The anthropology of native copper technology and social complexity in Alaska and the Yukon Territory: An analysis using archaeology, archaeometry, and ethnohistory

Metal artifacts from archaeological sites have long been important to archaeologists interested in the origins (invention and diffusion) of metallurgy, and technology in general, as well as social complexity. In northwestern North America, native copper (i.e., naturally occurring 99+% pure copper), was used by several different indigenous hunting-gathering-fishing groups prior to the influx of smelted metal via Euroamerican fur traders and explorers in the eighteenth century. This thesis presents an overview of native copper using archaeology, archaeometry, and ethnohistory within a general anthropology of technology framework. This approach examines the use of native copper for both utilitarian purposes and for objects of prestige. Native copper was a raw material valued for its potential use in functional, social, economic, and symbolic contexts and its possession was linked to the development and expression of social complexity in the region. A pilot study was undertaken to assess the potential to geochemically characterize native copper sources using Instrumental Neutron Activation Anaysis (INAA) and Inductively Coupled Plasma---Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) to obtain trace element data on both native copper artifacts and native copper from sources. Laser-Ablation Multi-Collector ICP-MS was also used in an effort to obtain lead isotope data on native copper. The initial results indicate that native copper sources in the region can be differentiated to some degree based on trace element signatures, however, the numerous unsampled sources of native copper in the region prevent making definitive statements about the source of the native copper artifacts sampled in this study.