Arctic Pasts: Dimensions of Change

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Arctic Pasts: Dimensions of Change" at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The rich and dynamic culture histories of Arctic peoples have for many years been the focus of significant attention, ranging from community-based studies of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (Inuit traditional knowledge) to archaeological research. Many of these efforts highlight resilience in the face of social and environmental change. In a similar vein, due in part to the relatively sensitive nature of its biogeography, the Arctic is often viewed as a region in which the effects of climatic change can be understood in new and profound ways. Even the ways in which Arctic archaeologists do their work are changing for the better. Close partnerships with Indigenous individuals and communities, as well as new theoretical perspectives and methodologies—including those adopted from other fields—are contributing to exciting inter-, multi-, and transdisciplinary research, from studies on materiality and the relationships between humans and nonhuman animals, to Indigenous-focused approaches centered on traditional knowledge. In this symposium, we present a diverse cross section of archaeological and related work currently being carried out across the Arctic that deals in some way with the idea of change.