Bioarchaeological Evidence for Social Maturation in the Mortuary Ritual of Ipiutak and Tigara Hunter-Gatherers: Lifespan Perspectives on the Emergence of Personhood at Point Hope, Alaska

Identity is a concept that shifts over the lifespan in association with relational interactions. This study documents and interprets the cultural systems influencing shifts in identity during maturation in hunter-gatherers from Point Hope, Alaska through archaeological mortuary practices. Grave goods, body position, body orientation, and burial depth (underground versus surface) were recorded for Ipiutak (1500–1100 BP) and Tigara (800–400 BP) cultures. Age was estimated using tooth formation. No age differences in burial depth were found, likely reflecting environmental constraints. Changes in body orientation, body position, and grave-good allocation were found between three and four years with another increase in grave-good allocation after age six. A larger age range of individuals without grave goods was found at Tigara. Changes in bodily orientation and position likely reflect beliefs surrounding the soul. The initial presence of animal implements may represent gifting of amulets, while increases in these items at later ages indicate continued maturation. Differences in the age ranges of individuals without animal implements between the two sites may reflect stronger delineations of social prestige at Ipiutak. These findings hint at the complex relational pathways associated with the formation of identity in prehistoric hunter-gatherer communities.

From the Norton Culture to the Ipiutak Cult in Northwest Alaska

Between A.D. 200 and 900, the Ipiutak regional system developed an intercontinental trade in obsidian and iron, associated with a shamanic crisis cult in Northwest Alaska. People gathered seasonally within community structures (qargi) for cultic performances, maintained an extensive trade network, and warred with their neighbors. Ipiutak was supported by the hunting of walrus, seal, and caribou; the possible contribution of whaling remains uncertain. Most settlements were small, including 3 to 6 houses, although the principal village at Point Hope had over 30 contemporaneous houses, producing a total of >600 houses and over 100 interments. Lacking pottery and oil lamps, Ipiutak people were specialized ivory workers, producing an elaborate and profound art, often employed as grave offerings. Ipiutak was affiliated and on occasion opposed to the Old Bering Sea culture of Bering Strait but its origins remain disputed between Central Asian and Alaska sources.