A bioarchaeological study of prehistoric human, faunal, and cultural remains from Wilson cove, admiralty Island, Alaska

Res. d'A.: Archaeological testing at Wiuson Cove, Admiralty Island, Alaska, revealed a habitation site and human skeletal material in three rockshelters. The habitation site is located in the southernmost shelter, and many have been a seasonal camp. Test excavation in the midden area uncovered bone and stone artifacts, marine and terrestrial faunal remains, and burned and unburned human bones. Artifacts, faunal material, and human bones were also found on the surface of the rockshelters. By combining the human material from all three shelters, the remains of a minimum of 13 individuals ranging from children to young adults, were identified. Their provenience shows they did not receive the typical mortuary treatment outlined in ethnographic and historical accounts of Northwest Coast Natives. Therefore, these remains may either represent some unknown funerary practice or, with the possible exception of the subsurface bones, and event in which the individuals died concurrently. Radiocarbon analysis provided dates of > 2000 years BP for both the lower levels of the habitation site and for the human remains. With one exception (Hidden Falls Component II) these are the earliest substantiated dates associated with human skeletal remains from Southeast Alaska