{"id":{"repo_id":"buffalo","oai_identifier":"oai:ubir.buffalo.edu:10477/86649"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/buffalo/oai:ubir.buffalo.edu:10477/86649","repository":{"repo_id":"buffalo","name":"Buffalo","base_url":"https://ubir.buffalo.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Unangax̂ Monumentality: Hunter-Fisher-Gatherer Transformations of the Rat Islands, Alaska, c. 4,000 BP–1,000 BP","abstract":"Ph.D.","abstract_html":"Ph.D.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hornbeck, Bobbi; 0000-0003-4259-5316"],"institution":"State University of New York at Buffalo","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Zubrow, Ezra","Anthropology"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-02-21T21:36:01Z","date_published":"2025-02-21T21:36:01Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:05:34Z","subjects":["archaeology","Arctic archaeology","American history","Native American studies","Aleutian Islands","earth mounds","landscape","materiality","monumentality"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["Users of works found in University at Buffalo Institutional Repository (UBIR) are responsible for identifying and contacting the copyright owner for permission to reuse. University at Buffalo Libraries do not manage rights for copyright-protected works and cannot assist with permissions.","Copyright retained by author."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10477/86649","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Zubrow, Ezra","Anthropology"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hornbeck, Bobbi; 0000-0003-4259-5316"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2025-02-21T21:36:01Z","2020"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["State University of New York at Buffalo"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Text","Dissertation"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["archaeology","Arctic archaeology","American history","Native American studies","Aleutian Islands","earth mounds","landscape","materiality","monumentality"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Users of works found in University at Buffalo Institutional Repository (UBIR) are responsible for identifying and contacting the copyright owner for permission to reuse. University at Buffalo Libraries do not manage rights for copyright-protected works and cannot assist with permissions.","Copyright retained by author."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10477/86649"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Ph.D.","This dissertation research project tested hypotheses about the relationships between hunter-fisher-gatherers and the landscape through an archaeological investigation of earth mounds in the western Aleutian Islands. These mounds were historically believed to be natural places of plant overgrowth that occurred in response to accumulations of bird guano. This project was developed after preliminary studies indicated that these earth mounds had cultural origins and that at least one earth mound was constructed by humans rather than birds. The goal of this project was to further explore the depositional history of the earth mounds and to investigate their relationship with known monumental construction in the eastern Aleutian Islands. The research focused on an investigation of how monumental earth mound constructions can signal and reinforce expressions of group-identity among prehistoric hunter-fisher-gatherer communities. The project combined archival, field, and laboratory research to investigate the cultural Rat Islands landscape. Field research occurred on Kiska and Amchitka over 18 days in June 2019. Four earth mound clusters were archaeologically tested with a soil probing auger, shovel tests, and trench excavations. Two earth mound soil columns were collected for soil chemistry analysis. Stratigraphic analysis and radiometric dating were employed in the investigation of the depositional history of 18 earth mounds. The spatial and temporal relationships between prehistoric occupation sites and earth mound clusters were examined through GIS based mapping. Comparative and statistical analyses were utilized to investigate the regional differences in mound deposition to provide insight to Unanga{ expressions of group-identity. Five new cultural earth mound sites were defined in the Rat Islands. Unprecedented high-resolution aerial imagery was captured at two of these sites by drone. Archaeological subsurface testing confirmed a cultural origin for at least three additional earth mounds. Organic materials were sent to the KECKS-CCAMS facility for radiocarbon dating which resulted in a project contribution of five new non-contemporaneous radiocarbon dates for the Rat Islands. Soil columns were sent to the Rutgers Soil Testing Laboratory and analyzed for available nutrients. The results revealed significant spikes in phosphorus that potentially aligns with the stratigraphic and material evidence of human activity. Results indicate that monumental earth mound construction is a pan-Aleutian tradition dating back to at least 3,700 years ago. The distribution of internal materials and the overall size and shape of the earth mounds were compared with data from eastern Aleutian monumental mounds. This comparative analysis highlighted regional trends in mound variation that align with the known proto-historic territorial boundaries of distinct identity-groups. The variations in earth mound style across the Aleutians are reflective of localized expressions of a broad trend. Broad but variable monumental earth mound construction is a well-known Indigenous American practice that spans the United States. This project extends the discussion of socionatural theories about hunter-fisher-gatherer impacts and monumental manipulations of the landscape into the western Aleutian Islands.","**To request an accessible version of the file(s) associated with this item, contact library@buffalo.edu. Please include the item's persistent URL [http://hdl.handle.net/. . .] in your request.