The dissertation examines human responses to environmental risks reflected by prehistoric settlement and land-use patterns within the context of changing population densities on Kodiak Island, Alaska. Site features and locations will be examined in relation to each other and to projected resources. With the combined advantages of well preserved and highly visible archaeological sites, ongoing geomorphological and paleoenvironmental reconstruction and the use of Remote Sensing and GIS, this research promises to contribute to the anthropological understanding of culture change and the emergence of complex hunter-gatherer social systems in the north.
