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

这项研究的主要目标是重建鲑鱼丰度的变化，并探索人类从最后一个冰河时期（约13000年前）到史前晚期对阿拉斯加中部鲑鱼的使用。今天，鲑鱼是阿拉斯加农村地区收获的野生食物中所占比例最大的，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。对史前鲑鱼丰度和利用的研究可以提供关键数据，以了解鲑鱼可得性的自然变化，以及过去北部河流沿岸人民如何应对这一重要资源的波动。通过提供可持续性和食品安全规划的长期视角，项目数据将使阿拉斯加内外的各种鲑鱼利益相关者受益。该项目具有很强的教育成分，包括为阿拉斯加农村荣誉学院（面向农村和阿拉斯加原住民大学生的大学预科课程）开发和提供基于项目的课程，从而为代表性不足的群体增加机会。这个项目将解决三个问题：(1)阿拉斯加中部鲑鱼的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鲑鱼？他们什么时候开始集中开发这种资源？(3)觅食者如何应对鲑鱼供应量的变化？为了解决这些问题，一个多学科团队将采用独立的方法：(a)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（如人类、狗、熊）饮食的贡献；(b)对现有动物群的鱼类遗骸进行动物考古学和古代DNA分析，将有助于重建过去的鱼类采购和加工战略；(c)内湖沉积物岩心的稳定同位素分析将追踪鲑鱼丰度的自然波动。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对鲑鱼丰度的文化反应。这项研究将提供必要的动物同位素数据，以准确地重建在向上太阳河（~ 11500年）和托查克（~1000年）的内部遗址新发现的多个人类个体的整体古饮食，在那里的动物和初始同位素数据表明鲑鱼的大量使用。该项目为北太平洋鲑鱼丰度的自然变化提供了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。这项研究将提供在整个人类占领时期与阿拉斯加内陆史前生存策略有关的急需的直接数据。

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.