Arctic Adaptations: Native Whalers and Reindeer Herders of Northern Eurasia

390 Pages·1993·7.39 MB·English

by  Igor Krupnik

Adaptations
N A T I VE W H A L E RS A ND
R E I N D E ER H E R D E RS
OF N O R T H E RN E U R A S IA
Igor Krupnik

Arctic Adaptations
ARCTIC VISIONS
Gail Osherenko and Oran Young
GENERAL EDITORS
The Arctic has long appeared to outsiders as a vast, forbidding
wasteland or, alternatively, as a storehouse of riches ready for the
taking by those able to conquer the harsh physical environment. More
recently, a competing vision paints the Arctic as the last pristine
wilderness on earth, a place to be preserved for future generations.
Arctic Visions confronts these conflicting and simplistic portraits,
conceived in ignorance of the complexities of the circumpolar world
and without appreciation of the viewpoints of those indigenous to the
region. Drawing upon an international community of writers who are
sensitive to the human dimensions, Arctic Visions will explore
political, strategic, economic, environmental, and cultural issues.
The Arctic has always been a place of human and natural drama, an
arena for imperial ambitions, economic exploitation, ecological
disasters, and personal glory. As the region gains importance in inter
national affairs, this series will help a growing audience of readers to
develop new and more informed visions of the Arctic.
Arctic Politics: Conflict and Cooperation in the Circumpolar North,
Oran Young, 1992
Arctic Wars, Animal Rights, Endangered Peoples, Finn Lynge, 1992
Arctic Adaptations: Native Whalers and Reindeer Herders of
Northern Eurasia, Igor Krupnik, 1993
Arctic
Adaptations
Native Whalers and Reindeer
Herders of Northern Eurasia
Igor Krupnik
E X P A N D ED ENGLISH EDITION
translated and edited by Marcia Levenson
D A R T M O U TH COLLEGE
Published by University Press of New England
Hanover and London
Dartmouth College
Published by University Press of New England,
Hanover, NH 03755
© 1993 by Igor Krupnik
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
CIP data appear at the end of the book
Originally published as Arkticheskaia Etnoekologiia (Moscow: Nauka Publishing
House, 1989).
"Whale Alley: A Site on the Chukchi Peninsula, Siberia," by Mikhail A. Chlenov and
Igor I. Krupnik, originally appeared in Expedition magazine, Vol. 26, No. 2 (1984).
Reprinted with permission of The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under
Grant No. DPP-9100711. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommenda
tions expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect
the views of the National Science Foundation.
Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface to the Russian Edition xi
Preface to the American Edition xv
CHAPTER ONE Arctic Context and Research Design i
Defining the Boundaries of the Arctic:
Geography, Ecology, and Anthropology i
Subsistence 6
Classification Systems for Arctic Subsistence 8
Studies of Arctic Subsistence: North America n
Studies of Arctic Subsistence: Siberia 14
Adaptation 18
The "Equilibrium Societies" 19
Research Methodology 21
Focus of the Present Study 24
CHAPTER TWO Sea-Mammal Hunters of the Arctic Coast 28
Historical Setting 28
Traditional Resource Use 34
Exploited Territory 37
The Hunting Community 44
The Material Basis of Subsistence 50
Needs of the Eskimo Community 52
Production in the Eskimo Economy 57
Analysis of the Food Balances 61
Ecological Pressures of Native Subsistence 75
Eskimo Adaptations 79
VI Contents
CHAPTER THREE Reindeer Pastoralists of the Inland Tundra 86
Introduction 86
Reindeer Nomadism and Its Resource Strategies 90
Land Use and Pasture Rotation 93
Demography of the Nomadic Community 98
Domestic Animal Stocks 103
Subsistence Implements and Their Recycling 104
Consumption Needs of the Pastoralist Community 107
Productivity of the Herding Economy 111
Analysis of Subsistence Balances 114
Conclusion 122
CHAPTER FOUR The Challenge of Change in the
Arctic Environment 128
Introduction 128
Climatic Change in the Eurasian Arctic 131
Extreme Natural Phenomena 138
Fluctuations in Wildlife Populations 143
Epizootics in the Domestic Animal Population 153
Summary: The Arctic as a Human Econiche 156
CHAPTER FIVE The Rise of Reindeer Pastoralism in the Arctic 160
Introduction 160
Ethnohistorical Records on Reindeer Pastoralism 161
Explanatory Models 164
Ecological Model 166
Social vs. Environmental Agents of Change 169
Transition to the Reindeer Economy:
The Earliest Records 171
Interactions Between Wild and Domestic Herds 173
Other Factors in the Pastoralist Transition 177
Pastoralism and Population Growth 178
The Established Pastoralist Economy 180
Summary and Conclusions 181
CHAPTER six The Evolution of Maritime Hunting 185
Introduction 185
Climatic Models of Eskimo Subsistence Trends 187
The "Adaptation" Framework 189
Trends and Recurrent Cycles in Eskimo
Resource Utilization 190
Population Dynamics and Shifts on the Arctic Coast 194
Changes in Hunting Implements and Techniques 197
Factors in Maritime Subsistence Transitions 199
Maritime Subsistence in the Western Eurasian Arctic 201
The Dual Subsistence Model 210
Contents VII
CHAPTER SEVEN The Aboriginal Hunter in the
Arctic Ecosystem 216
Population Continuity 216
Health, Mortality, and Population Increase 219
More on Infanticide in the Arctic 223
Ecopopulation Strategies 225
Migrations and Population Growth 226
Population Models 229
Harvest Techniques in the Arctic 230
Cases of Indigenous Overkill 233
Overkill and Harvest Strategies 235
Overkill and "Rationality" in Aboriginal Subsistence 237
Arctic versus Boreal Subsistence 239
CHAPTER EIGHT Arctic Adaptations and Paleolithic Society 241
Prehistoric Hunting Tactics 243
Settlement Patterns of the Prehistoric Population 246
Natural Resource Utilization 250
Mobility and Migration in the Paleolithic Community 253
Demographic Processes in Prehistoric Communities 255
Ecological Crises and the Development of
Paleolithic Society 259
Epilogue 263
Notes 271
References Cited 279
Index 343