Exchange Relations in Prehistoric Northwest Alaska: Phase 2, Tracing Biological and Social Networks

这是一项快速奖励，旨在完成 2010 年开始的研究项目，该项目旨在调查 17 世纪末/18 世纪初占领的阿拉斯加因努皮特村庄之间贸易关系的发展，这一时期特别令人感兴趣，因为它跨越了历史/史前占领边界。 该项目集中于 Igliqtiqsiugvigruaq 村址的发掘，当欧洲探险家首次抵达该地区时，该村就被占领了。 重要的是，该项目将包括对人类遗骸的恢复和分析，这些遗骸最初于 2011 年发现，但在与当地阿拉斯加原住民社区协商完成之前尚未挖掘，这是根据国家公园管理局、国家科学基金会和该地区阿拉斯加原住民传统理事会和社区之间的第 106 条协议备忘录中商定的，以及根据《美国原住民坟墓保护和归还法案》(NAGPRA) 的要求。该遗址是阿拉斯加西北部唯一已知的原始历史遗址之一，其保存和访问提供了了解该地区人们在与西方接触前夕的生活方式的机会，这是欧洲贸易物品在欧洲人到来之前首次出现的时期。 此外，其中一所房屋中存在人类遗骸这一事实增加了研究人员和当地社区的兴趣。 应当地阿拉斯加原住民社区的要求，对人类遗骸的分析将包括由牛津大学（英格兰）考古学和艺术史研究实验室稳定同位素实验室的 Peter Ditchfield 博士进行的古饮食研究，以确定饥饿或营养状况是否导致死亡。 同样应当地阿拉斯加原住民社区的要求，犹他大学的 Dennis O'Rourke 博士将对房屋中的人类遗骸进行 DNA 分析，作为他对北极阿拉斯加人民古代和现代遗传史的更大规模研究的一部分。 该项目将完成该地区的地球物理测绘，以确定该地点各种结构之间的关系，这项研究有望为对埋藏的人类活动进行无损研究提供新技术和方法。 最后，该项目将继续对与该遗址相关的在世后裔的家谱和社会历史进行口述历史研究，这有助于开发新的方法来整合考古和口述历史发现，以解决当地利益和历史重要性的问题。 该研究项目为科学团队与阿拉斯加原住民合作调查其祖先和后代家庭之间的遗传关系提供了一个重要机会，这种合作在阿拉斯加西北部是前所未有的，并有可能为未来阿拉斯加原住民-科学家-州和联邦机构的合作提供典范。 此外，与科伯克山谷地区当地社区的密切合作有望为科学界如何帮助原住民村长者不断尝试构建可以传承给后代的当地历史提供一个模型。

This is a RAPID award to complete the research project begun in 2010 to investigate the development of trading relationships among Alaskan Inupiat villages occupied in the late 17th/early 18th century, a time period of particular interest because it straddles the historic/prehistoric occupation boundary. The project concentrates on excavations at the village site of Igliqtiqsiugvigruaq, which was occupied when European explorers first arrived in the region. Importantly, the project will include recovery and analysis of human remains, originally uncovered in 2011 but left unexcavated pending completion of consultations with local Alaska Native communities, as agreed to in the Section 106 Memorandum of Agreement between the National Park Service, the National Science Foundation, and the region's Alaska Native traditional councils and communities and as required under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). This site is one of the only known proto-historic sites in Northwest Alaska where the preservation and access provides an opportunity to learn about the lifeways of people in the region on the eve of Western contact, a period when European trade items first appeared prior to the arrival of Europeans themselves. In addition, the fact that human remains were present in one of the houses adds additional interest for researchers and local communities. At the request of local Alaska Native communities, the analysis of the human remains will include a paleodietary study by Dr. Peter Ditchfield of the Stable Isotope Laboratory in the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, Oxford University Oxford (England) to determine if starvation or nutritional status contributed to the causes of death. Also at the request of local Alaska Native communities, Dr. Dennis O'Rourke, University of Utah, will conduct a DNA analysis of the human remains from the house as part of his larger study of the ancient and modern genetic history of the peoples of Arctic Alaska. The project will complete the geophysical mapping of the area to determine the relationships between the various structures at the site, a study that promises to contribute new technologies and methodologies for conducting non-destructive research of buried human activities. Finally, the project will continue oral historic research on the genealogical and social history of the living descendants associated with the site, a contribution toward developing new methodologies for integrating archaeological and oral historic findings to resolve questions of local interest and historical importance. This research project is an important opportunity for a scientific team to collaborate with Alaskan Native people to investigate the genetic relationships between their ancestral and descendant families, a collaboration that is unprecedented in Northwest Alaska and has the potential to provide a model for Alaska Native-Scientist-State and Federal Agency cooperation in the future. In addition, working closely with the local communities in the Kobuk Valley region promises to provide a model for how the scientific community can assist Native Village Elders in their on-going attempts to construct local histories that can be passed on to their future generations.