It's All Fun and Games Until: Holistic Approaches to Understanding History

Figure 1: Site Excavations at Agaligmiut (Source: University of Aberdeen)

In every culture there exists a series of legends and myths, which serve to impart specific moral or beliefs onto those who listen and heed the message.  In some cases, there are actual kernels of truth and historical fact contained within these tales.  This is the case of a Yup'ik legend, which addresses a series of conflicts in the Yukon Territory and Alaska that historians call the “Bow and Arrow Wars”.  Today’s blog post is dedicated to discussing the recent archaeological evidence uncovered about the massacre at Agaligmiut.

The site of Agaligmiut (Figure 1), today known as Nunalleq, is not much to look at and to the untrained eye does not seem to contain much in the way of historical or archaeological knowledge.  It is popularized by Yup'ik legend, which chronicles how women, children, and old men were killed and the town burned in retaliation to a similar attack conducted by the Agaligmiut warrirors.

Archaeological investigations led by Rick Knecht and Charlotta Hillerdal of the University of Aberdeen do confirm some information contained in this myth.  Excavations at Agaligmiut yielded several discoveries.  First, there are remnants of a defensible fortress that had been attacked by arrows and later burned, which the legend depicts.  Furthermore, the remains of 28 individuals, all matching the demographic descriptions of the legend, were also discovered.  Each of these individuals were bound with rope, their hands behind their backs, and puncture wounds caused by either an arrow or spear sustained to the back of their skulls. 

Dates from the site identify it as having been built between 1590 and 1630 before it was destroyed between 1652 and 1677.  These dates place the destruction of the site during the “Bow and Arrow Wars”, which were a series of conflicts that occurred in the region.  While it is unconfirmed at this time legends claim that these wars broke out due to a series of retaliatory efforts that began when a boy was accidentally stabbed in the eye.  Archaeological and geological evidence show that this period was also experiencing a mini-Ice Age, which caused drastically cooler temperatures to the area and may have led to a scarcity of resources.  This very well could have increased conflict among the local people.  These environmental circumstances may have been the sole cause of the conflicts or provided the perfect setting for the events recorded in the legends.  The confirmation of the Agaligmiut legend does show strong support for the boy stabbed in the eye legend, however. 

Whatever may have been the case, this situation demonstrates the importance of listening to local stories and knowledge when it comes to understanding archaeological sites.  This is not the first-time archaeologists have benefited from local legends, and this will ultimately not be the last.  If nothing else these legends provide one additional benefit: an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind, or in other words, revenge does not always end well for all parties.

References

Fienup-Riordan, A., Rearden, A., & Knecht, M. (2015). Irr’inarqellriit/Amazing Things: Quinhagak Elders Reflectmon their Past. Alaska Journal of Anthropology, 37-70.

Jarus, O. (2019, April 22). A Dart in a Boy's Eye May Have Unleashed This Legendary Massacre 350 Years Ago. Retrieved from LiveScience: https://www.livescience.com/65282-legendary-massacre-dart-game.html

No Author. (2019, April 22). Possible Seventeenth-Century Massacre Site Found in Alaska. Retrieved from Archaeology Magazine: https://www.archaeology.org/news/7601-190422-alaska-massacre-site