Dr. Aigner and her colleagues will combine archaeological excavation with analysis of historical documents to reconstruct pre- and protohistoric Aleut social organization and determine how this changed over time. They will excavate two sites located on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian archipelago. The older of the two, the McLees Lake site, contains a number of individual household dwellings. The more recent Reese Bay site preserves two multihousehold longhouses. Large areas of both sites will be stripped and house boundaries and inner partitions mapped. Cultural and faunal remains will be collected, analyzed, and dated. The goal of the research is to trace the development of social complexity among Aleut hunters and gatherers in the Aleutian Islands. Both archaeological and ethnohistoric information suggest that in prehistoric times Aleut society changed from a relatively egalitarian form of organization to a more complex form characterized by a social and political hierarchy. Dr. Aigner postulates that the McLees Lake and Reese Bay sites represent earlier and later phases of this process. Through spatial analysis of house forms and burial and material remains, one can determine the extent of hierarchical organization. Unequal distribution of living space and an association of high prestige items with specific burials or living areas indicate social inequality. This research is important for several reasons. Many anthropologists believe that growth of social complexity is a byproduct to the Neolithic revolution and that it was the domestication of plants and animals which began the process which resulted societies as we know them today. Others argue that complexity can develop in groups which subsist by hunting and gathering, and this research will directly address this issue. Secondly, in the passage of the Arctic Research Act, the U.S. Congress has recognized the importance of a broad program of Arctic research. Dr. Aigner's project will help to further this goal.
