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月前往阿拉斯加州的巴罗，参与迅速侵蚀的Walakpa考古遗址的研究和救援工作。Walakpa，或Ualiqpaa，是一个大型的多组件网站，可以追溯到至少1200年前，并包含了北美北极西部的一个主要文化过渡-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斯坦福大学挖掘。20世纪60年代在该地点进行的研究发现了过去北极生活方式和环境的丰富而保存完好的记录。以前的研究还确定了可能更早的北极小型工具传统（ASTT）在现场的职业。如果ASTT占领被证实，Walakpa的记录跨越了整个北极的占领，超过4000年。不幸的是，在经历了多年的相对稳定之后，由于北方环境的变化，该遗址现在面临着日益严重的海岸侵蚀的危险。海冰覆盖减少，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。显然需要立即和迅速在Walakpa作出努力。阿拉斯加北方的野外季节很短，通常只有2-2.5个月，2016年夏天从Walakpa回收材料的需求非常紧迫。自2013年以来，该遗址的快速侵蚀表明，在未来几年内，该遗址可能会完全丧失，尽管由于对遗址本身的程度还不清楚，因此很难预测何时会发生这种情况。未来对该遗址和藏品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引起的分解而丢失之前收集有关该遗址的更多信息。

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.