Editing Aleuts (section)

== Culture ==
===Housing===
Aleuts constructed partially underground houses called ''[[barabara]]''. According to [[Lillie McGarvey]], a 20th-century Aleut leader, {{Lang|ale|barabara}}''s'' keep "occupants dry from the frequent rains, warm at all times, and snugly sheltered from the high winds common to the area".{{citation needed|date=September 2013}} Aleuts traditionally built houses by digging an oblong square pit in the ground, usually {{convert|50|by|20|ft|m}} or smaller. The pit was then covered by a roof framed with driftwood, thatched with grass, and then covered with earth for insulation.<ref>Cook, James (1999). [https://books.google.com/books?id=xaD-pCdbtYUC&lpg=PA377 ''The Voyages of Captain James Cook.''] Hertfordshire, UK: Wordsworth Editions. p. 377 {{ISBN|978-1-84022-100-8}}.</ref> Inside trenches were dug along the sides, with mats placed on top to keep them clean. The bedrooms were at the back of the lodge, opposite the entrance. Several families would stay in one house, with their own designated areas. Rather than fireplaces or bonfires in the middle, lanterns were hung in the house.

===Subsistence===
Aleuts survived by hunting and gathering. They fished for salmon, crabs, shellfish, and cod, as well as hunting sea mammals such as seal, [[walrus]], and whales. They processed fish and sea mammals in a variety of ways: dried, smoked, or roasted. [[reindeer|Caribou]], [[muskox]]en, deer, [[moose]], whale, and other types of game were eaten roasted or preserved for later use. They dried berries. They were also processed as {{Lang|ale|alutiqqutigaq}}, a mixture of berries, fat, and fish. The boiled skin and blubber of a whale is a delicacy, as is that of walrus.

Today, many Aleut continue to eat customary and locally sourced foods but also buy processed foods from abroad, which is expensive in Alaska.

===Ethnobotany===
A full list of their ethnobotany has been compiled, with 65 documented plant uses.<ref>{{Cite web|title=BRIT – Native American Ethnobotany Database|url=http://naeb.brit.org/uses/tribes/5/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224165405/http://naeb.brit.org/uses/tribes/5/|archive-date=2019-12-24|access-date=2021-09-06|website=naeb.brit.org}}</ref>

=== Visual arts ===
[[File:Hunting hat, Aleut - Etholén collection, Museum of Cultures (Helsinki) - DSC04917.JPG|thumb|Men's {{Lang|ale|chagudax}}, or bentwood hunting visor, Arvid Adolf Etholén collection, Museum of Cultures, Helsinki, Finland]]
[[File:Basket and Lid, early 20th century, 36.498a-b.jpg|thumbnail|Unknown Aleut artist, [[sea lyme grass]] basket and lid embellished with wool embroidery, early 20th century, [[Brooklyn Museum]] ]]
Customary arts of the Aleuts include weapon-making, building of ''[[baidarka]]s'' (special hunting boats), [[weaving]], figurines, clothing, carving, and mask making. Men as well as women often carved ivory and wood. Nineteenth century craftsmen were famed for their ornate wooden hunting hats, which feature elaborate and colorful designs and may be trimmed with sea lion [[Vibrissae|whiskers]], feathers, and [[walrus ivory]]. [[Andrew Gronholdt]] of the Shumagin Islands has played a vital role in reviving the ancient art of building the ''[[Unangan hunting headgear|chagudax]]'' or bentwood hunting visors.<ref name=AAUA/>

Aleut women sewed finely stitched, waterproof [[Anorak|parkas]] from [[Seal (mammal)|seal]] gut and wove fine baskets from [[sea-lyme grass]] (''[[Elymus mollis]]''). Some Aleut women continue to weave ryegrass baskets. Aleut arts are practiced and taught throughout the state of Alaska. As many Aleut have moved out of the islands to other parts of the state, they have taken with them the knowledge of their arts. They have also adopted new materials and methods for their art, including [[serigraphy]], [[video art]], and [[installation art]].

