DDRIG: Exploring Monumental Mound Construction in the Rat Islands, Alaska

在阿拉斯加西部阿留申群岛的老鼠群岛群内的五个地点有114多个土丘被记录在案。通常的理解是，这些土丘是由鸟类鸟粪积累而成的，但考古研究表明，史前阿留申人至少建造了一个这样的土丘，这突显了更彻底地研究这些土丘起源的必要性。该项目调查这些土丘，以更好地了解它们的建造历史，然后链接到阿留申群岛东部关于阿留申纪念碑的既定讨论，并可能揭示至少跨越三千年的泛阿留申纪念碑建造传统。这项研究将与地区性和全球性的数据集相吻合，以扩大对古迹形式和功能及其与人类行为关系的理论理解。更好地了解这些土丘也将推动关于小规模社会对其景观影响的社会环境理论，并将有助于全球人类学关于狩猎-渔民-采集社区之间的群体认同的辩论。这项考古研究项目调查了土丘建筑如何在阿拉斯加阿留申群岛的史前猎人-渔民-采集社区中发出信号并加强群体认同的表达。该项目有四个目标，(1)研究老鼠群岛丘群的沉积历史；(2)研究丘群在拉格特群岛阿留特考古聚落模式中的作用；(3)促进关于人类占领老鼠群岛的知识；(4)促进关于考古识别猎人-渔夫-采集者群体特征的全球讨论。地层学分析、岩屑文物分析、空间分析和辐射测年将用于检查土丘的沉积历史及其在阿留申史前聚落模式中的作用。该项目还将制作史无前例的老鼠群岛高分辨率无人机图像，这将是未来研究人员、野生动物管理和环境监测的宝贵资源。这项研究尤其紧迫，因为这些文化遗址受到气候变化的威胁，因为它们发生在已经开始面临侵蚀影响的海岸线上。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

More than 114 earth mounds have been documented across five locations within the Rat Islands group of the western Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Common understanding is that these mounds were created by the accumulation of bird guano, but archaeological research has revealed that prehistoric Aleutians constructed at least one of these earth mounds, highlighting the need to more thoroughly research the origins of these mounds. This project investigates these earth mounds to better understand their construction history, then linking to established discussions of Aleut monumentality in the eastern Aleutian Islands and potentially bringing to light a pan-Aleutian tradition of monumental construction spanning at least three millennia. This research will dovetail with regional and global data sets to expand the theoretical understanding of the form and function of monuments and their relationship to human behavior. Better understanding these earth mounds will also advance socioenvironmental theories about the impacts of small-scale societies on their landscapes and will contribute to global anthropological debates regarding group-identity amongst hunter-fisher-gatherer communities.This archaeological research project investigates how earthen mound constructions can signal and reinforce expressions of perceived group identity among prehistoric hunter-fisher-gatherer communities in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. The project has four objectives, (1) examine the depositional history of the Rat Islands mound clusters; (2) examine the role of the mound clusters within Rat Islands Aleut archaeological settlement patterns; (3) contribute knowledge about the human occupation of the Rat Islands; (4) contribute to a global discourse about the archaeological identification of hunter-fisher-gatherer group identity. Stratigraphic analyses, lithic artifact analyses, spatial analyses, and radiometric dating will be employed in the examination of the depositional history of the earth mounds and their role within Aleut prehistoric settlement patterns. The project will also produce unprecedented high-resolution drone imagery of the Rat Islands, which will be an invaluable resource for future researchers, wildlife management, and environmental monitoring. This research is especially pressing, as these cultural sites are threatened by climate change because they occur along coastlines that have already begun to face the effects of erosion.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.