RAPID: Radiocarbon Dating of Birnirk Levels at Walakpa, North Slope, Alaska

Walakpa位于阿拉斯加州Utqiagvik（前巴罗）以南，是美国北极地区唯一一个随着时间的推移同一地点被多个人群占据的考古遗址。这段职业史使人们更容易了解过去的居民如何使用该网站，以及这些用途如何随着时间的推移而变化。瓦拉克帕的第一次发掘发生在1968 - 69年，但大部分遗址仍未被探索。几年前，由于北极的快速变化，Walakpa开始侵蚀入海，保存数据的紧急工作开始了，导致两个不同挖掘的数据需要协调。该项目确定了最近挖掘的文物和样品，用于放射性碳测年和年代建模，以更准确和精确地了解这些考古层的日期，使考古学家能够将1968 - 69年确定的考古层与最近的救援挖掘联系起来，从而更全面地了解Walakpa的考古学。新的放射性碳样品将从已知Birnirk（AD 500 - 1000）文化水平的可靠样品中采集，并将提交加速器质谱（AMS）放射性碳定年和同位素分析。贝叶斯年代学模型的Walakpa网站的放射性碳数据将被应用到产生现实的估计网站的Birnirk存在的日期。这项工作将有助于建立一个更好的区域年表Birnirk和过渡到随后的图勒（公元1000年至1750年）期间在阿拉斯加北坡。该项目还将确保阿拉斯加大学费尔班克斯北方博物馆的材料得到适当的包装、运输和管理，确保这些样本可供后代考古学家使用。研究结果将使研究人员能够一起研究两次挖掘的文物，并指导未来对北坡的考古研究。通过这个项目记录的信息和变化的例子，从一个网站，这是占用了这么长的时间，通过许多变化，当与其他类似的网站的信息相结合，将提供一个更强大的图片古代定居在北坡。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得的支持，通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

Walakpa, located south of Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska, is the only archaeological site in the U.S. Arctic where the same site was occupied by multiple groups of people over time. This occupational history makes it easier to understand how past residents used the site and how those uses changed through time. The first excavation of Walakpa took place in 1968-69, but much of the site remained unexplored. A few years ago, Walakpa began eroding into the sea due to rapid Arctic change, and urgent work to save the data began, resulting in data from two different excavations that need to be reconciled. This project identifies artifacts and samples from recent excavations for radiocarbon dating and chronological modeling to understand the dates of these archaeological layers with better accuracy and precision, allowing archaeologists to link archaeological layers identified in 1968-69 with the more recent rescue excavations, allowing for a more complete picture of the archaeology of Walakpa. New radiocarbon samples will be taken from well-provenienced samples from known Birnirk (AD 500-1000) cultural levels and will be submitted for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating and isotopic analysis. Bayesian chronological modeling of the Walakpa site radiocarbon data will be applied to produce realistic estimates for the dates of the site's Birnirk presence. This work will help establish a better regional chronology for Birnirk and the transition to the subsequent Thule (AD 1000-1750) period on the North Slope of Alaska. The project will also ensure the proper packaging, shipment, and curation of materials at the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, ensuring the samples are available for future generations of archaeologists. The results will allow researchers to study the artifacts from both excavations together and guide future archaeological research on the North Slope. Information and examples of change documented through this project, from a site that was occupied for such a long time through many changes, when combined with information from other similar sites, will provide a more robust picture of ancient settlement on the North Slope.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.