Anangula Island
Encyclopedia
Anangula Island is a small island in the Fox Islands
group of the Aleutian Islands of southwestern Alaska
. The 1.4 miles (2.3 km)-long island is separated from Umnak Island by a channel about 0.93 miles (1.5 km) wide and consists of a mostly barren tundra
landscape of volcanic ash
.
ice age
, Anangula and nearby Umnak Island formed the tip of a peninsula on the southern edge of the Bering land bridge
and was covered by the Cordilleran ice sheet
that dominated the northwestern portion of North America
. This made the area unsuitable for both animal and human habitation until the ice sheet began to recede about 10-12,000 years bp
. The first human settlement on Anangula (and the oldest known evidence of human activity in the Aleutians), a small village and core
and blade site on the southeastern end of the island, was established about 8,400 years bp. Although estimates of how long the settlement was occupied range from under 100 years to more than 1,500 years, it is generally agreed that it was abandoned after a major eruption at the Okmok volcano
70 kilometres (43.5 mi) northeast on Umnak buried the area under nearly two metres of ash.
es by the United States government for trapping and fur trading purposes, in this case mostly by the Aleuts who lived in Nikolski
, about 4.3 miles (6.9 km) to the south on Umnak Island. Later, during the 1930s, an additional population of rabbit
s was established on the island to serve as food for the foxes. In the late 1940s, the foxes were removed because of their detrimental effects on the native marine bird
populations, though the rabbits remain to the present.
The island gained some prominence in the archaeological
community with the discovery of the core and blade site by William S. Laughlin
in 1938. Later expeditions by Laughlin during the 1950s and 1960s uncovered more artifacts
and a series of four expeditions in 1970-1974 unearthed the village site.
Fox Islands (Alaska)
The Fox Islands are a group of islands in the eastern Aleutian Islands of the U.S. state of Alaska. The Fox Islands are the closest to mainland North America in the Aleutian chain, and just east of Samalga Pass and the Islands of Four Mountains group....
group of the Aleutian Islands of southwestern Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. The 1.4 miles (2.3 km)-long island is separated from Umnak Island by a channel about 0.93 miles (1.5 km) wide and consists of a mostly barren tundra
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
landscape of volcanic ash
Volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...
.
Ancient history
During the last PleistocenePleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
, Anangula and nearby Umnak Island formed the tip of a peninsula on the southern edge of the Bering land bridge
Bering land bridge
The Bering land bridge was a land bridge roughly 1,000 miles wide at its greatest extent, which joined present-day Alaska and eastern Siberia at various times during the Pleistocene ice ages. Like most of Siberia and all of Manchuria, Beringia was not glaciated because snowfall was extremely light...
and was covered by the Cordilleran ice sheet
Cordilleran Ice Sheet
The Cordilleran ice sheet was a major ice sheet that covered, during glacial periods of the Quaternary, a large area of North America. This included the following areas:*Western Montana*The Idaho Panhandle...
that dominated the northwestern portion of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. This made the area unsuitable for both animal and human habitation until the ice sheet began to recede about 10-12,000 years bp
Before Present
Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...
. The first human settlement on Anangula (and the oldest known evidence of human activity in the Aleutians), a small village and core
Lithic core
In archaeology, a lithic core is a distinctive artifact that results from the practice of lithic reduction. In this sense, a core is the scarred nucleus resulting from the detachment of one or more flakes from a lump of source material or tool stone, usually by using a hard hammer percussor such...
and blade site on the southeastern end of the island, was established about 8,400 years bp. Although estimates of how long the settlement was occupied range from under 100 years to more than 1,500 years, it is generally agreed that it was abandoned after a major eruption at the Okmok volcano
Mount Okmok
Mount Okmok is the highest point on the rim of Okmok Caldera on the northeastern part of Umnak Island in the eastern Aleutian Islands of Alaska, USA. This 5.8 mile wide circular caldera truncates the top of a large shield volcano...
70 kilometres (43.5 mi) northeast on Umnak buried the area under nearly two metres of ash.
Recent history
During the 1910s, Anangula was one of many Aleutian islands to be stocked with arctic foxArctic fox
The arctic fox , also known as the white fox, polar fox or snow fox, is a small fox native to Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and is common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. The Greek word alopex, means a fox and Vulpes is the Latin version...
es by the United States government for trapping and fur trading purposes, in this case mostly by the Aleuts who lived in Nikolski
Nikolski, Alaska
Nikolski is a census-designated place on Umnak Island in Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 39 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Nikolski is located at .According to the U.S...
, about 4.3 miles (6.9 km) to the south on Umnak Island. Later, during the 1930s, an additional population of rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s was established on the island to serve as food for the foxes. In the late 1940s, the foxes were removed because of their detrimental effects on the native marine bird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
populations, though the rabbits remain to the present.
The island gained some prominence in the archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
community with the discovery of the core and blade site by William S. Laughlin
William S. Laughlin
William S. Laughlin was an American anthropologist who carried on research and wrote about aboriginal peoples in the Aleutians and Greenland....
in 1938. Later expeditions by Laughlin during the 1950s and 1960s uncovered more artifacts
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
and a series of four expeditions in 1970-1974 unearthed the village site.