RUI: Quaternary Vertebrate Paleontology and Biogeography of Southeast Alaska

9870343希顿自1990年以来，阿拉斯加东南部已成为美国古生物学和考古学的新前沿。人们一度认为，在最后一个冰河时期，这片地区被冰雪覆盖，生命被剥夺，现在看来，这片地区包含了沿海避难所，是陆地哺乳动物（可能包括人类）孤立种群的家园，可能曾是洲际旅行的走廊。包括考古学家、沉积学家、冰川地质学家和遗传学家在内的科学家们正在共同努力，揭开这个重要地区复杂的第四纪历史。我一直是这项研究的古生物学方面的负责人。在国家地理学会的资助下，在汤加斯国家森林和汤加斯洞穴项目（一个主要的洞穴侦察和测绘探险）的支持下，我和我的助手们已经定位并挖掘了丰富的洞穴沉积物，这些沉积物形成了阿拉斯加东南部新出现的观点的主要数据来源。这些沉积物包含了跨越过去45000年的哺乳动物、鸟类和鱼类的记录。1996年，我们在阿拉斯加或加拿大发现了有史以来最古老的人类遗骸，这一发现带来了更全面的研究工作，并帮助丹佛自然历史博物馆的考古学家和合作者E.詹姆斯·迪克森（E. James Dixon）获得了美国国家科学基金会（NSF）的资助，用于1997年的扩大挖掘。我们的密切合作仍在继续，但由于需要更多人力和其他支持，我们不得不寻求独立资助。提议进行一个为期三年的研究项目，以加强对威尔士亲王岛和阿拉斯加亚历山大群岛其他岛屿的洞穴沉积物的挖掘和提供充分的实验室分析。至少要用两个夏天的时间来挖掘发现人类遗骸的“跪在你的膝盖上的洞穴”。这个洞穴有一个连续的化石记录，从至少41600年前到现在，跨越末次盛冰期（LGM），是揭示该地区生物年代学的一个里程碑式的地点（以前挖掘的洞穴沉积物是冰川后：12,300 BP到现在）。挖掘工作必须迅速进行，因为与当地部落组织达成了协议，以便及时将人类遗骸重新埋葬在洞穴中。跪在你的膝盖上的洞穴是一个狭窄潮湿的洞穴，给挖掘带来了许多特殊的困难，但我的专业研究团队拥有在这种洞穴环境中工作所需的经验和设备。在我们的工作中，所有的沉积物都是按照三维网格系统地挖掘出来的，并通过细网进行湿筛，以恢复所有的动物遗骸。在工作的每个阶段都会咨询其他学科的专家，以确保不会丢失关键信息。我们的研究已经证明，之前被认为从未居住在战俘岛的棕熊，实际上在LGM之前和之后都生活在那里，并且可能在整个LGM期间居住在群岛上。LGM中最常见的化石是环海豹（Phoca hispida），目前只生活在北极地区，是季节性海冰的气候指标。我们在LGM之前和之后发现了不同的啮齿动物种群，其中一些反映了从冰河时代的高山条件到现在占据阿拉斯加东南部的茂密雨林的气候变化。这项研究有望提供该地区详细的生物和气候年表，并解决考古学家关于白令陆桥和北美未冰川地区之间潜在路线的长期争议。到目前为止，我们的发现表明，这个洞穴遗址也可能记录了一段详细的人类历史。我们过去的挖掘时间都很短，而且主要是志愿者的努力。现在需要两个月的实地考察季节和广泛的实验室支持，以充分完成目前的挖掘工作，并将研究扩展到其他岛屿和附近的大陆，那里正在向我们报告新的洞穴沉积物。我们还建议让南达科他州大学的本科生参与到这项工作的各个方面，并让他们在科学会议上就专业主题发表论文。（迪克森博士的国家科学基金会资助也支持来自战俘岛的特林吉特本土实习生进行挖掘和分析。）我和我的同事们相信，这个跨学科和跨文化的研究项目有望大大扩展我们对美国史前史的了解，同时为所有相关方提供独特的教育体验。

9870343HeatonSince 1990 Southeast Alaska has become a new frontier for American paleontology and archaeology. Once thought to have been overridden by ice and denuded of life during the last Ice Age, it now appears that this region contained coastal refugia that were home to isolated populations of land mammals, possibly including humans, and may have served as a corridor for intercontinental travel. Scientists including archaeologists, sedimentologists, glacial geologists, and geneticists are now working together to unravel the complex Quaternary history of this important region. I have been the leader of the paleontological aspect of this research. With funds from the National Geographic Society and support from Tongass National Forest and the Tongass Caves Project (a major cave reconnaissance and mapping expedition), my assistants and I have located and excavated rich cave deposits that have formed the primary data source for this new emerging view of Southeast Alaska. These deposits contain a record of mammals, birds, and fishes that span the last 45,000 years. Our discovery in 1996 of the oldest human remains ever found in Alaska or canada brought about a more integrated research effort and helped archaeologist and collaborator E. James Dixon of the Denver Museum of Natural History to secure NSF funding for an expanded 1997 excavation. Our close collaboration continues, but our need for more manpower and other support has led us to seek independent funding.A three-year research project is proposed to intensify the excavation and provide for adequate laboratroy analyses of cave deposits on Prince of Wales (POW) Island and other islands of Alaska's Alexander Archipelago. At least two summers will be spent excavating On Your Knees Cave where the human remains ere found. this cave has a continuous fossil record across the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) from at least 41,600 years BP to the present and is a landmark site for unraveling the biochronology of the region (cave deposits previously excavated were postglacial: 12,300 BP to present). This excavation must proceed quickly because of agreements with Native tribal organizations to rebury the human remains in the cave in a timely fashion. On Your Knees Cave is a cramped, wet cave that pres4ents many special difficulties for excavation, however my specialized research team possesses the necessary experience and equipment for working in such cave environments. In our work, all sediments are excavated systematically according to a three dimensional grid and are wet screened through fine mesh to recover all animal remains. Specialists in other disciplines are consulted at every stage of the work to make sure that no crucial information is lost.Our research has already documented that Ursus arctos (brown bear), previously thought never to have inhabited POW Island, actually lived there both before and after the LGM and probably inhabited the archipelago during the entire LGM. The most common fossil from the LGM itself is Phoca hispida (ringed seal) which currently inhabits only the Arctic region and is a climatic indicator of seasonal sea ice. We have discovered distinct suites of rodents before and after the LGM, some of which reflect the climatic shift from the alpine conditions of the Ice Age to the dense rainforest that now occupies Southeast Alaska. This research promises to provide a detailed biologic and climatic chronology of the region and to resolve longstanding controversies among archaeologists about potential routes between Beringia and the unglaciated parts of North America. Our discoveries thus far suggest that a detailed human history may also be documented from this cave site.Our past excavations have been of short duration and have been mainly a volunteer effort. Two-month field seasons and extensive laboratory support are now needed to adequately complete the current excavationand to expand the research to other islands and the nearby mainland where new cave deposits are being reported to us. We also propose to involve undergraduate students from the University of South Dakota in all aspects of the work and to have them present papers on specialized topics at scientific meetings. (Dr. Dixon's NSF grant is also supporting Tlingit native interns from POW Island in the excavation and analysis.) My colleagues and I believe that this interdisciplinary and intercultural research project promises to greatly expand our knowledge of American prehistory while providing a unique educational experience for all parties involved.