Aleut carving, distinct in each region, has attracted traders for centuries, including early Europeans and other Alaska Natives. Historically, carving was a male art and leadership attribute whereas today it is done by both genders. Most commonly the carvings of walrus ivory and driftwood originated as part of making hunting weapons. Sculptural carvings depict local animals, such as seals and whales. Aleut sculptors also have carved human figures.<ref name=AAUA>{{cite book|last=Black|first=Lydia|title=Aleut Art Unangam Aguqaadangin|year=2003|publisher=Aleutian/Pribilof Islands Association|location=Anchorage, AK}}</ref>

Aleuts also carve walrus ivory for other uses, such as jewelry and sewing needles. Jewelry is made with designs specific to the region of each people. Each [[clan]] would have a specific style to signify their origin. Jewelry ornaments were made for piercing lips (labrum), nose, and ears, as well as for necklaces. Each woman had her own sewing needles, which she made, and that often had detailed end of animal heads.<ref name="AAUA"/>

The main Aleut method of [[basketry]] was false embroidery (overlay). Strands of grasses or reeds were overlaid upon the basic weaving surface, to obtain a plastic effect. Basketry was an art reserved for women.<ref name="AAUA"/> Early Aleut women created baskets and woven mats of exceptional technical quality, using only their thumbnail, grown long and then sharpened, as a tool. Today, Aleut weavers continue to produce woven grass pieces of a remarkable cloth-like texture, works of modern art with roots in ancient tradition. Birch bark, puffin feathers, and baleen are also commonly used by the Aleuts in basketry. The Aleut term for grass basket is {{Lang|ale|qiigam aygaaxsii}}. One Aleut leader recognized by the State of Alaska for her work in teaching and reviving Aleut basketry was [[Anfesia Shapsnikoff]]. Her life and accomplishments are portrayed in the book ''Moments Rightly Placed'' (1998).<ref name=Turner/>

Masks were created to portray figures of their myths and oral history. The [[#Tribes|Atka people]] believed that another people lived in their land before them. They portrayed such ancients in their masks, which show anthropomorphic creatures named in their language. Knut Bergsland says their word means "like those found in caves." Masks were generally carved from wood and were decorated with paints made from berries or other natural products. Feathers were inserted into holes carved out for extra decoration. These masks were used in ceremonies ranging from dances to praises, each with its own meaning and purpose.<ref name="AAUA"/>

===Tattoos and piercings===
[[File:Weib und Mann von Unalaschka in ihren Feierkleidern.jpeg|thumb|Tattooed Aleut woman]]
The tattoos and piercings of the Aleuts demonstrated accomplishments as well as their religious views. They believed their body art would please the spirits of the animals and make any evil go away. The body orifices were believed to be pathways for the entry of evil entities. By piercing their orifices: the nose, the mouth, and ears, they would stop evil entities, {{Lang|ale|khoughkh}}, from entering their bodies. Body art also enhanced their beauty, social status, and spiritual authority.<ref>Osborn, Kevin (1990). ''The Peoples of the Arctic''. New York : Chelsea House Publishers. p. 52. {{ISBN|9780877548768}}</ref>

Before the 19th century, piercings and tattoos were very common among Aleuts, especially among women. Piercings, such as the nose pin, were common among both men and women and were usually performed a few days after birth. The ornament was made of various materials, a piece of bark or bone, or an eagle's feather shaft. From time to time, adult women decorated the nose pins by hanging pieces of amber and coral from strings on it; the semi-precious objects dangled down to their chins.

Piercing ears was also common. The Aleuts pierced holes around the rim of their ears with dentalium shells (tooth shells or tusk shells), bone, feathers, dried bird wings or skulls and/or amber. Materials associated with birds were important, as birds were considered to defend animals in the spirit world. A male would wear sea lion whiskers in his ears as a trophy of his expertise as a hunter. Worn for decorative reasons, and sometimes to signify social standing, reputation, and the age of the wearer, Aleuts would pierce their lower lips with walrus ivory and wear beads or bones. The individual with the most piercings held the highest respect.

Tattooing for women began when they reached physical maturity, after menstruation, at about age 20. Historically, men received their first tattoo after killing their first animal, an important rite of passage. Sometimes tattoos signaled social class. For example, the daughter of a wealthy, famous ancestor or father would work hard at her tattoos to show the accomplishments of that ancestor or father. They would sew, or prick, different designs on the chin, the side of the face, or under the nose.

