Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Microblades, Bifaces, and the Chindadn Complex: Reinvestigating the Healy Lake Archaeological Record, Alaska

白令纪考古学长期以来一直被围绕着史前早期石器组合中变异性的意义的问题所主导。白令陆桥两侧的微型刀片技术似乎表明了现代西伯利亚和北美大陆之间的文化连续性。然而，白令吉亚的早期组合在14，000至13，000日历年前（cal BP）使这种解释复杂化。除了天鹅角（Swan Point）和希利湖村（Healy Lake Village）遗址外，白令吉亚最早的组合并不包含微叶片，而是以小三角形、泪珠形或茎状双面点为特征;在阿拉斯加，这些点通常被称为钦达登点（Chindadn point）。我们理解这些早期双相点组合的重要性的关键可能是发现沿着希利湖的海岸，自1967年至1972年的原始调查和挖掘以来未被探索。早期发掘中对人工制品和特征出处的不精确记录长期以来阻碍了对遗址记录的解释，因为地层背景有点压缩，考古学协会模棱两可，放射性碳年代相互矛盾。然而，近年来出现了两个新的研究机会，可以帮助阐明希利湖在阿拉斯加中部史前史中的地位。第一，收集和档案有关的J.库克的原始挖掘，现在可供研究，第二，新的实地调查，考古学家从塔纳纳酋长会议（TCC）在附近的琳达的点网站上的北岸的湖，导致了地质和文化地层记录的发现，相应的报告为村网站。 本项目支持了A. Younie博士候选人在得克萨斯州A M大学（TAMU），进行论文研究，其中包括两个独立的密切相关的活动。 首先，T。吉里斯皮（TCC的地质考古学家），她将指导琳达点遗址的挖掘工作，第二，在T。格贝尔（她的博士学位。她将对新的琳达点组合和库克早期发掘的现有村庄遗址组合进行详细分析。这项研究将进行考虑到三个主要的研究问题：在史前早期的石器组合变异的意义，在湖岸和湿地设置的史前定居和生存策略，以及教育和社区参与考古研究的作用。拟议项目的目标包括：1）确定琳达点矿床的地层背景; 2）确定希利湖文化职业的顺序; 3）在技术框架中描述岩石组合的特征; 4）评估场地组织以应对不断变化的环境; 5）在多地点和当地利益的背景下考虑结果。这些目标将具体通过实地考察来确定地质和文化地层学，通过实验室分析来描述石器技术活动，通过空间分析来评估遗址组织，并将社区参与纳入考古研究。

Beringian archaeology has long been dominated by questions surrounding the meaning of variability in early prehistoric lithic assemblages. Microblade technology, present on both sides of the Bering Land Bridge, would seem to indicate a cultural continuity between the modern-day continents of Siberia and North America. However, early assemblages in Beringia dating between 14,000 and 13,000 calendar years ago (cal BP) complicate this interpretation. With the exception of Swan Point and possibly the Healy Lake Village site, the earliest assemblages in Beringia do not contain microblades but instead are characterized by small triangular, teardrop-shaped, or stemmed bifacial points; in Alaska these are typically called Chindadn points. The key to our understanding of the significance of these early bifacial-point assemblages may be found along the shores of Healy Lake, unexplored since original surveys and excavations in 1967-1972. Imprecise recording of artifact and feature provenience in the early excavations have long hindered interpretations of the site's record, because of a somewhat compressed stratigraphic context, equivocal archaeological associations, and contradictory radiocarbon dates. However, in recent years two new research opportunities have emerged that could help elucidate the place of Healy Lake in the prehistory of central Alaska. First, the collection and archives related to J. Cook's original excavation are now available for study, and, second, new field investigations by archaeologists from the Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) at the nearby Linda's Point site on the north shore of the lake have led to the discovery of a geological and cultural stratigraphic record corresponding to that reported for the Village site. This project supports the research of A. Younie, a Ph.D. candidate at Texas A&M University (TAMU), to conduct dissertation research that includes two separate by closely related activities. First, with T. Gillispie (geoarchaeologist at TCC), she will direct excavations at the Linda's Point site, and, second, under the direction of T. Goebel (her Ph.D. advisor at TAMU), she will conduct detailed analyses of both the new Linda's Point assemblage and the existing Village site assemblage from Cook's early excavations. This research will be conducted with three main research problems in mind: the significance of lithic assemblage variability in early prehistory, the prehistoric settlement and subsistence strategies in lakeshore and wetland settings, and the role of education and community involvement in archaeological research. Goals of the proposed project include: 1) to define the stratigraphic context of the Linda's Point deposits; 2) to determine the sequence of cultural occupations at Healy Lake; 3) to characterize the lithic assemblages in a technological framework; 4) to assess site organization in response to changing environments; and 5) to consider the results in the context of multivocality and local interests. These goals will be reached specifically through fieldwork to define geological and cultural stratigraphy, laboratory analysis for characterization of lithic technological activities, spatial analyses for assessment of site organization, and incorporation of community involvement into the archaeological research.