirrel 5 15 1 40 19
Beaver 1 3 3 4 97
Muskrat 3 46 60 805 4354
Beluga whale 1080 1252 1053 2160 2266 9404
Bowhead whale 1
Canidae 12 170 46 124 184 281
Polar/Grizzly bear 6 7
Mink/Marten 41 16 21 5 49 97
Wolverine 11 2 2 17 15
Pinnepedia 12 171 323 284 256 636
Cervidae 4 44 88 75 197 1282
Dalls Sheep 24 2
Birds
Loon Sp. 1 7 9 9 77
Grebe sp. 4 3 16
Anserini (goose) 24 22 8 139
Swan sp. 3 1 6 11 18 117
Anatinae (duck) 5 23 2 6 41
Northern goshawk 1
Bald/Golden eagle 3
Falconidae 3
Tetraoninae (grouse/ptarmigan) 65 133 710 418 203 1566
Charadriidae (Plovers) 7
Scolopacidae (pipers) 2 3 1
Laridae (Gulls, Jaegers and Terns) 1 3 13 90
Strigidae (owls) 1
Passeriform 1 2 2 3
Fish
Salmonidae 440 408 1057 1114 1688 12451
Cypriinidae 1
Northern pike 16 11 17 15 37 204
Sucker 1 12
Burbot 1054 1535 1390 2053 1391 6580
Walleye 2
Cottidae 2
Total 2798 3756 4942 6457 7230 37970
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Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23 (2004) 357384

Quantifying huntergatherer intensication:

Received 26 June 2003; revision received 18 July 2004

of settlement over time) and on comparison of artifacts Quantifying economic change

M.W. Betts, T.M. Friesen / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23 (2004) 357384

M.W. Betts, T.M. Friesen / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23 (2004) 357384

M.W. Betts, T.M. Friesen / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23 (2004) 357384

Investment now further explore several aspects of the changes ob-

M.W. Betts, T.M. Friesen / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23 (2004) 357384

References Arnold, C., 1988. Preliminary report on the 1988 excavations at

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Betts &amp; Friesen 2004-Quantifying Intensification

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Betts &amp; Friesen 2004-Quantifying Intensification

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Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23 (2004) 357384

Quantifying huntergatherer intensication:

Received 26 June 2003; revision received 18 July 2004

of settlement over time) and on comparison of artifacts Quantifying economic change

M.W. Betts, T.M. Friesen / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23 (2004) 357384

M.W. Betts, T.M. Friesen / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23 (2004) 357384

M.W. Betts, T.M. Friesen / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23 (2004) 357384

Investment now further explore several aspects of the changes ob-

M.W. Betts, T.M. Friesen / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23 (2004) 357384

References Arnold, C., 1988. Preliminary report on the 1988 excavations at

You might also like

Betts & Friesen 2004-Quantifying Intensification

Betts & Friesen 2004-Quantifying Intensification