===Aleut clothing===
[[File:Aleut sax.jpg|thumb|Replica of the {{Lang|ale|sax}}, an Aleut coat made from bird skins and sea otter fur]]
[[File:Parka (Kamleika) Aleutian Islands.JPG|thumb|A [[Kamleika]], or sea mammal intestine coat.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/kamleika/6AFzaJE5vq3JQA|title=Kamleika|website=Google Arts & Culture|access-date=January 16, 2019|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120015815/https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/kamleika/6AFzaJE5vq3JQA|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

Aleuts developed in one of the harshest climates in the world, and learned to create and protect warmth. Both men and women wore parkas that extended below the knees. The women wore the skin of seal or sea-otter, and the men wore bird skin parkas, the feathers turned in or out depending on the weather. When the men were hunting on the water, they wore waterproof parkas made from seal or sea-lion guts, or the entrails of bear, walrus, or whales. Parkas had a hood that could be cinched, as could the wrist openings, so water could not get in. Men wore breeches made from the esophageal skin of seals. Children wore parkas made of downy eagle skin with tanned bird skin caps.<ref name=Gross/> They called these parkas {{Lang|ale|kameikas}}'','' meaning 'rain gear' in the English language.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aleutcorp.com/|title=Home|website=Aleut Corporation|accessdate=December 18, 2022|archive-date=December 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218093214/https://aleutcorp.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Sea-lions, harbor seals, and sea otters are the most abundant marine mammals. The men brought home the skins and prepared them by soaking them in urine and stretching them. The women undertook the sewing.<ref name=Gross/> Preparation of the gut for clothing involved several steps. The prepared intestines were turned inside out. A bone knife was used to remove the muscle tissue and fat from the walls of the intestine. The gut was cut and stretched, and fastened to stakes to dry. It was then cut and sewn to make waterproof parkas, bags, and other receptacles.<ref name=Turner/> On some hunting trips, the men would take several women with them. They would catch birds and prepare the carcasses and feathers for future use. They caught [[puffins]] (''[[Lunda cirrhata]]'', ''[[Fratercula corniculata]]''), [[guillemot]]s, and [[Common murre|murres]].<ref name=Turner/>

It took 40 skins of tufted puffin and 60 skins of horned puffin to make one parka. A woman would need a year for all the labor to make one parka. Each lasted two years with proper care. All parkas were decorated with bird feathers, beard bristles of seal and sea-lion, beaks of sea parrots, bird claws, sea otter fur, dyed leather, and caribou hair sewn in the seams.<ref name=Gross/>

Women made needles from the wing bones of seabirds. They made thread from the sinews of different animals and fish guts.<ref name=Gross/> A thin strip of seal intestine could also be used, twisted to form a thread. The women grew their thumbnail extra long and sharpened it. They could split threads to make them as fine as a hair.<ref name=Turner/> They used vermilion paint, hematite, the ink bag of the octopus, and the root of a kind of grass or vine to color the threads.<ref name=Turner/>

===Gender===
Russian travelers making early contact with the Aleuts mention [[storytelling|traditional tales]] of [[two-spirit]]s or [[third gender|third]] and [[fourth gender]] people, known as {{Lang|ale|ayagigux̂}} (male-bodied, <!--saying e.g. "male-assigned", the preferred terminology for similar cases, would raise the question of "assigned by whom? Europeans"--> 'man transformed into a woman') and {{Lang|ale|tayagigux̂}} (female-bodied, 'woman transformed into a man'), but it is unclear whether these tales are about historical individuals or spirits.<ref name="MurrayPH">Murray, Stephen O. (2002) ''Pacific Homosexualities''. Writers Club Press. p. 206. {{ISBN|9780595227853}}</ref>

