Collaborative Research: Fishing through antiquity in central Alaska: exploring the abundance and use of salmon through stable isotope, zooarchaeological, and ancient DNA analyses

这项拟议研究的主要目标是重建三文鱼丰度的变化，并探索阿拉斯加中部从上一次冰河时代(约13,000年前)到史前晚期最早的三文鱼活动中人类对三文鱼的利用。今天，三文鱼占阿拉斯加农村人收获的野生食物的最大比例，但在许多上游地区，这种重要的生存资源的可获得性正在下降。对史前鲑鱼丰度和利用的研究可以提供至关重要的数据，以了解鲑鱼供应量的自然变化，以及北方江河人过去如何应对这一重要资源的波动。通过为可持续性和粮食安全规划提供长期视角，项目数据将使阿拉斯加内外的各种鲑鱼利益相关者受益。该项目有很强的教育成分，包括为阿拉斯加乡村荣誉学院(农村和阿拉斯加原住民大学学生的大学预科课程)开发和提供一个基于项目的课程，从而增加代表人数不足的群体的机会。该项目将解决三个问题：(1)阿拉斯加中部的三文鱼丰度是如何随时间变化的？(2)史前觅食者什么时候开始使用三文鱼，他们是什么时候开始密集开发这种资源的？(3)采集者如何应对三文鱼供应的变化？为了解决这些问题，一个多学科小组将使用独立的办法：(A)对人类和动物遗骸的稳定同位素分析将揭示三文鱼对史前三文鱼消费者(如人、狗、熊)的饮食的贡献；(B)对现有动物群组合中的鱼类遗骸进行的动物考古和古代DNA分析将使人们能够重建过去的水产品采购和加工战略；(C)对湖泊内部沉积物岩心的稳定同位素分析将追踪三文鱼丰度的自然波动。这些数据将与觅食经济和流动性模型相结合，以探索多个史前时期三文鱼丰度的文化反应。这项研究将提供必要的动物群同位素数据，以准确重建新发现的太阳河上游(约11,500岁)和托恰克(约1000岁)腹地新发现的多个人类个体的整体古食谱，那里的动物群和初始同位素数据表明，鲑鱼的使用量很大。该项目对北太平洋鲑鱼丰度的自然变化以及了解北方人民过去如何应对这一重要资源的变化提供了前所未有的时间深度。这项研究将提供关于整个人类占领时期阿拉斯加内陆史前生存战略的迫切需要的直接数据。

The primary goals of the proposed research are to reconstruct changes in salmon abundance and explore human use of salmon in central Alaska from the earliest occupations during the last Ice Age (~13,000 years ago) through the late prehistoric period. Today, salmon make up the largest proportion of wild foods harvested by rural Alaskans, but the availability of this important subsistence resource is declining in many upriver areas. Research on prehistoric salmon abundance and use can provide data critical to understanding natural variation in salmon availability and how northern riverine peoples have responded to fluctuations in this important resource in the past. By providing a long-term perspective for sustainability and food security planning, project data will benefit a variety of salmon stakeholders within Alaska and beyond. The project has a strong educational component, including the development and delivery of a project-based course for the Rural Alaska Honors Institute (a college preparatory program for rural and Alaska Native college-bound students), thus enhancing opportunities for underrepresented groups.This project will address three questions: (1) How has salmon abundance varied over time in central Alaska? (2) When did prehistoric foragers begin to use salmon, and when did they begin to intensively exploit this resource? (3) How did foragers respond to changes in salmon availability? To address these questions, a multidisciplinary team will use independent approaches: (a) stable isotope analysis of human and faunal remains will reveal the contribution of salmon to the diets of prehistoric salmon consumers (e.g., humans, dogs, bears); (b) zooarchaeological and ancient DNA analyses of fish remains from existing faunal assemblages will allow reconstruction of past fish procurement and processing strategies; and (c) stable isotope analysis of interior lake sediment cores will track natural fluctuations in salmon abundance. These data will be integrated with models of forager economy and mobility to explore cultural responses to salmon abundance through multiple prehistoric periods. This research will provide the necessary faunal isotope data to accurately reconstruct overall paleodiets of newly discovered multiple human individuals at the interior sites of Upward Sun River (~11,500 yrs old) and Tochak (~1000 yrs old), where faunal and initial isotopic data suggest significant salmon use. This project provides unprecedented time depth on natural variation in salmon abundance in the North Pacific and in understanding how northern peoples have responded to changes in this critical resource in the past. The study will produce much-needed direct data bearing on prehistoric subsistence strategies in the Alaskan interior throughout the period of human occupation.