VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS AND THE OCCUPATION HISTORY OF THE KURIL ISLANDS

Despite their remote location and numerous hazards, the Kuril Islands of Northeast Asia demonstrate a long history of human occupation. Based upon radiocarbon dates from archaeological sites, human populations first migrated to the large and ecologically diverse southern islands of the archipelago around 8,000 years ago (Kuzmin et al. 2012; Zaitseva et al. 1993). Human occupation in the island chain remained stable until approximately 3,000 calBP when a significant increase in archaeological settlements are identified throughout the entire island chain, with the most significant increase found in the more remote central Kuril Islands (Fitzhugh 2012). Perhaps most interesting, the rise in population levels around 3,000 years ago tentatively coincides with increased volcanic activity within the archipelago as identified by Nakagawa et al. (2009). Based upon these initial findings, this research seeks to explore the role of volcanic eruptions in the occupation history of the Kuril Islands. Using a combination of tephra chronology and archaeological evidence from the site of Rasshua I, this research will investigate the role of volcanic eruptions in the displacement of human populations and the mitigation strategies used by populations to limit the impact of geologic hazards. The site of Rasshua presents an attractive case study as tephra layers from several major eruptions are interspersed within multiple cultural occupation layers. Based upon evidence from Rasshua, this research suggests that even caldera-forming volcanic eruptions largely had a minor impact on the occupation history of human populations in the Kuril Islands. This resiliency to geologic hazards by past human populations is most likely due to socio-cultural adaptations of mobile hunter-gatherers including subsistence flexibility, mobility and social networking.