===Hunting technologies===
====Boats====
{{Main|Aleutian kayak}}
[[File:Choris, Saint Paul.jpg|thumb|left|Illustration of an Aleut paddling a {{Lang|ale|baidarka}}, with an anchored Russian ship in the background, near [[Saint Paul Island (Alaska)|Saint Paul Island]], by Louis Choris, 1817]]
The interior regions of the rough, mountainous Aleutian Islands provided little in terms of natural resources for the Aleutian people. They collected stones for weapons, tools, stoves or lamps. They collected and dried grasses for their woven baskets. For everything else, the Aleuts had learned to use the fish and mammals they caught and processed to satisfy their needs.<ref name=AHC>{{cite book|last=Antonson|first=Joan|title=Alaska's Heritage|year=1984|publisher=The Alaska Historical Commission|location=Anchorage|pages=85–95}}</ref>

To hunt sea mammals and to travel between islands, the Aleuts became experts of sailing and navigation. While hunting, they used small watercraft called ''[[Aleutian kayak|baidarkas]].'' For regular travel, they used their large {{Lang|ale|baidara}}''s''.<ref name="AHC"/>

[[File:Rowing Baidara St George Is line1700.jpg|thumb|Men rowing a {{Lang|ale|baidara}} (large skin boat)]]

The {{Lang|ale|baidara}} was a large, open, walrus-skin-covered boat. Aleut families used it when traveling among the islands. It was also used to transport goods for trade, and warriors took them to battle.<ref name=CCP>{{cite book|last=Durham|first=Bill|title=Canoes and Kayaks of Western America|year=1960|publisher=Copper Canoe Press|location=Seattle|pages=11–20}}</ref>

The {{Lang|ale|baidarka}} (small skin boat) was a small boat covered in sea lion skin. It was developed and used for hunting because of its sturdiness and maneuverability. Aleut {{Lang|ale|baidarka}} resembles that of a [[Yupik peoples|Yup'ik]] [[kayak]], but it is hydrodynamically sleeker and faster. They made the {{Lang|ale|baidarka}} for one or two persons only. The deck was made with a sturdy chamber, the sides of the craft were nearly vertical and the bottom was rounded. Most one-man {{Lang|ale|baidarka}}''s'' were about {{convert|16|ft|m}} long and {{convert|20|in|cm}} wide, whereas a two-man was on average about {{convert|20|ft|m}} long and {{convert|24|in|cm}} wide. It was from the {{Lang|ale|baidarka}} that Aleut men would stand on the water to hunt from the sea.<ref name="CCP"/>

====Weapons====
The Aleuts hunted small sea mammals with barbed darts and harpoons slung from throwing boards. These boards gave precision as well as some extra distance to these weapons.<ref name=AIA>{{cite book|last=Jochelson|first=Waldemar|title=Archaeological Investigations in the Aleutian Islands|year=1925|publisher=University of Utah Press|location=Salt Lake City|page=145}}</ref>

Harpoons were also called throwing-arrows when the pointed head fit loosely into the socket of the foreshaft and the head was able to detach from the harpoon when it penetrated an animal, and remain in the wound. There were three main kinds of harpoon that the Aleuts used: a simple harpoon, with a head that kept its original position in the animal after striking, a compound (toggle-head) harpoon in which the head took a horizontal position in the animal after penetration, and the throwing-lance used to kill large animals.<ref name="AIA"/>

The simple Aleut harpoon consisted of four main parts: the wooden shaft, the bone foreshaft, and the bonehead (tip) with barbs pointed backward. The barbed head was loosely fitted into the socket of the foreshaft so that when the animal was stabbed, it pulled the head away from the rest of the harpoon. The sharp barbs penetrated with ease, but could not be pulled out. The bone tip is fastened to a length of braided twine meanwhile; the hunter held the other end of the twine in his hand.<ref name="AIA"/>

The compound harpoon was the most prevalent weapon of the Aleuts. Also known as the toggle-head spear, it was about the same size as the simple harpoon and used to hunt the same animals, however, this harpoon provided a more efficient and lethal weapon. This harpoon separated into four parts. The longest part was the shaft with the thicker stalk closer to the tip of the harpoon. The shaft was fitted into the socket of the fore shaft and a bone ring was then placed over the joint to hold the two pieces together, as well as, protecting the wooden shaft from splitting. Connected to the fore shaft of the harpoon is the toggle head spear tip. This tip was made of two sub shafts that break apart on impact with an animal. The upper sub shaft held the razor stone head and attached to the lower sub shaft with a small braided twine loop. Once the tip penetrates the animal the upper sub head broke off from the rest of the shaft, however, since it was still connected with the braided loop it rotated the head into a horizontal position inside the animal's body so that it could not get away from the hunter.<ref name="AIA"/>

