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

这是一个快速奖，以完成2010年开始的研究项目，调查17世纪末/18世纪初被占领的阿拉斯加因纽特人村庄之间贸易关系的发展，这是一个特别有趣的时期，因为它跨越了历史/史前占领边界。 该项目集中在Igliqtiqsiugvigruaq村遗址的挖掘，当欧洲探险家首次抵达该地区时，该遗址被占领。 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完成协商之前尚未挖掘，这是国家公园管理局，国家科学基金会，以及该地区的阿拉斯加原住民传统理事会和社区，并根据《美国原住民坟墓保护和遣返法》（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一个了解西方接触前夕该地区人民生活方式的机会，这一时期欧洲贸易项目首次出现在欧洲人自己到来之前。 此外，其中一所房屋内发现了人类遗骸，这一事实增加了研究人员和当地社区的兴趣。 应阿拉斯加当地土著社区的要求，对人类遗骸的分析将包括牛津大学（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。 此外，应当地阿拉斯加土著社区的要求，犹他州大学的丹尼斯·奥罗克博士将对这所房子里的人类遗骸进行DNA分析，这是他对阿拉斯加北极地区人民古代和现代遗传史进行更大研究的一部分。 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非破坏性研究提供新的技术和方法。 最后，该项目将继续对与该遗址相关的在世后代的家谱和社会历史进行口述历史研究，为开发新的方法学做出贡献，将考古和口述历史研究成果结合起来，以解决当地利益和历史重要性问题。 这个研究项目是一个重要的机会，科学团队与阿拉斯加原住民合作，调查他们的祖先和后代家庭之间的遗传关系，这种合作在阿拉斯加西北部是前所未有的，有可能为阿拉斯加原住民科学家州和联邦机构未来的合作提供一个模式。 此外，与科布克山谷地区的当地社区密切合作，有望为科学界如何协助土著村长老不断努力构建可传给后代的地方历史提供一个模式。

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.