The History of the Discovery and Archaeological Research of the Paleo-Eskimo Site on the Wrangel Island (Northern Chukotka)

Abstract

The article presents the history and study of the Paleo-Eskimo site of Chertov Ovrag on the Wrangel Island. The author describes results of excavations of this site, gives the characteristics of the complex of stone and bone tools, and discusses the dating of the archaeological monument. Warming in Arctic regions since 4 500 years ago has created an opportunity for sea hunters to migrate westward from the American Arctic. The emergence of the PaleoEskimo tradition in the extreme North-East of Asia is associated with the migration to the Bering Strait zone of the Paleo-Eskimo groups of Arctic America, which took place approximately 3 500 cal. years ago. The Chertov Ovrag site is a short-term hunting camp. Its inhabitants were hunters of marine mammals and could be engaged in the pricking of animals not far from the site on the coastal pebble strip. Stone artifacts have traces of wear, which probably indicates their long transportation in a leather bag and the possible making of tools and blanks outside the island. Most of the radiocarbon dating of the site back to the end of the 2nd – the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. Taking into account the correction or the reservoir effect, the age of the site should be determined at the turn of 1st millennium BC. The Wrangel culture, most likely, belongs to the most ancient stratum of the Paleo-Eskimo tribes, on the basis of which many coastal cultures of the Pacific North were formed. The range of Paleo-Eskimo cultures also includes the settlement of Unenen, located in the south of the Chukotka Peninsula, and the Tokarev culture of Northern Priokhotye.