Rock Art
Petroglyphs on the shore of Afognak Bay.
Petroglyphs are designed carved into stationary rock—boulders and bedrock. The ancient carvings are found throughout the coast of the Kodiak Archipelago and some may be over 1,000 years old. Alutiiq/Sugpiaq ancestors made rock art by pecking—using a small rock to chip away flecks of stone and create a design. Archaeologists recognize two general kinds of carvings in the Kodiak region—cupule (pit) and line petroglyphs, and carved images of people and animals.
Cupule & Cut Line Petroglyphs
Cupule and cut line petroglyphs on the Afognak River.
On low-lying rocks, often on the beach or beside a stream, Alutiiq ancestors pecked holes in rocks and sometimes cut lines between the holes. Most of the holes, also known as cupules, are circular and just a few centimeters across. Some rocks have a few holes, others have many. What are these holes? In the Alutiiq world circles and holes are passages between the human and the spirit worlds. Perhaps pecked holes helped the souls of captured fish and animals return to the spirit world so they could be reborn. Cupules are often found by salmon streams and at bay mouths, places where people harvested fish and game.
Recent Rock Art Research
Supported by the Sun’aq Tribe of Kodiak and the US Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Carved Images
Petroglyph cluster at Cape Alitak with faces and geometric designs. hoto by Sven Haakanson Jr.
Another kind of petroglyph shows human faces, animals, and geometric designs. Dancing people, groups of faces, whales, birds, and spirals are among the designs. These images are much larger than the small pecked holes and delicate lines, and they are often in visible places. Some may have been part of hunting rituals, created to ensure success at whaling. Others may have been territorial markers, designed to show that an harvesting area was used by a particular family or community.
Stories from Cape Alitak
Archaeological research at Cape Alitak has revealed hundred of Alutiiq petroglyphs, ancestral settlements, and information about the people who lived at this windy, souther tip of Kodiak Island.
Sven Haakanson explores the prehistoric petroglyphs of Cape Alitak, illustrating the images and patterns in their distribution.
Alutiiq people have been wearing jewelry for thousands of years. Marnie Leist and Patrick Saltonstall discuss how labrets – lip plugs of stone, wood, or bone – helped people share their personal identity.
The Alutiiq hunters who pursued whales carried special knowledge and spiritual power. Sven Haakanson and Patrick Saltonstall discuss the art of Alutiiq whaling and archaeological evidence of this activity.
How do archaeologists know where to dig? Follow Patrick Saltonstall, Sven Haakanson, and Mark Rusk around one of Cape Alitak’s ancient villages as they identify and describe the depressions made by collapsed houses.
Wood charcoal helps archaeologists date village sites. Watch Mark Rusk and Patrick Saltonstall uncover an ancient hearth and sample the charcoal it contains.
Midden is the word archaeologists use to describe ancient garbage. Patrick Saltonstall examines the contents of a Cape Alitak midden and reveals its story.
Kodiak is known for its blustery weather, but what is it like to camp in the wind? Sven Haakanson and Jill Lipka share their experiences.
Supported by the National Park Service Shared Beringian Heritage program and Tribal Heritage program.