The Arctic Small Tool tradition (ASTt) was a broad cultural entity that developed along the

Alaska Peninsula The Alaska Peninsula (also called Aleut Peninsula or Aleutian Peninsula, ale, Alasxix̂; Sugpiaq: ''Aluuwiq'', ''Al'uwiq'') is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. The ...

, around

Bristol Bay Bristol Bay ( esu, Iilgayaq, russian: Залив Бристольский) is the easternmost arm of the Bering Sea, at 57° to 59° North 157° to 162° West in Southwest Alaska. Bristol Bay is 400 km (250 mi) long and 290 km, ...

, and on the eastern shores of the Bering Strait around

2500 BC The 25th century BC was a century that lasted from the year 2500 BC to 2401 BC. Events * c. 2900–2334 BC: Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period. * c. 2560 BC: Construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza is completed. * c. 2500 BC: R ...

. ASTt groups were the first human occupants of Arctic Canada and Greenland. This was a terrestrial entity that had a highly distinctive toolkit based on

microblade technology Microblade technology is a period of technological development marked by the creation and use of small stone blades, which are produced by chipping silica-rich stones like chert, quartz, or obsidian. Blades are a specialized type of lithic flak ...

. Typically tool types include scrapers, burins and side and end blades used in composite

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers ...

s or

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastene ...

s made of other materials, such as

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

antler Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on ...

. Many researchers also assume that it was Arctic Small Tool populations who first introduced the

bow and arrow The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles (arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the practice was common ...

to the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

, that eventually became the Eskimo archery material culture. ASTt camps are often found along coasts and streams, to take advantage of

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus '' Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Onco ...

populations. While some of the groups were fairly nomadic, more permanent, sod-roofed homes have also been identified from Arctic Small Tool tradition sites. The Arctic Small Tool tradition includes a number of cultural groups, including the Denbigh Flint Complex in Alaska, the

Pre-Dorset culture The Pre-Dorset is a loosely defined term for a Paleo-Eskimo culture or group of cultures that existed in the Eastern Canadian Arctic from c. 3200 to 850 cal BC, and preceded the Dorset culture. Due to its vast geographical expanse and to history ...

in Arctic Canada,

Independence I culture Independence I was a culture of Paleo-Eskimos who lived in northern Greenland and the Canadian Arctic between 2400 and 1900 BC. There has been much debate among scholars on when Independence I culture disappeared, and, therefore, there is a margin ...

in the High Arctic and

Saqqaq culture The Saqqaq culture (named after the Saqqaq settlement, the site of many archaeological finds) was a Paleo-Eskimo culture in southern Greenland. Up to this day, no other people seem to have lived in Greenland continually for as long as the Saqqaq ...

in southern Greenland. The ASTt was followed by the Norton tradition in Alaska and the

Dorset culture The Dorset was a Paleo-Eskimo culture, lasting from to between and , that followed the Pre-Dorset and preceded the Thule people (proto-Inuit) in the North American Arctic. The culture and people are named after Cape Dorset (now Kinngait) in ...

in Arctic Canada.

Siberian connections

According to Pavel Flegontov, ASTt may have originated in East Siberia about 5,000 years ago, :"

Paleo-Eskimo The Paleo-Eskimo (also pre-Thule or pre-Inuit) were the peoples who inhabited the Arctic region from Chukotka (e.g., Chertov Ovrag) in present-day Russia across North America to Greenland prior to the arrival of the modern Inuit (Eskimo) and rel ...

archeological cultures are grouped under the Arctic Small Tool tradition (ASTt), and include the Denbigh, Choris, Norton, and

Ipiutak The Ipiutak site is a large archaeological site at Point Hope in northwest Alaska, United States. It is one of the most important discoveries in this area, competing only with Ekven, Russia. It is the type site for the Ipiutak culture, which ar ...

cultures in Alaska, and the Saqqaq, Independence, Pre-Dorset, and Dorset cultures in the Canadian Arctic and Greenland. The ASTt source has been argued to lie in the

Syalakh Syalakh culture is an early Neolithic culture of Yakutia and Eastern Siberia. It formed in the middle Lena river basin in the V — IV millenniums BCE as a result of the migration of tribes from Transbaikalia, which assimilated the local Sumnagin ...

-Bel’kachi-

Ymyakhtakh culture The Ymyyakhtakh culture (, ) was a Late Neolithic culture of Siberia, with a very large archaeological horizon, dating to c. 2200–1300 BC. Its origins seem to be in the Lena river basin of Yakutia, and also along the Yenisei river. From there it ...

sequence of East Siberia, dated to 6,500 – 2,800 calBP." The earliest form of the Norton tradition of Alaska is known as the Choris Stage (ca. 1600—500 BC). The sites are mostly coastal and contain pottery similar to that of Siberia. This culture expanded as far as the Mackenzie River Delta and Banks Island. Genetic DNA studies also support the connections.

Notes

References

* Fagan, Brian. ''Ancient North America''. Thames & Hudson, London. 2005, p. 179-81. * Park, Robert
"The Arctic Small Tool tradition"
Retrieved October 12, 2012. {{Pre-Columbian North America Archaic period in North America Native American history of Alaska Pre-Columbian cultures