The throwing lance may be distinguished from a harpoon because all its pieces are fixed and immovable. A lance was a weapon of war and it was also used to kill large marine animals after it has already been harpooned. The throwing lance usually consisted of three parts: a wooden shaft, a bone ring or belt, and the compound head that was made with a barbed bonehead and a stone tip. The length of the compound head was equivalent to the distance between the planes of a man's chest to his back. The lance would penetrate the chest and pass through the chest cavity and exit from the back. The bone ring was designed to break after impact so that the shaft could be used again for another kill.<ref name="AIA"/>

===Burial practices===
They buried their dead ancestors near the village. Archeologists have found many different types of burials, dating from a variety of periods, in the Aleutian Islands. Aleuts developed burial styles that were accommodated to local conditions, and honored the dead. They have had four main types of burials: {{Lang|ale|umqan}}, cave, above-ground sarcophagi, and burials connected to communal houses.

{{Lang|ale|Umqan}} burials are the most widely known type of mortuary practice found in the Aleutian Islands. The people created burial mounds, that tend to be located on the edge of a bluff. They placed stone and earth over the mound to protect and mark it. Such mounds were first excavated by archeologists in 1972 on Southwestern Unmak Island, and dated to the early contact period. Researchers have found a prevalence of these {{Lang|ale|umqan}} burials, and concluded it is a regional mortuary practice. It may be considered a pan-Aleutian mortuary practice.<ref name="Veltre 2001"/>

Cave burials have been found throughout the eastern Aleutian Islands. The human remains are buried in shallow graves at the rear of the cave. These caves tend to be next to [[middens]] and near villages. Some [[grave goods]] have been found in the caves associated with such burials. For example, a deconstructed boat was found in a burial cave on Kanaga Island. There were no other major finds of grave goods in the vicinity.<ref name="Nelson and Barnett 1955"/>

Throughout the Aleutian Islands, gravesites have been found that are above-ground [[sarcophagi]]. These sarcophagi are left exposed, with no attempt to bury the dead in the ground. These burials tend to be isolated and limited to the remains of adult males, which may indicate a specific ritual practice. In the Near Islands, isolated graves have also been found with the remains, and not just the sarcophagus, left exposed on the surface.<ref name="Corbett 2001"/> This way of erecting sarcophagi above ground is not as common as {{Lang|ale|umqan}} and cave burials, but it is still widespread.

Another type of practice has been to bury remains in areas next to the communal houses of the settlement.<ref name="Corbett 2001"/> Human remains are abundant in such sites. They indicate a pattern of burying the dead within the main activity areas of the settlement. These burials consist of small pits adjacent to the houses and scattered around them.<ref name="Corbett 2001"/> In these instances, mass graves are common for women and children.<ref name="Corbett 2001"/> This type of mortuary practice has been mainly found in the Near Islands.

In addition to these four main types, other kinds of burials have been found in the Aleutian Islands. These more isolated examples in include [[mummification]], private burial houses, abandoned houses, etc.<ref name="Corbett 2001"/> To date, such examples are not considered to be part of a larger, unifying cultural practice. The findings discussed represent only the sites that have been excavated.

The variety of mortuary practices mostly did not include the ritual of including extensive grave goods, as has been found in other cultures. The remains so far have been mainly found with other human and faunal remains.<ref name="Corbett 2001"/> The addition of objects to "accompany" the dead is rare.<ref name="Nelson and Barnett 1955"/> Archaeologists have been trying to dissect the absence of grave goods, but their findings have been ambiguous and do not really help the academic community to understand these practices more.

Not much information is known about the ritual parts of burying the dead. Archeologists and anthropologists have not found much evidence related to burial rituals.<ref name="Veltre 2001"/> This lack of ritual evidence could hint at either no ritualized ceremony, or one that has not yet been revealed in the archaeological record. As a result, archaeologists cannot decipher the context to understand exactly why a certain type of burial was used in particular cases.