Alan D. McMillan

Historical Ecology and Biogeography of North Pacific Pinnipeds: Isotopes and Ancient DNA from Three Archaeological Assemblages

ABSTRACT Zooarchaeology has the potential to make significant contributions to knowledge of pinniped biogeography of import to both archaeologists and environmental scientists. We analyzed northern fur seal remains found in three archaeological sites located along the outer coast of the Northeast Pacific Ocean: Cape Addington Rockshelter in southeast Alaska, Ts’ishaa on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and the Netarts Sandspit site on the Oregon Coast. These three sites occur along an 850 km stretch of coastline between 45° to 55° N. and 123° to 134° W., far southeast of the primary breeding area for northern fur seals today, located on the Pribilof Islands at 57° N. 170° W. We use ancient DNA (aDNA) and carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes to investigate whether northern fur seal remains from these archaeological sites originated with migratory Pribilof Islands populations. For sites located in Oregon and points north, the isotope values are not distinct from those of the Pribilof fur seals. Although aDNA was recovered from three pinniped species (northern fur seal, Steller sea lion, and Guadalupe fur seal), the paucity of published genetic data from modern northern fur seals prevents us from distinguishing the archaeological specimens from modern Pribilof seals.

When the Mountain Dwarfs Danced: Aboriginal Traditions of Paleoseismic Events along the Cascadia Subduction Zone of Western North America

Geological evidence demonstrates that recurrent great earthquakes have been generated at the Cascadia subduction zone, off the west coast of North America, throughout the Holocene. Such major earthquakes and associated tsunamis would have had devastating impacts on Native villages along this coastline. Native oral traditions of such disasters, along with earthquake figures in myth and ceremony, are examined for evidence of the nature of such past geological events and the impact they had on human populations.

Folklore and earthquakes: Native American oral traditions from Cascadia compared with written traditions from Japan

Abstract This article examines local myth and folklore related to earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis in oral traditions from Cascadia (part of the northern Pacific coast of North America) and in written traditions from Japan, particularly in the Edo (present-day Tokyo) region. Local folklore corresponds closely to geological evidence and geological events in at least some cases, and the symbolic language of myth and folklore can be a useful supplement to conventional geological evidence for constructing an accurate historical record of geological activity. At a deep, archetypical level, Japan, Cascadia, and many of the worlds cultures appear to share similar themes in their conception of earthquakes. Although folklore from Cascadia is fragmentary, and the written record short, the evolution of Japanese earthquake folklore has been well documented over a long period of history and illustrates the interaction of folklore with dynamic social conditions.