Settlement and Subsistence Patterns. Numerous house and cache pits and other unidentified pit features have been discovered and recorded within the general vicinity of the Project area. Ethnographic and archaeological information provide some indication of settlement and subsistence patterns for the region; however, correlation of this data with data recovered from the proposed Project has the potential to clarify and refine our understanding of these patterns in much more detail. Faunal remains recovered from Riverine Kachemak sites have shown the importance of salmon to this culture, while chemical analysis conducted on a human rib bone indicates that terrestrial animals were also an important resource to the Riverine Kachemak Culture (Xxxxx 2004b). Faunal remains from Kenaitze sites show a prevalence of salmon and snowshoe hare, indicating the importance of both fish and small mammals to this culture. Skeletal elements of large mammals and birds are not as well represented in the archaeological record (Xxxxx 2004b). Research questions to be addressed by the data include: • What can we learn about the regional settlement and subsistence patterns of the cultures that utilized the area from data recovery? • How can modern faunal analysis techniques refine our knowledge of subsistence practices and provide information about seasons of use, and methods of processing and cooking? • How did the Sqilantnu Archaeological District area play into the seasonal round for the various cultures that are represented there? o Could it have been a year-round homeland for a land-based Riverine Kachemak group or a seasonal stop? o Can we contrast Riverine Kachemak with Maritime Kachemak to tease out differences and similarities? • Can we better define the subsistence pursuits of the inhabitants of the area from the Early Holocene to the Historic periods? • What are the functions of the smaller pit features? o Are they all cache pits, or did they serve another purpose? o Can we see a variety of cache pit functions, such as being used for different resources (e.g., fermented fish heads, and dried fish)? • By analyzing fire-cracked rock in context: o Can we ascertain if these were used solely for cooking purposes (e.g., hearths, earth ovens, and boiling stones)? o Can another function be identified, such as funerary activities (e.g., cremation)?
