An Archaeological History of the Kuril Islands in the context of Northeast Asian World Systems

An Archaeological History of the Kuril Islands in the context of Northeast Asian World Systems

A talk by Ben Fitzhugh 

(University of Washington)

This talk examines the 5000+ year history of human settlement of the remote and hazardous Kuril Archipelago. Surveys and excavations over the years have revealed this island chain to have served both as barrier and conduit between the northern Japanese archipelago and the Siberian mainland (Kamchatka). For millennia, the Kurils were homeland for maritime hunter-gatherers who succeeded in overcoming remoteness, limited ecological diversity, harsh weather, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. Why did people settle the more remote islands and how did they persist there? As interesting, why did they leave (more than once)? We don't have all the answers, but the archaeological record suggests that Kuril Islanders' fortunes depended on a combination of flexible maritime adaptations and balanced, ego-centric social networks. While environmental hazards were frequent and occasionally harmful, I argue that it was the encroaching Northeast Asian commodities trade (especially out of Japan) that ultimately rendered the Kurils less viable over the past 1500 years. The talk will explore these arguments and identify additional lines of inquiry that could help further clarify the changing role of the Kurils as a place of human settlement, transhumance, commerce... and abandonment. The archaeological history of the Kurils offers insights for the modern world about community vulnerability and resilience in a globalizing world.