Abstract:
This thesis explores social age in a sample of hunter-gatherers from Point Hope, Alaska
using dental estimates of age-at-death and archaeological mortuary practices.
Constructions of age based on biological milestones are not always applicable crossculturally
as maturation is also a cultural event. In addition, the social ontology of
identities within hunter-gatherers represents a neglected area of bioarchaeological
research. Radiographs were taken of 36 mandibles associated with Ipiutak (AD 400-750)
and Tigara (AD 1100-1700) cultural groups. Ages were estimated based on tooth
formation. Data regarding grave goods, body positioning, and spatial orientation were
interpolated from the original site report. In both cultures, subadults in the 0.1 to 3.0 year
cohort are buried face down, without grave goods. Between Ipiutak and Tigara subadults,
individuals within the 4.0 to 12.0 year cohort are interred face up, supine, their head
spatially oriented towards the west, with animal implements such as ivory carvings. In some instances, individuals between 2.1 to 10.0 years of age, are buried with adults, and
the burial is overlain with grave goods. These findings indicate similarity in social
development between Ipiutak and Tigara cultures, though stylistic variations in grave
goods suggest transformations in the symbolic nature of these implements. This study
demonstrates the value of integrating the archaeological mortuary record with biological
data to enhance perspectives on the development of social boundaries associated with
biological age in past communities.
