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

白令陆桥考古学长期以来一直被围绕早期史前石器组合变化意义的问题所主导。出现在白令海陆桥两侧的微刃技术，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，早在14000至13000年（约BP）之间的白令陆桥的早期组合使这种解释复杂化。除了天鹅角（Swan Point）和希利湖村（Healy Lake Village）遗址外，白令陆桥最早的组合不包含微叶片，而是以小三角形、泪滴状或有茎的双面尖为特征；在阿拉斯加，这些地方通常被称为chindaden点。我们理解这些早期双面点组合意义的关键可能是在希利湖沿岸发现的，自1967-1972年的原始调查和挖掘以来，这里一直没有被探索过。早期发掘中对人工制品和特征来源的不精确记录长期以来一直阻碍着对该遗址记录的解释，因为地层背景有些压缩，考古关联模棱两可，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位置。首先，与J. Cook的原始挖掘相关的收集和档案现在可以用于研究，其次，来自Tanana酋长会议（TCC）的考古学家在湖北岸附近的Linda's Point遗址进行了新的实地调查，发现了与村庄遗址报告的地质和文化地层记录相对应的记录。本项目支持德克萨斯州农工大学（TAMU）博士候选人a . Younie的研究，以进行包括两个密切相关的独立活动的论文研究。首先，她将与T. Gillispie （TCC的地质考古学家）一起指导Linda’s Point遗址的挖掘工作，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组合和库克早期挖掘的现有村庄遗址组合进行详细分析。本研究将围绕三个主要研究问题进行：史前早期石器组合变异性的意义，湖滨和湿地环境下的史前定居和生存策略，以及教育和社区参与在考古研究中的作用。拟议项目的目标包括：1)确定琳达角矿床的地层背景；2)确定希利湖文化职业序列；3)在技术框架中描述岩屑组合；4)评估现场组织应对环境变化的能力；5)在多元性和地方利益的背景下考虑结果。这些目标将具体通过实地考察来实现，以确定地质和文化地层学，通过实验室分析来确定石器技术活动的特征，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.