A High-Resolution Chronology for the Cape Krusenstern Site Complex, Northwest Alaska

Anderson, Shelby; Freeburg, Adam

doi:10.3368/aa.50.1.49

Cited by 21 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…An alternative possibility is that this slightly older datec. 120 -170 14 C years older than those on E. nigrum and R. tarandus-is evidence for the marine mammal oil effect cited by a number of researchers (e.g., Park, 1994;Anderson and Freeburg, 2013). Dumond and Griffin (2002) have suggested that the marine reservoir effect in the Bering Sea is on the order of 450 -750 14 C years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been suggested that seal oils permeate everything to such an extent that the radiocarbon ages of terrestrial materials are significantly skewed (Park, 1994). Although this idea is widespread in the literature (e.g., Morrison, 1989;Park, 1994;McGhee, 2000;Anderson and Freeburg, 2013), the marine mammal oil effect has yet to be demonstrated empirically.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the excellent preservation potential for organic materials in the permafrost soils of circumpolar regions, researchers have often struggled with constructing what they consider to be accurate radiocarbon-based chronologies (e.g., Gerlach and Mason, 1992;Park, 1994;Grønnow and Jensen, 2003;Betts, 2008;McGhee, 2009;Anstey et al, 2016), and the site of Nunalleq, the subject of this paper, is no exception. The difficulties are much discussed, and numerous authors have contributed to the debate (e.g., Arundale, 1981;Morrison, 1989;Gerlach and Mason, 1992;Park, 1994;Dumond and Griffin, 2002;West, 2011;Anderson and Freeburg, 2013;Ramsden and Rankin, 2013). A primary cause of dating issues-although unrelated to radiocarbon dating itself-stems from the cold and dry nature of northern environments, which results in limited biological activity and in many places almost non-existent soil formation (McGhee, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dating and Digging Stratified Archaeology in Circumpolar North America: A View from Nunalleq, Southwestern Alaska

Ledger¹,

Forbes²,

Masson-MacLean³

et al. 2016

ARCTIC

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ABSTRACT. Through the case study of the Thule-era village site of Nunalleq (GDN-248), this paper presents 14 C dating results and perspectives on the issues associated with radiocarbon dating stratified archaeological sites in circumpolar North America. The objective was to investigate relative variation in the 14 C age of ecofacts with the aim of establishing a hierarchy of dating suitability for Nunalleq that could more widely inform 14 C sample selection on archaeological sites across the North American sub-Arctic and Arctic and Greenland. Owing to the complexities associated with interpreting and establishing the relative chronology of the deeply stratified sod deposits at Nunalleq, we adopted open-area excavation and single-context recording methods. This approach, we suggest, allowed us to eliminate stratigraphic complexity as a source of variation in 14 C measurements and to assess the taphonomic issues associated with dating different ecofacts. In total, 16 samples were submitted for dating, comprising two sets of eight different ecofacts, one from each of two stratigraphically contemporary but spatially discrete contexts. In most instances, the 14 C ages of ecofacts were statistically indistinguishable between the two contexts and support the relative chronological relationships established by excavation. Only Elymus arenarius (grass) manufactures and Heleomyzidae (fly) puparia produced different ages in the two contexts, variations that suggest that these items are unreliable dating materials. As noted in previous studies, Phoca sp. (seal) and Oncorhynchus sp. (salmon) bone collagen demonstrated a strong marine reservoir effect (c. 700 14 C yr.). Picea sp. (wood chips) were marginally older than seeds from edible berries (Rubus chamaemorus and Empetrum nigrum) and caribou (Rangifer tarandus) bone collagen, which provided the most consistent ages.Key words: radiocarbon dating; single-context recording; Arctic; Alaska; Thule; archaeology RÉSUMÉ. Par le biais d'une étude portant sur le village de Nunalleq (GDN-248), appartenant à l'ère thuléenne, cet article présente les résultats de datations par le carbone 14 ainsi que les problèmes liés à la datation des sites archéologiques stratifiés situés dans la zone circumpolaire de l'Amérique du Nord. L'objectif consistait à examiner les variations relatives entre les âges C14 obtenus pour différents types d'écofacts, dans le but d'établir une hiérarchie pour Nunalleq qui pourrait plus largement informer la sélection de matériel à dater sur les sites archéologiques à l'échelle des régions subarctiques et arctiques de l'Amérique du Nord ainsi que du Groenland. Afin de faciliter l'interprétation et l'établissement d'une chronologie relative pour les dépôts de tourbe profondément stratifiés à Nunalleq, nous avons effectué des fouilles archéologiques à aire ouverte et adopté le « single context recording » comme système d'enregistrement. Nous suggérons que cela nous a permis d'éliminer la complexité stratigraphique comme source de variation dans les mesures de l'ac...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dating and Digging Stratified Archaeology in Circumpolar North America: A View from Nunalleq, Southwestern Alaska

