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

拟议研究的主要目标是重建鲑鱼丰度的变化，并探索阿拉斯加中部从最后一个冰河时代（约13，000年前）到史前晚期最早的职业中人类对鲑鱼的使用。今天，鲑鱼占阿拉斯加农村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用性正在下降。对史前鲑鱼数量和使用的研究可以提供至关重要的数据，以了解鲑鱼供应的自然变化，以及北方河流沿岸的人如何应对过去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及其他地区的各种鲑鱼利益相关者受益。该项目有一个强大的教育组成部分，包括农村阿拉斯加荣誉研究所（农村和阿拉斯加本地大学生的大学预科课程）的开发和交付项目为基础的课程，从而提高代表性不足的群体的机会。(2)史前的觅食者是从什么时候开始使用鲑鱼的，又是从什么时候开始密集开采这种资源的？(3)觅食者如何应对鲑鱼供应量的变化？为了解决这些问题，一个多学科小组将使用独立的方法：（a）对人类和动物遗骸的稳定同位素分析将揭示鲑鱼对史前鲑鱼消费者饮食的贡献（例如，人、狗、熊）;（B）对现有动物群中的鱼类遗骸进行动物考古学和古代DNA分析，将能够重建过去的鱼类采购和加工战略;（c）对内陆湖泊沉积物岩心进行稳定同位素分析，将追踪鲑鱼数量的自然波动。 这些数据将与觅食者经济和流动性模型相结合，以探索多个史前时期对鲑鱼丰度的文化反应。这项研究将提供必要的动物区系同位素数据，以准确重建在Upward Sun River（约11，500年历史）和Tochak（约1000年历史）的内部站点新发现的多个人类个体的整体古饮食，其中动物区系和初始同位素数据表明显着的鲑鱼使用。 该项目提供了关于北太平洋鲑鱼丰度自然变化的前所未有的时间深度，并了解北方人民过去如何应对这一关键资源的变化。这项研究将产生迫切需要的直接数据，在阿拉斯加内陆的史前生存战略在整个人类占领时期的影响。

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.