Modeling the ecological effects of long-term Aleut occupation of Sanak Island using archaeological data

Archaeological data from Sanak Island, Alaska demonstrate an almost continuous occupation by the Aleut people from about 5600 Years-Before-Present to the 1980's when the island was abandoned.  The archaeological data include the locations, sizes, and carbon-dated ages of villages on the island as well as analyses of the faunal remains in middens and housepits.  From these data it is possible to reconstruct changes in village size over time and to compare this record of human occupation with changes in the relative abundance of different food animals preserved in the archaeofaunal record.  Changes in occupation on Sanak closely match records of Aleut occupation and population for the Lower Alaskan Peninsula (LAP) which in turn match broad changes in long-term, regional climate.  Using time-series analysis we compare changes in human occupation on Sanak with broad changes in the Aleut diet as recorded in the archaeofaunal data to characterize the possible ecological effects of long-term Aleut occupation.