A small interdisciplinary team of researchers will map and sample beach ridges at Cape Espenberg (located on the northern Seward Peninsula, Alaska) that contain traces of human occupation between AD 800 and 1400. The Cape Espenberg beach ridges also offer a wealth of paleoclimate data for the region. The research will take place during August 2007 and will represent the initial phase of a major investigation of climate change and human settlement at Cape Espenberg during a period when a major cultural transition took place in the greater Bering Strait region. This transition underlay the emergence of the Inuit or Eskimo people of northern Alaska and their subsequent spread across much of the circumpolar world. Both events occurred during an interval of changing climates that had profound effects on habitats and resources in the region.
The researchers will map archaeological features, and will sample and core for proxy climate data on the beach ridges at Cape Espenberg that date to AD 800-1400. One ridge that lacks surface indications of past occupation (e.g., former house depressions) will be prospected with the use of a portable XRF analyzer, which may reveal the location of buried features and other remains. The results will represent the initial phase and will be used to plan the subsequent phases of the larger research program, which has been proposed for 2008-2010.
The research will help address fundamental questions about the emergence of the Inupiaq-speaking peoples of northern Alaska in the context of population movements, conflict & competition, and cultural innovation during an interval of significant climate change. The detailed record environmental and human settlement record for Cape Espenberg will contribute to our understanding of Inuit origins. The research also will provide education and training opportunities to graduate students.
