Under the supervision of Dr. Jon M. Erlandson, Mr.Todd Braje will examine the archaeology and historical ecology of San Miguel Island over the past 10,000 years, with a focus on understanding the development of human subsistence, settlement, and technology through time. His research will also elucidate the history of human impact on local marine ecosystems. The westernmost of southern California's Northern Channel Islands, San Miguel has been occupied by maritime peoples for at least 12,000 years. The island contains nearly 700 recorded archaeological sites, many of them with well-preserved stratigraphy, faunal remains, and artifacts. Here, long and high-resolution archaeological records can be reconstructed and compared to a wealth of historical, anthropological, biological, and paleoecological data.
The project will examine the archaeology and historical ecology of the south coast of San Miguel Island, an area that was largely unexplored by archaeologists until recently. Careful excavations, surface collection, and mapping will be conducted at six archaeological sites dating between 9500 and 100 years old. Analysis of the resulting faunal, floral, and artifactual data will help build a long sequence of subsistence, environmental, and technological change through time, data that will be compared to similar sequences on the Channel Islands and the California Coast.
Ultimately, the goal of the project is to investigate the modern lessons that can be learned (and applied) in trying to restore marine and terrestrial ecosystems in coastal (and other) environments around the world. The project will benefit a dedicated group of scientists from Channel Islands National Park, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, National Marine Fisheries, and various academic institutions actively involved in the study of island ecosystems (past and present), as well as their restoration and long-term protection. In addition, this project will help train a diverse group of University of Oregon anthropology students in the field and laboratory. Ultimately, the result of this project will be a unique set of data that can be combined in an interdisciplinary study that will address one of the most pressing problems facing humanity today - the management and restoration of our world's oceans.
