Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Paleoindian Technology in Beringia--A Technological and Morphological Analysis of the Northern Fluted-Point Complex

在 Ted Goebel 博士的指导下，Heather Smith 的博士论文研究将调查阿拉斯加凹槽射弹点的技术、形态和背景，重点关注来自蛇形温泉 (BEN-192) 的新组合，蛇形温泉是白令陆桥的一个独特地点，在埋藏且可明确记录数据的环境中发现了凹槽点组合。 凹槽点在美洲很普遍，但在阿拉斯加北部和西北部的白令海峡地区，有问题且无法确定年代的环境阻碍了对其含义的解释，特别是在人类遍布美洲的背景下，而且我们对它们在晚冰期北极和亚北极生态系统中的适应环境几乎一无所知。 到目前为止，它们对阿拉斯加史前早期的归属主要仅基于类型学。 拟议的研究试图通过解决以下问题来解决这个问题：阿拉斯加凹槽尖端的文化历史和适应性背景是什么？ Excavations at Serpentine Hot Springs in 2005 and 2009-2011 have recovered fluted points from a stratigraphically sealed context in association with features interpreted as fire-hearths and charcoal from these features consistently produced dates averaging 10,200-10,000 radiocarbon years before present (14C BP).在此发现之前，要清楚地了解白令海峡考古学和美国第一批研究中凹槽尖端的背景和意义是不可能的。该项目的主要研究目标是 1) 表征从蛇纹石温泉和其他阿拉斯加遗址回收的凹槽射弹点的技术和形态，2) 表征在蛇形温泉和阿拉斯加其他凹槽点遗址进行的技术活动，3) 解释“北部凹槽点复合体”的技术组织，特别是在沉降和流动性方面，4) 调查阿拉斯加凹槽点的起源。拟议的研究将把非公制和公制变量的标准岩石分析与几何形态分析相结合，以获得凹槽点技术和形状的有意义的统计表达。 In this part of the analysis, Smith will draw on materials from 19 archaeological sites in Alaska to establish technological and morphological relationships between the fluted points. In the next component of the analysis, Smith will address the technological organization implemented by Alaskan fluted-point makers, thereby facilitating evaluation of northern Paleoindian behavior in terms of tool-stone acquisition, transport, and mobility.对技术组织的调查将基于对从蛇形温泉、普图和八个可能“类型学上干净”的巴扎特纳地区获得的完整石器组合（包括石器）的分析。 assemblages have been found.为了调查阿拉斯加凹槽尖端技术的起源，并将阿拉斯加凹槽尖端置于古印第安人占领美洲大陆的背景下，将对来自加拿大和美国大陆各地的凹槽尖端收藏进行技术和形态方面的比较分析。 Fluted-point variability and correlations in morphology will be analyzed by a new form of shape-analysis which utilizes geometric morphometrics and allows the entire geometry of the artifacts to be preserved throughout analysis, serving to increase the power of statistical expression.拟议的分析需要前往阿拉斯加费尔班克斯和安克雷奇的博物馆；华盛顿特区；怀俄明州拉勒米； Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta; Victoria, British Columbia;以及渥太华、多伦多和安大略省伦敦，研究这些机构策划的文物收藏。拟议研究的资助将使博士生能够成为可能。候选人 H. Smith 进行必要的分析，将蛇形温泉群和阿拉斯加凹槽点复合体置于更新世-全新世过渡期间人类适应的更大背景中。 拟议的研究目标将产生概括，这将增进我们对北极史前狩猎采集者风险管理的理解，以及北部古印第安人如何应对更新世末经历剧烈气候变化的生态系统带来的适应性挑战。

Under the supervision of Dr. Ted Goebel, Heather Smith?s doctoral dissertation research will investigate the technology, morphology, and context of Alaskan fluted projectile points, focusing on the new assemblage from Serpentine Hot Springs (BEN-192), a unique site in Beringia found to contain a fluted-point assemblage in a buried and clearly datable context. Fluted points are widespread in the Americas, but in the Beringian area of north and northwest Alaska problematic and un-datable contexts have prevented interpretations of their meaning, especially in the context of human dispersal across the Americas, and we still know virtually nothing about their adaptive context in late-glacial Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems. Thus far, their attribution to the early period of Alaskan prehistory has been based predominantly on typology alone. The proposed research attempts to resolve this problem by addressing the question: What are the culture-historical and adaptive contexts of Alaskan fluted points? Excavations at Serpentine Hot Springs in 2005 and 2009-2011 have recovered fluted points from a stratigraphically sealed context in association with features interpreted as fire-hearths and charcoal from these features consistently produced dates averaging 10,200-10,000 radiocarbon years before present (14C BP). Prior to this discovery, a clear understanding of the context and significance of fluted points in Beringian archaeology and first Americans research has been impossible. The primary research goals of this project are to 1) characterize the technology and morphology of fluted projectile points recovered from Serpentine Hot Springs and other Alaskan sites, 2) characterize technological activities carried out at Serpentine Hot Springs and other fluted point sites in Alaska, 3) interpret the technological organization of the ?northern fluted-point complex?, especially in regards to settlement and mobility, and 4) investigate the origins of Alaskan fluted points. The proposed research will combine standard lithic analyses of non-metric and metric variables with geometric morphometric analyses to obtain a meaningful statistical expression of fluted-point technology and shape. In this part of the analysis, Smith will draw on materials from 19 archaeological sites in Alaska to establish technological and morphological relationships between the fluted points. In the next component of the analysis, Smith will address the technological organization implemented by Alaskan fluted-point makers, thereby facilitating evaluation of northern Paleoindian behavior in terms of tool-stone acquisition, transport, and mobility. Investigation of technological organization will be based on analyses of complete lithic assemblages (including debitage) obtained from Serpentine Hot Springs, Putu, and eight Batza Téna localities where potentially ?typologically clean? assemblages have been found. To investigate the origins of fluted-point technology in Alaska and place Alaskan fluted points in the context of the Paleoindian occupation of the American continents, fluted-point collections from localities in Canada and the continental United States will be comparatively analyzed in regards to technology and morphology. Fluted-point variability and correlations in morphology will be analyzed by a new form of shape-analysis which utilizes geometric morphometrics and allows the entire geometry of the artifacts to be preserved throughout analysis, serving to increase the power of statistical expression. The proposed analyses will require travel to museums in Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska; Washington DC; Laramie, WY; Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta; Victoria, British Columbia; and Ottawa, Toronto, and London, Ontario to study artifact collections curated at these institutions.Funding of the proposed research will enable Ph.D. candidate H. Smith to conduct analyses necessary to place the Serpentine Hot Springs assemblage and the Alaskan fluted-point complex into the greater context of human adaptation during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Proposed research objectives will result in generalizations that will advance our understanding of prehistoric hunter-gatherer risk management in the Arctic, and how Northern Paleoindians met the adaptive challenges imposed by an ecosystem experiencing dramatic climate change at the end of the Pleistocene.