Ethnoarchaeological investigation of the Yup'ik seal poke storage system in southwestern Alaska

阿拉斯加西南部尤皮克海豹储存系统的民族考古学调查

• 批准号: 1106362
• 负责人: Liam Frink
• 金额: $ 23.28万
• 依托单位: University of Nevada Las Vegas
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-08-01 至 2016-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1106362&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Ethnoarchaeological; investigation; Yup; ik; seal

This is an ethnoarchaelogical investigation into the seal poke storage system that was utilized for storing subsistence resources by Arctic peoples since prehistoric times. The seal poke storage system was a highly innovative and efficient subsistence technique that was used across the Arctic and until just recently by the Yup?ik people of coastal southwestern Alaska. Women would expertly construct the airtight storage container from the whole skin of seals. Inside they would put the blubber, other fish, and greens and place the containers in pits of cool water. Inside the blubber would render into oil and the other contents would marinate and could be successfully stored for up to five years. Today however AlaskaNative people store their oil in plastic buckets, which can go rancid in the summer heat. This research will document how the pokes are made and used and the possible effects that traditional storing and processing methods in this region may have had on the quality of foods. In addition, long term food storage systems are a key element to increasing populations, which in turn can lead to more complex social systems. The PI has worked in villages along the Alaskan coast since 1996 and will collaborate with Yup?ik elder women and men (the last generation to know how to construct the pokes) to reconstruct two seal pokes and store them in the traditional manner. Over a two year period the project will compare the nutritional composition of the seal poke oil with samples from families who will keep their oil in plastic buckets. This projects? combination of field and laboratory analysis will contribute to a finer understanding of subsistence foods, health, and changed technology. The data generated on the nutritional and toxicological differences between traditional and contemporary practices may have significant impact on health and practice in this region (and elsewhere) and promises to benefit Alaskan Native people. This investigation will not only provide ethnoarchaeological information on how people constructed this specific storage system but ultimately information that can be applied to the archaeological record and provide insights into the evolution of social complexity in the Arctic.

这是对海豹戳存储系统的民族考古学调查，该系统自史前时代起就被北极人民用来存储生存资源。 海豹戳存储系统是一种高度创新和高效的生存技术，直到最近才被阿拉斯加西南部沿海的尤皮克人使用。妇女们会熟练地用海豹的整张皮肤建造密封的储存容器。他们将鲸脂、其他鱼和蔬菜放入容器中，然后将容器放入冷水坑中。鲸脂内部会转化为油，其他内容物会腌制并可以成功保存长达五年。然而如今，阿拉斯加原住民将油储存在塑料桶中，这些塑料桶在夏季炎热时可能会变质。这项研究将记录这些戳的制作和使用方式，以及该地区传统储存和加工方法可能对食品质量产生的影响。 此外，长期粮食储存系统是人口增长的关键因素，而人口增长反过来又会导致社会系统更加复杂。 自 1996 年以来，PI 一直在阿拉斯加海岸的村庄工作，并将与尤皮克老年男女（知道如何建造戳子的最后一代）合作，重建两个海豹戳子，并以传统方式存放它们。该项目将在两年内将海豹戳油的营养成分与来自将海豹戳油保存在塑料桶中的家庭的样本进行比较。这个项目？现场分析和实验室分析相结合将有助于更好地了解自给食品、健康和变革技术。关于传统和现代做法之间营养和毒理学差异的数据可能对该地区（和其他地方）的健康和做法产生重大影响，并有望使阿拉斯加原住民受益。 这项调查不仅将提供有关人们如何构建这种特定存储系统的民族考古学信息，而且最终将提供可应用于考古记录的信息，并为了解北极社会复杂性的演变提供见解。