SGER: Reconnaissance at Cape Espenberg

一个小型的跨学科研究小组将绘制埃斯彭贝格角（位于阿拉斯加半岛的北方）的海滩山脊的地图和样本，这些山脊包含公元800年至1400年人类居住的痕迹。 埃斯彭贝格角的海滩山脊也为该地区提供了丰富的古气候数据。 这项研究将于2007年8月进行，将是在大白令海峡地区发生重大文化转型期间对埃斯彭贝格角气候变化和人类住区进行重大调查的初始阶段。 这一转变标志着阿拉斯加北方的因纽特人或爱斯基摩人的出现，以及他们随后在环极世界大部分地区的传播。 这两个事件都发生在气候变化的时期，对该区域的生境和资源产生了深远的影响。 研究人员将绘制考古特征图，并将对埃斯彭贝格角海滩山脊上公元800-1400年的替代气候数据进行采样和取芯。 一个海脊缺乏过去占领的表面迹象（例如，将使用便携式X射线荧光分析仪进行勘探，这可能会揭示埋藏特征和其他遗迹的位置。 这些结果将代表初始阶段，并将用于规划2008-2010年拟议的更大研究计划的后续阶段。这项研究将有助于解决有关阿拉斯加北方因纽特人在人口流动，冲突竞争和文化创新的背景下出现的基本问题。埃斯彭贝格角详细的环境和人类住区记录将有助于我们了解因纽特人的起源。 该研究还将为研究生提供教育和培训机会。

A small interdisciplinary team of researchers will map and sample beach ridges at Cape Espenberg (located on the northern Seward Peninsula, Alaska) that contain traces of human occupation between AD 800 and 1400. The Cape Espenberg beach ridges also offer a wealth of paleoclimate data for the region. The research will take place during August 2007 and will represent the initial phase of a major investigation of climate change and human settlement at Cape Espenberg during a period when a major cultural transition took place in the greater Bering Strait region. This transition underlay the emergence of the Inuit or Eskimo people of northern Alaska and their subsequent spread across much of the circumpolar world. Both events occurred during an interval of changing climates that had profound effects on habitats and resources in the region. The researchers will map archaeological features, and will sample and core for proxy climate data on the beach ridges at Cape Espenberg that date to AD 800-1400. One ridge that lacks surface indications of past occupation (e.g., former house depressions) will be prospected with the use of a portable XRF analyzer, which may reveal the location of buried features and other remains. The results will represent the initial phase and will be used to plan the subsequent phases of the larger research program, which has been proposed for 2008-2010. The research will help address fundamental questions about the emergence of the Inupiaq-speaking peoples of northern Alaska in the context of population movements, conflict & competition, and cultural innovation during an interval of significant climate change. The detailed record environmental and human settlement record for Cape Espenberg will contribute to our understanding of Inuit origins. The research also will provide education and training opportunities to graduate students.