Alutiiq Petroglyphs

Cultural Time Periods	Alutiiq Houses
Alutiiq Villages	Alutiiq Petroglyphs
Alutiiq Masks	Kodiak Archaeology

  Petroglyphs are designs pecked into boulders, cliff faces, and other stationary pieces of stone.  This type of artwork is rare in Alaska.   The Tlingit of southeast Alaska made similar carvings and there are a few pieces of rock art in western Alaska.  In the Kodiak Archipelago, there are at least seven known petroglyph locations which depict human figures, animal forms and geometric designs.   These characters are probably from Alutiiq myths or family stories. Archaeologists do not know the precise age of this art form, but suspect that at least some of the images may be up to 2,000 years old, based on their association with ancient village sites.

Why did the Alutiiq create petroglyphs?  Other Native Alaskans used similar artwork as territorial markers, permanent signs which linked families with particular subsistence harvesting areas.  Perhaps the Alutiiq did the same.  Petroglyphs commonly occur at the entrances to bays, facing outward toward the open ocean, and would have been easy to see when freshly carved.  For example, there are four large clusters of petroglyphs at Cape Alitak, at the entrance to Alitak Bay.  It is also possible that the image are part of a hunting ritual.  Historic accounts report that whalers carved images into rocks to bring them luck before the hunt.  Whatever the answer, petroglyphs are one of the few sources of ancient Alutiiq graphic art.

--courtesy of the Alutiiq Museum

For information on things to do and places to see to learn more about the Alutiiq people of Kodiak contact the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

 

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