Category: Nuvuk

#Archaeology31–Day 12–Friendship

I’ve been doing archaeology for quite a while, and have made lots of friends. Here are just a few pictures. I notice we seem to be doing a lot of eating…

#Archaeology31–Day 16–Shape

The shape of artifacts and structures can be very important in determining not only what they are (obviously) but also when they were likely to have been made.

Sicco harpoon head from Nuvuk burial Nuvuk-01

Jennie Brower and I found this harpoon head (along with a number of other artifacts) while excavating the burial that first indicated that the site was not just a recent settlement. The shape of this harpoon head, with the pinched “waist” is one that was found at the earliest sites from the Inuit expansion into the eastern Arctic. When I saw it, I realized we were not excavating a late precontact burial.

#Archaeology31–Day 10–It’s Ritual?

The term “ritual object” has become an archaeological cliche for items of unknown use. That’s not to say that people in the past did not have rituals, some of which involved objects. In some cases, objects had no clear practical purpose where they were found, yet had deliberately been placed there.

Unworked rocks from Nuvuk burial 07O54

I would say that the rocks we found in burials at Nuvuk fit into this group. They were much larger than the average rock on that gravel spit, so they had to have been gathered deliberately. They were clearly placed in the grave. Why? We can only speculate. They could have been placed by mourners, somewhat like people may drop flowers in a grave today. Or they could have been given in trade for intact items buried with the person.

#Archaeology31–Day 6–Animal

Polar bears, of course. They hang out around Nuvuk a lot, which is why we always had bear guards. Some days we could see eight at once out on the ice.

Bear sleeping by the trail to the site.

#Archaeology31–Day 2–Throwback Thursday

Well, I’m catching up, so this should have been posted Thursday…

Tour of Piŋusugruk 1994. L to R, Anne Jensen, Jana Pausauraq Harcharek, and Panikpak Doe-Doe Edwardsen (both from NSB IHLC at the time).

#Archaeology31–Day 1–Who Am I?

I am an Arctic archaeologist/anthropologist. I have lived in Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska since 1996. I mostly work on Arctic Alaskan coastal sites and sustainability, and spend a lot of time dealing with erosion, although I am a zooarchaeologist at heart. I chair the SAA Committee on Climate Change Strategies and Archaeological Resources.

Antiquity article out!

A group of us have been working on an article on climate change and the effects it is having on archaeological sites and the cultural heritage and environmental information they contain.  It has finally been published in the journal Antiquity.  It is open access, so you can read it here.  Local sites, especially Walakpa, make an appearance.