Kal'unek From Karluk: Kodiak Alutiiq History and the Archaeo

Karluk One is a remarkable archaeological site. For six hundred years, the Alutiiq built houses upon houses, preserving layer after layer of their ways of life. When fresh water from a nearby pond seeped through the deposit, the massive mound of cultural debris became suspended in time. Yet the site’s location at the mouth of a river meant it could disappear at any moment. Working together, researchers and community members recovered more than 26,000 items made of wood, bone, ivory, baleen, antler, and leather before the meandering river finally shifted and washed away the site forever. Kal’unek From Karluk explores the site. Beautifully photographed, the book also features essays by community members and scholars and a glossary of Alutiiq terms developed for the artifacts by Kodiak Alutiiq speakers. Amy Steffian is director of research and publication at Kodiak’s Alutiiq Museum. Marnie Leist is curator of collections at the Alutiiq Museum and coordinator of the Kodiak Alutiiq/Sugpiaq Repatriation Commission. Sven Haakanson Jr. is curator of Native American anthropology at the University of Washington’s Burke Museum. Patrick Saltonstall is curator of archaeology at the Alutiiq Museum. Exploring and Mapping Alaska focuses on this foundational period in Arctic cartography. Russia spurred a golden era of cartographic exploration, while shrouding their efforts in a veil of secrecy. They drew both on old systems developed by early fur traders and new methodologies created in Europe. With Great Britain, France, and Spain following close behind, their expeditions led to an astounding increase in the world’s knowledge of North America. Through engrossing descriptions of the explorations and expert navigators, aided by informative illustrations, readers can clearly trace the evolution of the maps of the era, watching as a once-mysterious region came into sharper focus. The result of years of cross-continental research, Exploring and Mapping Alaska is a fascinating study of the trials and triumphs of one of the last great eras of historic mapmaking. Alexey Postnikov is a research fellow in the Russian Academy of Sciences. Marvin Falk is professor and curator of rare books emeritus at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Lydia Black (1925–2007) was professor of anthropology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.