EAGER: Investigation of Stratified Archaeological Deposits at Iita, Foulke Fjord, Northwestern Greenland

这是一个小型的探索项目，旨在调查位于格陵兰西北部Foulke峡湾的Iita （Etah）地点，并因其与海军上将Robert Peary在探索北极期间的联系而闻名。坐落在一个突出的冲积扇上，从峡湾的北岸伸出，该遗址被广泛的历史和史前晚期使用的证据所覆盖，以冬季房屋洼地，帐篷环，墓葬，狐狸陷阱和食物储存库的形式。2006年夏天，英格尔菲尔德土地考古项目调查了两座历史悠久的土著冬季房屋，作为对因纽特人（极地因纽特人）因与欧洲人、美国人、其他因纽特人群体的接触以及公元1700年至1920年间环境变化所经历的动态文化变化的多年研究的一部分。在对房屋的挖掘过程中，人们发现该遗址含有分层的考古沉积物，这在北美的高纬度北极地区是极其罕见的（大多数遗迹都位于地面上），为考古学家试图重建史前使用区域提供了宝贵的资源。很明显，被埋的沉积物可以追溯到早期的图勒（公元1300-1600年），即今天生活在北极的因纽特人的祖先，因为从那个时期被埋的房子被发现了。然而，在一个挖掘单元的一小部分，在古老地面的背景下，石器形式的证据表明，该遗址可能包含2400年前居住在英格菲尔德土地上的更早的民族营地的遗迹，或者更早的，被称为古爱斯基摩人。拟议项目的目标是评估Iita是否有潜力扩大我们对古爱斯基摩人使用英格尔菲尔德土地的了解。古爱斯基摩人大约在4500年前进入北极高地，但在700年前消失了？800年前。由于2006年的调查基本上只发现了古爱斯基摩人的矿床，拟议中的项目将挖掘一条测试沟，这将为该地点的使用打开一个更大的窗口。如果有大量的考古沉积物存在，该遗址将成为了解古爱斯基摩人对英格尔菲尔德土地和更大的高北极地区使用的宝贵资源。挖掘工作将与格陵兰国家博物馆和档案馆合作进行，并将为两名本科生提供考古培训，其中一名来自加州大学戴维斯分校，另一名来自格陵兰大学。希望这笔小额赠款将导致与格陵兰大学的学生和研究人员的长期合作关系，并导致一个更大的关于英格菲尔德地古爱斯基摩人时期的研究项目。

This is a small exploratory project to investigate the site of Iita (Etah), which is located in Foulke Fjord, Northwestern Greenland, and is historically renowned for its association with Admiral Robert Peary during his quest for the North Pole. Sitting on a prominent alluvial fan the juts out from the north shore of the fjord, the site is covered with extensive evidence of historic and late prehistoric use in the form of winter house depressions, tent rings, burials, fox traps, and food storage caches. In the summer of 2006, the Inglefield Land Archaeology Project investigated two historic indigenous winter houses as part of a multiyear study of the dynamic cultural changes the Inughuit (Polar Inuit) underwent because of contact with Europeans, Americans, other Inuit groups, and environmental shifts between AD 1700 and 1920. During the excavations of the houses it was discovered that the site contained stratified archaeological deposits, which are exceedingly rare in the High Arctic of North America (most remains sit on the surface of the ground) and invaluable resources for archaeologists trying to reconstruct the prehistoric use of area. It was clear that the buried deposits went back to the Early Thule (AD 1300-1600), the ancestors of the Inuit populations living in the arctic today, as a buried house from the period was discovered. However, in one small section of an excavation unit evidence in the form of stone tools, in contexts with old ground surfaces, suggests that the site might contain remains of earlier camps of peoples that occupied Inglefield Land 2400 years ago or more known as the Paleoeskimo.The goal of the proposed project is to evaluate whether Iita has the potential to expand our knowledge of the Paleoeskimo use of Inglefield Land. The Paleoeskimo moved into the High Arctic around 4500 years ago but disappeared around 700?800 years ago. Because the 2006 investigations essentially only nicked the Paleoeskimo deposits, the proposed project will undertake excavation of a test trench that will open a larger window into the use of the site. If extensive archaeological deposits are present, the site will become an invaluable resource for understanding the Paleoeskimo use of Inglefield Land and the larger High Arctic region. The excavations will be undertaken in collaboration with the Greenland National Museum and Archives and will provide archaeological training for two undergraduates, one from the University of California-Davis and one from the University of Greenland. It is hope that this small grant will lead to a long-term collaborative relationship with students and researchers at the University in Greenland, and lead to a larger research project on the Paleoeskimo period in Inglefield Land.