**"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Unangax̂ Monumentality: Hunter-Fisher-Gatherer Transformations of the Rat Islands, Alaska, c. 4,000 BP–1,000 BP"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Zubrow, Ezra","Anthropology"],"dc:creator":["Hornbeck, Bobbi; 0000-0003-4259-5316"],"dc:date":["2025-02-21T21:36:01Z","2020"],"dc:description":["Ph.D.","This dissertation research project tested hypotheses about the relationships between hunter-fisher-gatherers and the landscape through an archaeological investigation of earth mounds in the western Aleutian Islands. These mounds were historically believed to be natural places of plant overgrowth that occurred in response to accumulations of bird guano. This project was developed after preliminary studies indicated that these earth mounds had cultural origins and that at least one earth mound was constructed by humans rather than birds. The goal of this project was to further explore the depositional history of the earth mounds and to investigate their relationship with known monumental construction in the eastern Aleutian Islands. The research focused on an investigation of how monumental earth mound constructions can signal and reinforce expressions of group-identity among prehistoric hunter-fisher-gatherer communities. The project combined archival, field, and laboratory research to investigate the cultural Rat Islands landscape. Field research occurred on Kiska and Amchitka over 18 days in June 2019. Four earth mound clusters were archaeologically tested with a soil probing auger, shovel tests, and trench excavations. Two earth mound soil columns were collected for soil chemistry analysis. Stratigraphic analysis and radiometric dating were employed in the investigation of the depositional history of 18 earth mounds. The spatial and temporal relationships between prehistoric occupation sites and earth mound clusters were examined through GIS based mapping. Comparative and statistical analyses were utilized to investigate the regional differences in mound deposition to provide insight to Unanga{ expressions of group-identity. Five new cultural earth mound sites were defined in the Rat Islands. Unprecedented high-resolution aerial imagery was captured at two of these sites by drone. Archaeological subsurface testing confirmed a cultural origin for at least three additional earth mounds. Organic materials were sent to the KECKS-CCAMS facility for radiocarbon dating which resulted in a project contribution of five new non-contemporaneous radiocarbon dates for the Rat Islands. Soil columns were sent to the Rutgers Soil Testing Laboratory and analyzed for available nutrients. The results revealed significant spikes in phosphorus that potentially aligns with the stratigraphic and material evidence of human activity. Results indicate that monumental earth mound construction is a pan-Aleutian tradition dating back to at least 3,700 years ago. The distribution of internal materials and the overall size and shape of the earth mounds were compared with data from eastern Aleutian monumental mounds. This comparative analysis highlighted regional trends in mound variation that align with the known proto-historic territorial boundaries of distinct identity-groups. The variations in earth mound style across the Aleutians are reflective of localized expressions of a broad trend. Broad but variable monumental earth mound construction is a well-known Indigenous American practice that spans the United States. This project extends the discussion of socionatural theories about hunter-fisher-gatherer impacts and monumental manipulations of the landscape into the western Aleutian Islands.","**To request an accessible version of the file(s) associated with this item, contact library@buffalo.edu. Please include the item's persistent URL [http://hdl.handle.net/. . .] in your request.**"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["http://hdl.handle.net/10477/86649"],"dc:language":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["State University of New York at Buffalo"],"dc:rights":["Users of works found in University at Buffalo Institutional Repository (UBIR) are responsible for identifying and contacting the copyright owner for permission to reuse. University at Buffalo Libraries do not manage rights for copyright-protected works and cannot assist with permissions.","Copyright retained by author."],"dc:subject":["archaeology","Arctic archaeology","American history","Native American studies","Aleutian Islands","earth mounds","landscape","materiality","monumentality"],"dc:title":["Unangax̂ Monumentality: Hunter-Fisher-Gatherer Transformations of the Rat Islands, Alaska, c. 4,000 BP–1,000 BP"],"dc:type":["Text","Dissertation"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:05:34Z"}