RUSSIAN ERA OCCUPATION ON AGATTU ISLAND AT ATU-216.

This report shares information about a Russian colonial occupation on the north coast of Agattu Island. Agattu Island is part of the Near Islands group of the western Aleutian Islands and was one of the first islands that Russian 􀉩􀉪􀉨􀉦􀉵􀉲􀉥􀉟􀉧􀉧􀉢􀉤􀉢 (promyshlennikis or fur traders), encountered on their colonial exploration of the Aleutian Archipelago. Ethnohistoric records suggest that the Near Islands were most intensively occupied by Russians during the early years of the fur trade between 1749 and the 1780s. However, recent excavations of ATU-216, an ancestral Unangaxˆ/Sasxinaxˆ village with an extensive Russian-era component, provide evidence that Russian colonizers maintained a substantial presence in the Near Islands into the early nineteenth century. Decades of colonization and cultural exchange were instrumental in shaping the archaeological deposits at ATU-216. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]