Environmental and Hunter-Gatherer Responses to the White River Ash East Volcanic Eruption in the Late Holocene Canadian Subarctic

The eastern lobe of the Alaskan White River Ash volcanic event of AD 846–848 blanketed portions of Yukon and Northwest Territories, Canada, in 5 to 50 cm of tephra. The eruption has been linked to concurrent changes among hunter-gatherers, including the spread of new technologies and the continent-w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Arctic 2020-06, Vol.73 (2), p.153-186
Main Authors: Kristensen, Todd J., Beaudoin, Alwynne B., Ives, John W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Archaeology
Ash
Ashes
Biological effects
Caribou
Charcoal
Chutes
Disasters
Earthquakes
Ecological effects
Ecology
Ecosystem disturbance
Ecosystems
Environmental aspects
Environmental changes
Fluvial deposits
Freshwater fishes
Health hazards
Holocene
Hunter-gatherers
Hunting and gathering societies
Migrations
New technology
Perturbation
Pollen
Pollinators
Populations
Rivers
Salmon
Tephra
Volcanic ash
Volcanic eruption effects
Volcanic eruptions
Volcanoes
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Summary:The eastern lobe of the Alaskan White River Ash volcanic event of AD 846–848 blanketed portions of Yukon and Northwest Territories, Canada, in 5 to 50 cm of tephra. The eruption has been linked to concurrent changes among hunter-gatherers, including the spread of new technologies and the continent-wide migration of a group of Dene ancestors from Subarctic Canada to the United States. We use published palaeoenvironmental data (primarily pollen and charcoal profiles) as well as studies of modern ash fall ecology and human health hazards associated with eruptions to reconstruct effects of the White River Ash east event on northern hunter-gatherer subsistence. While many components of local ecosystems appear to have rebounded quickly from ash deposition, we deduce a more pronounced impact on the important game species of caribou and salmon, the seasonal migration paths of which were intersected by thick deposits of ash. A trophic model informed by palaeoenvironmental data and ethnohistoric records suggests that negative biological effects of the ash temporarily pushed hunter-gatherer populations to neighbouring and less affected kin groups for up to 100 years. This synthesis contextualises archaeological theories of human responses to ecological disturbance events in circumpolar landscapes. Le lobe occidental du dépôt de cendres volcaniques White River Ash, en Alaska, remontant aux années 846–848 A.D., a recouvert certaines parties du Yukon et des Territoires du Nord-Ouest, au Canada, d’une couche de téphra de 5 à 50 cm. Cette éruption a été liée à des changements simultanés chez les chasseurs-cueilleurs, dont l’adoption de nouvelles technologies et la migration à l’échelle du continent d’un groupe d’ancêtres dénés, de la zone subarctique canadienne jusqu’aux États-Unis. Nous avons publié des données paléoenvironnementales (principalement des profils de pollen et de charbon de bois) ainsi que des études d’écologie moderne de chutes de cendres et de dangers pour la santé des êtres humains découlant d’éruptions afin de reconstituer les effets du dépôt occidental White River Ash sur la subsistance des chasseurs-cueilleurs nordiques. Même si de nombreuses composantes des écosystèmes locaux semblent s’être remises rapidement des dépôts de cendres, nous déduisons que les répercussions ont été plus prononcées sur les espèces de gibier de caribou et sur le saumon, dont les voies de migration saisonnière croisaient les épais dépôts de cendres. Un modèle trophique établ
ISSN:0004-0843
1923-1245
DOI:10.14430/arctic70268