Investigation of Punuk/Birnirk/Thule Relationships--Preliminary Evaluation of North Alaskan Site Potentials

首席调查员提交了一份关于调查和评估阿拉斯加北坡因侵蚀和其他地质过程而面临损失风险的考古遗址的SGER建议。这项调查将集中在“完整的文化沉积物，特别是中层沉积物，最好是冻结的；与史前捕鲸的发展有关的文化沉积物；暴露的地层和附近潜在的古环境数据来源。”由于北极在过去十年中发生了戏剧性的气候变化和过程，以前记录的关于考古资源的位置和状况的信息已经过时。拟议调查中收集的信息对于确定未来研究地点至关重要，特别是关于北极普努克、比尔尼尔克和图勒考古文化的研究。这三个群体之间的联系是一个重要和及时的研究主题，因为Thule很可能代表着对新的和不断变化的环境条件的高度成功适应，与占领北坡的当代土著人民所面临的情况相似。

The Principal Investigator has submitted a SGER proposal to survey and evaluate archaeological sites on the North Slope of Alaska that are at risk of loss due to erosion and other geologic processes. The survey will concentrate on locating "intact cultural deposits, especially midden deposit and preferably frozen; cultural deposits associated with the development of prehistoric whaling; exposed strata and nearby potential sources of paleoenvironmental data." Due to the dramatic climactic changes and processes in the Arctic over the last decade, previously recorded information on the location and condition of archaeological resources have become obsolete. The information gathered in the proposed survey is crucial to identifying sites for future research, particularly on the Punuk, Birnirk, and Thule archaeological cultures of the Arctic. The interface between these three groups is an important and timely research topic due to the fact that Thule most likely represents a highly successful adaptation to new and changing environmental conditions, not unlike those facing contemporary indigenous people occupying on the North Slope.