Ledger¹,

Forbes²,

Masson-MacLean³

et al. 2016

ARCTIC

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“…Early Paleo-Eskimo people representing the Denbigh, Pre-Dorset, Independence I, and Saqqaq cultures (~3000 to 800 BCE) lived in tent camps and hunted caribou, musk ox, and seals with exquisitely flaked stone tools similar to those used by northeast Siberian Neolithic cultures (3)(4)(5)(6). In northern Alaska, the Denbigh cultural groups were succeeded by the PaleoEskimo Choris and Norton cultures starting around 900 BCE, with the Norton material culture further developing into the Ipiutak culture around 200 CE (6,7). Simultaneously, during the cold period beginning around 800 BCE, innovations in housing and hunting technologies accompanied the formation of the Late Paleo-Eskimo or Dorset culture in eastern Arctic (eastern Canadian Arctic and Greenland), with population growth and more intensive use of marine mammals, including walrus (8,9).…”

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confidence: 99%

The genetic prehistory of the New World Arctic

Raghavan

DeGiorgio

Albrechtsen

et al. 2014

Science

284

274

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Arctic genetics comes in from the cold Despite a well-characterized archaeological record, the genetics of the people who inhabit the Arctic have been unexplored. Raghavan et al. sequenced ancient and modern genomes of individuals from the North American Arctic (see the Perspective by Park). Analyses of these genomes indicate that the Arctic was colonized 6000 years ago by a migration separate from the one that gave rise to other Native American populations. Furthermore, the original paleo-inhabitants of the Arctic appear to have been completely replaced approximately 700 years ago. Science , this issue 10.1126/science.1255832 ; see also p. 1004

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“…; older coastal sites were inundated by early Holocene sea level rise, which did not stabilize until about 5,500 years ago. The early coastal occupation of the region, known locally as the Denbigh phase (4700-3200 BP) (Table 1), is characterized by small, highly mobile foraging groups that seasonally occupied both coastal and interior regions; subsistence 5 included both marine and terrestrial resources (Anderson 1984;Anderson and Freeburg 2013;Giddings and Anderson 1986;Tremayne 2010Tremayne , 2015. Beginning approximately 2000 years ago new Arctic peoples with strong maritime hunting and fishing practices, referred to as the Neoeskimo culture, migrated into northwest Alaska.…”

Section: Development Of Arctic Maritime Traditions In Northern Alaskamentioning

confidence: 99%

GIS Spatial Analysis of Arctic Settlement Patterns: A Case Study in Northwest Alaska

Junge¹

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A High-Resolution Chronology for the Cape Krusenstern Site Complex, Northwest Alaska

Cited by 21 publications

References 29 publications

Dating and Digging Stratified Archaeology in Circumpolar North America: A View from Nunalleq, Southwestern Alaska

Dating and Digging Stratified Archaeology in Circumpolar North America: A View from Nunalleq, Southwestern Alaska

The genetic prehistory of the New World Arctic

GIS Spatial Analysis of Arctic Settlement Patterns: A Case Study in Northwest Alaska

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