Résumés
Abstract
This article examines the relationship between the open skin boat (umiak) traditions of the Unangax/Aleut who inhabited the Aleutian Islands and the Sugpiat of Kodiak Island and Prince William Sound, the two southernmost Indigenous Alaskan peoples who used such watercraft. In a larger geographical context, the Aleutian Islands and the Kodiak Archipelago form a chain of lands stretching from the Alaska Peninsula to the eastern coast of Eurasia. Drawing from archaeological and ethnographic evidence, the author discusses both technological and social aspects of open skin boats. A comparison between Sugpiaq and Unangax/Aleut boats demonstrates similarities in some structural details and leads to a discussion of technological exchange in the larger region that encompasses Southeast Alaska, Prince William Sound, the Kodiak Archipelago, the Aleutian Islands, and the Kamchatka Peninsula. The different Indigenous boat types influenced each other along a chain of overlapping related elements and structural features, rather than being adopted in each case as a complete technological corpus. This exchange occurred along routes of trade and war but ultimately created a dynamic intellectual network of watercraft technology.
Résumé
Cet article examine la relation entre les traditions de fabrication du bateau de peau (umiak) chez les Unangax/Aléoutes des îles Aléoutiennes, et chez les Sugpiat de l’île Kodiak et du détroit du Prince William, les deux peuples autochtones les plus méridionaux de l’Alaska utilisant de telles embarcations. Sur un plan géographique étendu, les îles Aléoutiennes et l’archipel de Kodiak forment une chaîne de terres émergées s’étirant de la péninsule de l’Alaska à la côte est de l’Eurasie. À partir de données archéologiques et ethnographiques, l’auteure discute des aspects à la fois technologiques et sociaux des bateaux de peau. La comparaison des embarcations des Sugpiat et des Unangax/Aléoutes fait apparaître des similitudes entre certains détails structuraux, ce qui amène à une discussion sur les échanges de savoirs techniques dans la zone géographique élargie qui recouvre le sud-est de l’Alaska, le détroit du Prince William, l’archipel de Kodiak, les îles Aléoutiennes et la péninsule du Kamtchakta. Les différents types de bateaux autochtones se sont influencés le long d’une chaîne juxtaposant des éléments apparentés et des particularités de structure, plutôt que par l’adoption d’un corpus technologique complet. Ces échanges se produisaient le long des routes de traite et de guerre, mais ont fini par créer un réseau intellectuel dynamique de la technologie des embarcations.
Parties annexes
Archival sources
- LEVASHOV, Mikhail, 1768-1769 Levashov Atlas, St. Petersburg, Russian Naval Archives.
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