RAPID: Archaeological Investigation at Iita

最近的气候变暖导致北极永久冻土融化，春季海冰融化提前，秋季海冰形成推迟。因此，曾经受到冰保护的重要沿海考古遗址，由于长期开放水域季节的永久冻土融化和波浪侵蚀，暴露在更大的破坏中，甚至完全消失。通过这个项目，研究小组将在格陵兰岛西北部的伊塔（Etah）这样一个受威胁的地点调查重要的史前和历史考古沉积物。自2006年以来的研究记录了该遗址的快速侵蚀，并揭示了可追溯到1000年前的分层沉积物。这些沉积物代表了两个不同的文化群体，一个是生活在公元1050年至1200年之间的多塞特人，另一个是1200年左右从阿拉斯加的家乡迁入该地区的图勒人（当代因纽特人的祖先）。Iita周围地区拥有丰富的海洋和陆地资源，包括数百万只鸽子，它们在附近的悬崖上筑巢。研究人员希望能找到人工制品和动物骨骼，这将增加我们对这两个群体使用这些资源的不同方式的理解。研究小组还可以确定它们是否同时占据了该区域，如果是的话，它们是如何相互作用的。多塞特人和图勒人之间的接触，如果真的发生了，是北极史前历史上一个经久不衰的问题。伊塔的层状矿床为研究这一问题提供了难得的机会。该团队将把工作重点放在遗址最容易受到侵蚀的区域，在数据永远丢失之前恢复数据。来自鲍登、加州大学戴维斯分校和格陵兰国家博物馆的六名研究人员将在格陵兰Qaasuitsup Kommunia的Iita遗址进行挖掘。在2006年至2012年的工作过程中，该遗址正经历着快速的侵蚀，这是由于在暴风雨的秋季无冰期的增加。2006年对历史背景的挖掘发现，该遗址埋藏着一个早期的图勒成分，并暗示了更早的活动。2012年，J. Darwent和H. Lange的测试证实，至少存在三个可追溯到晚多塞特时期的离散地层层，每个层由无菌砂隔开。这些不同的职业水平提供了一个前所未有的机会来研究和比较定义明确的相对短暂的职业，而不是经常发现的混合的地表和近地表地点。他们提供了了解晚期多塞特文化的许多方面的机会，从开发大量鸽子殖民地的重要性，到当代因纽特人的祖先迁入该地区时鸽子的死亡。早期的图勒水平也存在于遗址中，提供了识别这两个群体之间相互作用的性质和程度（如果有的话）的可能性。在这个偏远的地方，评估、监测和减轻由于侵蚀造成的变化是困难的。这项实地工作将使研究小组能够继续监测这些重要文化资源，并在一定程度上减轻即将发生的损失。

Recent warming has resulted in Arctic permafrost thaw, earlier spring sea ice melt, and later fall sea ice formation. As a result, important coastal archaeological sites that were once protected by ice are exposed to increased damage and even complete loss due to a combination of melting permafrost and wave erosion during the extended open water season. With this project the research team will investigate significant prehistoric and historic archaeological deposits at one such threatened site, Iita (Etah) in northwestern Greenland. Research since 2006 has documented rapid erosion of the site and revealed stratified deposits extending back 1000 years. These deposits represent two different cultural groups, the Dorset, who lived there between AD 1050 and 1200, and the Thule (ancestors of the contemporary Inuit) who moved into the area from their homeland in Alaska around 1200. The area around Iita is rich in marine and terrestrial resources, including millions of dovekies, which nest in nearby cliffs. The investigators expect to recover both artifacts and animal bones that will increase our understanding of the different ways in which these two groups used these resources. The research team may also be able to determine whether they occupied the area at the same time, and if so, how they interacted. The nature of contact between Dorset and Thule people, if it happened, is one of the enduring questions in Arctic prehistory. The stratified deposits at Iita provide a rare opportunity to investigate this question. The team will focus their work on areas of the site most prone to erosion, recovering data before it is lost forever. A team of six researchers from Bowdoin, UC Davis, and the National Museum of Greenland will excavate at the site of Iita, Qaasuitsup Kommunia, Greenland. Due to increased ice-free periods in the stormy fall season the site is experiencing rapid erosion, documented over the course of work at this site between 2006 and 2012. Excavations in historic contexts in 2006 revealed a buried early Thule component at the site and hinted at earlier occupations. In 2012 testing by J. Darwent and H. Lange confirmed the presence of a minimum of three discrete stratigraphic levels dating to the Late Dorset period, each separated by sterile sand. These distinct occupation levels offer an unprecedented opportunity to study and compare well-defined relatively brief occupations, in contrast to the often-mixed surface and near-surface sites more commonly found. They offer the opportunity to learn about many aspects of Late Dorset Culture, from the importance of exploiting the massive dovekie colony, to their demise as the ancestors of the contemporary Inughuit moved into the area. The early Thule levels also present at the site offer the possibility of identifying the nature and extent of interaction (if any) between these two groups. In this remote location, evaluation, monitoring, and mitigation of changes due to erosion are difficult. This fieldwork will allow the research team to both continue monitoring and to partially mitigate impending loss of these significant cultural resources.