The human history of Amchitka Island dates back at least 2,500 years, with the Aleut people. Human remains, thought to be of an Aleut dating from about 1000 AD, were discovered in 1980.
Amchitka Island is said to have been seen and named St. Makarius by Vitus Bering in 1741, was sighted by Joseph Billings in 1790, and visited by Shishmaref in 1820.
In 1783, Daikokuya Kōdayū and 15 Japanese castaways landed on Amchitka Island after drifting for seven months. The castaways were taken care of by Russian employees of Zhigarev and hunted with indigenous people. Six of the castaways died in three years.