Trade Networks. XxXxxxx (1985) noted that in excavations at XXX-00094, SEW-00214, and SEW-00216, the presence of exotic artifacts (e.g., marine shell, amber, iron, and copper) is indicative of trade networks; however, the data was not sufficient to reveal where the items may have originated and/or the trade networks that might have brought them to the upper Kenai River. Similarly, other excavations in the region have revealed exotic materials with unclear origins. For example, at the Nilnunqa Site (XXX-00066) near the confluence of the Kenai and Moose rivers, copper artifacts were identified within stratigraphic lenses attributed to Xxxx’xxx. This suggests that copper was obtained from more than one source, potentially with European and Copper River origins (Xxxxx 2004b). Xxxxxx (2011) has explored an indigenous-use biography approach to copper artifacts that could be applied here as well. Previously recovered copper artifacts at these sites have been subjected to trace element analysis in the past (Harritt 2011), which could be used for comparison to newly identifiable materials. The paucity of data available from only a few excavations over the last several decades makes drawing conclusions on regional interactions a speculatively broad model at best. Research questions to be explored by the data include: • Can we better define interactions between regional cultures based on the presence of identifiable archaeological remains? • Is the presence of unique, previously identified non-local materials an anomaly, or can geographically extensive cultural activity patterns be generated with materials from new investigations? • Can trace element analysis of copper and other artifacts be used to identify source locations for imported materials?
