RAPID: Walakpa Archaeology Rapid Response Project

拟议的项目将支持学生和专业志愿者于2016年7月前往阿拉斯加州巴罗，参与快速侵蚀的瓦拉克帕考古遗址的研究和救援工作。Walakpa，或Ualiqpaa，是一个可以追溯到至少1200年前的大型多组件遗址，包括北美西部北极的一次重大文化转型--Birnirk和Thule文化的迁移和演变--首先由美国自然历史博物馆的Dennis Stanford挖掘。20世纪60年代对该遗址的研究发现了一份丰富且保存完好的过去北极生活方式和环境的记录。之前的研究还发现，该遗址可能更早地占据了北极小工具传统(ASTT)。如果ASTT的占领被证实，瓦拉克帕的记录跨越了北极的整个占领，超过4000年。不幸的是，在多年的相对稳定之后，该遗址现在正处于迫在眉睫的危险之中，因为北部环境变化导致海岸侵蚀加剧。海冰覆盖率下降和风暴频率增加，加上永久冻土融化，正在迅速破坏北坡考古记录和Walakpa遗址。在瓦拉克帕立即迅速作出努力的必要性是显而易见的。阿拉斯加北部的野外季节很短，通常只有2-2.5个月，2016年夏天从瓦拉克帕回收材料的需求非常迫切。自2013年以来，遗址的快速侵蚀速度表明，在未来几年内，遗址完全消失是可能的，尽管很难预测何时可能发生，因为遗址本身的范围还不清楚。未来对该遗址和收藏进行研究的机会是巨大的，但这取决于在该遗址被侵蚀或因气候变暖导致的分解而丢失之前收集有关该遗址的额外信息。

The proposed project will support student and professional volunteer travel to Barrow, Alaska, in July 2016 to participate in research and rescue efforts at the rapidly eroding Walakpa archaeological site. Walakpa, or Ualiqpaa, is a large multi-component site dating to at least 1200 years ago and encompassing a major cultural transition in the western North American Arctic - the migration and evolution of Birnirk and Thule cultures - first excavated by Dennis Stanford, American Museum of Natural History. Research at the site in the 1960s uncovered a rich and well-preserved record of past Arctic lifeways and environment. Previous research also identified a possible earlier Arctic Small Tool Tradition (ASTt) occupation at the site. If the ASTt occupation is confirmed, the record at Walakpa spans the entire occupation of the Arctic, over 4000 years. Unfortunately, after years of relative stability, the site is now in imminent danger from increased coastal erosion due to northern environmental change. Reduced sea ice cover and increased storm frequency, coupled with melting permafrost, are rapidly devastating the North Slope archaeological record and the Walakpa site. The need for an immediate and rapid effort at Walakpa is clear. The field season in northern Alaska is short, typically only 2-2.5 months and the need to recover materials from Walakpa in summer 2016 is pressing. The rapid rate of erosion at the site since 2013 suggests that total site loss is possible in the next few years, although when this may occur is difficult to predict as the extent of the site itself is not well understood. The opportunity for future research on the site and collections is immense, but this hinges on the collection of additional information about the site before it erodes away or is lost to climate warming induced decomposition.