This fascinating monograph employs a world system model as the basis for archaeological investigation of Russian America that relates local findings to global patterns. Author Aron Crowell examines Russian, Spanish, and American historical sources along with the archaeological evidence to uncover a preliterate culture that left no written record of its contact with European colonial powers. Crowell's particular subject is the indigenous Qikertarmiut people of Kodiak Island off the coast of Alaska. The special case of this tribe serves as a microcosm of the history of colonialism, demonstrating how early European capitalism impacted and, in some cases, destroyed indigenous societies.