Summer Bay
UNL-092
Summer Bay is a single component site located in dunes at the head of Summer Bay near
the City of Unalaska, in the Fox Island group of the eastern Aleutian Islands. The site was
excavated as a mitigation measure and clean-up related to the oil spill caused by the
grounding of the M/V Kuroshima in 1997. Excavations took place in the summer of 1998,
directed by Rick Knecht of the Museum of the Aleutians. The site was found to be
laterally extensive but fairly shallowly buried in the shifting dune sands. Multiple hearths
were found in addition to a few boulder alignments, upright whalebone elements, and
other evidence to support the use of tent-like structures rather than the more typical semi-
subterranean style habitations common in the Aleutians. Radiocarbon dating places site
occupation between 1800 and 2100 BP and the Amaknak Phase of the Eastern Aleutian
Cultural sequence.
The Summer Bay site is positioned within an active dune setting in the north-fronting
head of Summer Bay. The dune field also borders a freshwater lake with an active salmon
run. More than 3,000 cataloged lithic and bone artifacts were recovered from this
extensive site and abundant lithic debitage and faunal remains were also recovered. The
large number of shearwater bones is notable among the large assemblage of bird bone
collected from the site. The presence of shearwaters suggests a summer to late summer
occupation of the site and agrees with the evidence for the use of temporary structures.