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

柏林考古学长期以来一直被围绕早期史前岩屑组合可变性的意义的问题所主导。微刀片技术出现在白令大陆桥的两侧，似乎表明了现代西伯利亚大陆和北美大陆之间的文化连续性。然而，贝林吉亚14,000至13,000年前的早期组合(称为BP)使这一解释复杂化。除了天鹅点和可能的希利湖村遗址，贝林吉亚最早的组合不包含微刀片，而是以小三角形、泪滴状或有茎的双面点为特征；在阿拉斯加，这些点通常被称为钦达登点。我们理解这些早期两面点组合意义的关键可能是在希利湖沿岸发现的，自1967-1972年原始调查和挖掘以来一直没有发现过。早期发掘中对人工制品和特征出处的不准确记录长期以来阻碍了对该遗址记录的解释，因为有些压缩的地层背景，模棱两可的考古学联系，以及相互矛盾的放射性碳年代。然而，近年来出现了两个新的研究机会，可能有助于阐明希利湖在阿拉斯加中部史前的位置。首先，与J.Cook原始发掘有关的藏品和档案现已可供研究，其次，塔纳纳酋长会议(TCC)的考古学家在附近湖北岸的Linda‘s Point遗址进行了新的实地调查，发现了与报道的村庄遗址相对应的地质和文化地层记录。该项目支持德克萨斯农工大学(TAMU)博士生A·尤尼进行的学位论文研究，该研究包括两个相互独立但密切相关的活动。首先，她将与T.Gillisbie(TCC的地质考古学家)一起指导Linda‘s Point遗址的发掘工作，其次，在T.Goebel(她在TAMU的博士导师)的指导下，她将对新的Linda’s Point组合和库克早期发掘的现有村庄遗址组合进行详细分析。这项研究将考虑到三个主要的研究问题：早期史前岩屑组合变异性的意义，湖滨和湿地环境中的史前聚落和生存策略，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Linda‘s Point矿床的地层背景；2)确定Healy Lake的文化职业顺序；3)在技术框架内确定岩块组合的特征；4)评估遗址组织以应对环境变化；以及5)在多语种和当地兴趣的背景下考虑结果。这些目标将具体通过实地工作来确定地质和文化地层学、实验室分析以确定石器技术活动的特征、通过空间分析来评估遗址组织以及将社区参与纳入考古研究来实现。

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.