Ipiutak

An Eskimo/Inuit culture of northwestern Alaska, probably dating from the 2nd to the 6th century AD. The type site at Point Hope is the largest Eskimo/Inuit village ever discovered in Alaska. The village had about 600 houses and many burials accompanied by finely carved bone and ivory objects. The art style includes animal forms which show links with Siberia and northern Eurasia. The people were sea and land hunters and expert stoneworkers with no pottery. A Siberian origin has been suggested, based on similarities in burial practices and ceremonialism, animal carvings and designs, and some use of iron; there seem to be links with the Kachemak culture. It has also been suggested that the culture developed from the Choris-Norton-Near Ipiutak subtradition, intermingled with Northern Maritime and Siberian influences. Ipiutak is particularly important for its demonstration of the continuing influence of Siberian cultures on the Eskimo/Inuit tradition. It is the most recent variation of the Norton tradition, a series of Arctic Alaska cultures dating from 1000 BC-1000 AD. Projectile points and other stone implements are similar to those of the preceding Norton culture.

The most recent variant of the Norton tradition, beginning cl AD and persisting in some areas to as late as c800. Its major characteristic is a highly developed art style, similar to Old Bering Sea, which is most commonly expressed in the working of ivory. Projectile points and other stone implements are similar to those of the preceding Norton culture, but other Norton-associated materials such as pottery, ground slate tools and oil lamps are usually missing from Ipiutak assemblages. Excavations at the village site at Point Hope, Alaska, revealed evidence of a settlement of 600 houses. Numerous examples of finely carved ivory were found in the associated cemetery.