Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Late Prehistoric Socio-Economic Organization in Northwest Alaska: a Study of Pottery Production and Distribution in the Arctic

博士论文改进资助：阿拉斯加西北部史前晚期社会经济组织：北极陶器生产和分配的研究

• 批准号: 0936696
• 负责人: Ben Fitzhugh
• 金额: $ 2.55万
• 依托单位: University of Washington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-15 至 2011-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0936696&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Grant; Late

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).This research examines the history of emergent complexity in Northwest Alaska over the past 2000 years through a focused study of archaeological pottery from the coast of Kotzebue Sound and the adjacent river corridors into the Alaskan interior. Northwest Alaska witnessed significant social change over the past two millennia with the development of organized whale hunting, aggregated coastal villages, wealthy burials, and warfare. On both sides of the Bering Strait ethnic groups formed strong regional identities during this period that led to marked differences in material culture styles from sub-region to sub-region and eventually the expansion of Thule whale hunters eastward across the Canadian arctic. The relationships, interaction, and evolution of these ethnic populations remain among the most unresolved issues in the archaeology of this region. This research attempts to shed light on these issues and their implications for changing social and political organization in Northwest Alaska through the study of the pottery used by these groups. Pottery composition, manufacture techniques, and stylistic variability from archaeological assemblages around Kotzebue Sound will allow the student P.I. to evaluate several predictions about social development between the first and second millennia A.D. These predictions include the expectation for increased population density, territoriality, and social asymmetry at the corporate group level (within and between settlements) with implications for the production and distribution of pottery from clay source to production, use and discard. Archived and newly acquired pottery collections from Cape Krusenstern, the northern coast of the Seward Peninsula including Cape Espenberg, the shores of Kotzebue Sound, and the Noatak and Kobuk River valleys will be studied to determine chemical composition of clays used in constructing the pots, the nature of pot manufacture (form, wall thickness, tempering, firing regime, etc), and variability in stylistic characteristics (of both decorated and non-decorated pottery). These characteristics will be studied to determine the degree of inter-regional pottery movement and inter- and intra-settlement differences in access to diverse sources, technologies, and/or styles of pots An important component of this research includes the collection of clay samples from geological sources around Kotzebue Sound and the Kobuk and Noatak Rivers for comparison to archaeological pottery samples. This will allow an estimation of the degree of pottery movement from source to deposition locales and a proxy for social interaction and movement. Another component of this research will be precision mapping and dating of archaeological features around this region in order to develop estimates of changes in regional population densities and distributions. Expanded radiocarbon and thermoluminescence chronologies will be built to refine and supplement existing chronological models for the region.This work is conducted in partnership and under permit with the National Park Service. Project results will be shared with Native Alaskans and other local groups in the Northwest Alaska community through public and school presentations, primarily in Kotzebue, Alaska. In addition, large laminated posters and a self-timed PowerPoint presentation describing this research will be created and distributed to communities across the region. These educational products are easily distributed to remote communities and schools and are more effective and cost-efficient than trying to present in person in every village community in the region. Project results will be disseminated more widely through presentation at professional conferences, the creation of a project website, and public and school presentations in the Seattle area. University of Washington undergraduate students will participate in the project, assisting in sample preparation while taking an independent lab course for credit, supervised by the Co-PI.

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。这项研究通过对Kotzebue Sound海岸和邻近河流走廊进入阿拉斯加内陆的考古陶器的重点研究，探讨了阿拉斯加西北部在过去2000年中出现的复杂性的历史。 阿拉斯加西北部在过去的两千年里经历了重大的社会变化，有组织的捕鲸，聚集的沿海村庄，富裕的墓葬和战争的发展。 在这一时期，白令海峡两岸的民族形成了强烈的区域认同感，导致了各次区域之间物质文化风格的显著差异，并最终导致了图勒捕鲸者向东跨越加拿大北极地区的扩张。这些民族的关系、互动和演化仍然是该地区考古学中最悬而未决的问题。 本研究试图阐明这些问题，并通过研究这些群体使用的陶器，改变阿拉斯加西北部的社会和政治组织的影响。 陶器的组成，制造技术，和风格的变化，从考古组装周围Kotzebue声音将允许学生P.I.这些预测包括人口密度增加的预期，领土，和社会不对称的企业集团水平（内部和之间的定居点）与生产和分配的陶器从粘土来源到生产，使用和丢弃的影响。档案和新获得的陶器收藏品从克鲁森斯特恩角，北方海岸的苏厄德半岛，包括埃斯彭贝格角，海岸的科策布湾，和诺阿塔克和科布克河流域将进行研究，以确定化学成分的粘土用于建造锅，锅制造的性质（形式，壁厚，回火，烧制制度等），以及风格特征的变化（装饰和非装饰陶器）。 这些特点将进行研究，以确定区域间的陶器运动的程度和内部和内部的解决差异，在获得不同的来源，技术，和/或风格的锅本研究的一个重要组成部分，包括收集粘土样品的地质来源周围Kotzebue声音和Kobuk和Noatak河的考古陶器样品进行比较。 这将使陶器运动的程度从源到沉积地点和社会互动和运动的代理估计。 这项研究的另一个组成部分将是对该地区周围的考古特征进行精确测绘和测年，以便对区域人口密度和分布的变化作出估计。 将建立扩展的放射性碳和热释光年代学，以完善和补充该地区现有的年代学模型。这项工作是与国家公园管理局合作并在许可证下进行的。项目成果将通过公共和学校介绍，主要在阿拉斯加州的科策布，与阿拉斯加土著人和阿拉斯加西北部社区的其他当地团体分享。此外，还将制作大型层压海报和自定时间的PowerPoint演示文稿，介绍这项研究，并分发给整个区域的社区。这些教育产品很容易分发到偏远社区和学校，比亲自到该地区的每个村庄社区进行宣传更有效，更符合成本效益。项目成果将通过在专业会议上介绍、建立项目网站以及在西雅图地区的公众和学校介绍等方式得到更广泛的传播。华盛顿大学的本科生将参与该项目，协助样品制备，同时参加由Co-PI监督的独立实验室课程。