Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The Emergence of Cultural Complexity in the Bering strait : A Refined Radiocarbon Chronology for the Ekven (Old Bering Sea) mortuary complex

Eriksson, Gunilla ; Savinetsky, Arkady ; Dobrovolskaya, Maria ; Dneprovsky, Kirill ; Harris, Alison JT ; van der Plicht, Johannes ; Jordan, Peter LU orcid and Lidén, Kerstin (2025) In The Holocene
Abstract
Two major debates frame Arctic prehistory: the emergence of specialized maritime economies that support sedentism and growing socio-political complexity, and the role of these economies in the transition from Paleo-Inuit to Neo-Inuit traditions. This shift, originating in the Bering Strait, led to Thule Inuit dispersal across the Arctic, impacting Indigenous communities today. However, understanding these themes is still hampered by the challenges of building accurate site-based and regional-scale radiocarbon chronologies, influenced by driftwood use and marine reservoir effects. This paper presents a new high-resolution chronology for the key Ekven mortuary complex, located on the western shores of the Bering Strait, a site that defines... (More)
Two major debates frame Arctic prehistory: the emergence of specialized maritime economies that support sedentism and growing socio-political complexity, and the role of these economies in the transition from Paleo-Inuit to Neo-Inuit traditions. This shift, originating in the Bering Strait, led to Thule Inuit dispersal across the Arctic, impacting Indigenous communities today. However, understanding these themes is still hampered by the challenges of building accurate site-based and regional-scale radiocarbon chronologies, influenced by driftwood use and marine reservoir effects. This paper presents a new high-resolution chronology for the key Ekven mortuary complex, located on the western shores of the Bering Strait, a site that defines the Old Bering Sea (OBS) phase, marking the earliest onset of the Neo-Inuit tradition. It is based on new direct radiocarbon dates of ancestral human remains and Bayesian modelling using OxCal, which considers available stratigraphic information, individual diets, previously dated faunal remains, and appropriate and species-specific ΔR values to account for marine reservoir effects. Our results suggest that the OBS emerged in this region at around 500 CE, which is later than some models predict, and indicate that the mortuary complex was used intensively until c. 1000 CE, after which few individuals were buried. The revised chronology also creates new opportunities to better integrate diverse cultural and palaeoecological proxies from across the Bering Strait, potentially clarifying the precise role of climatic and environmental factors at a key cultural juncture in Arctic prehistory. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
Artic, Bayesian modelling, Bering Strait, Ekven mortuary complex, human burial chronology, Late Holocene, marine reservoir effects, North Pacific, Old Bering Sea (OBS) culture, radiocarbon dating, Thule origins
in
The Holocene
pages
10 pages
publisher
SAGE Publications
ISSN
0959-6836
DOI
10.1177/09596836251366194
project
Global Station for Indigenous Studies and Cultural Diversity
POSTGLACIAL: Comparative Perspectives on Cultural Responses to Postglacial Warming in Northern Eurasia
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
8b9d088d-ce59-4490-bb59-0ac7b40dc3ad
date added to LUP
2025-08-19 11:19:54
date last changed
2025-10-25 03:33:09
@article{8b9d088d-ce59-4490-bb59-0ac7b40dc3ad,
  abstract     = {{Two major debates frame Arctic prehistory: the emergence of specialized maritime economies that support sedentism and growing socio-political complexity, and the role of these economies in the transition from Paleo-Inuit to Neo-Inuit traditions. This shift, originating in the Bering Strait, led to Thule Inuit dispersal across the Arctic, impacting Indigenous communities today. However, understanding these themes is still hampered by the challenges of building accurate site-based and regional-scale radiocarbon chronologies, influenced by driftwood use and marine reservoir effects. This paper presents a new high-resolution chronology for the key Ekven mortuary complex, located on the western shores of the Bering Strait, a site that defines the Old Bering Sea (OBS) phase, marking the earliest onset of the Neo-Inuit tradition. It is based on new direct radiocarbon dates of ancestral human remains and Bayesian modelling using OxCal, which considers available stratigraphic information, individual diets, previously dated faunal remains, and appropriate and species-specific ΔR values to account for marine reservoir effects. Our results suggest that the OBS emerged in this region at around 500 CE, which is later than some models predict, and indicate that the mortuary complex was used intensively until c. 1000 CE, after which few individuals were buried. The revised chronology also creates new opportunities to better integrate diverse cultural and palaeoecological proxies from across the Bering Strait, potentially clarifying the precise role of climatic and environmental factors at a key cultural juncture in Arctic prehistory.}},
  author       = {{Eriksson, Gunilla and Savinetsky, Arkady and Dobrovolskaya, Maria and Dneprovsky, Kirill and Harris, Alison JT and van der Plicht, Johannes and Jordan, Peter and Lidén, Kerstin}},
  issn         = {{0959-6836}},
  keywords     = {{Artic; Bayesian modelling; Bering Strait; Ekven mortuary complex; human burial chronology; Late Holocene; marine reservoir effects; North Pacific; Old Bering Sea (OBS) culture; radiocarbon dating; Thule origins}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{The Holocene}},
  title        = {{The Emergence of Cultural Complexity in the Bering strait : A Refined Radiocarbon Chronology for the Ekven (Old Bering Sea) mortuary complex}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09596836251366194}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/09596836251366194}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}