Human and Environmental Histories of the Rat Islands, Western Aleutians, Alaska: The 2014-2015 Research Season

Summary

Our multidisciplinary research team is beginning to model the role of humans in shaping the characteristics of existing southern Bering Sea and North Pacific terrestrial and marine ecologies in the Western Aleutians. During this past research season, we defined new cultural loci, acquired on and off-site pollen/tephra cores, and surveyed the coastal zone on areas of Kiska, Segula, and Little Sitkin Islands. The cultural occupations span Aleut prehistory and the World War II Japanese occupation. They include several large Aleut villages, a previously undefined type of Aleut mound feature, and previously unknown Japanese military construction. Coastal biological sampling paired with isotopic studies of modern and archaeological fauna are providing initial data for a regional, long-term marine food-web model. Pollen cores are allowing us to define volcanic activities, examine local climate trends, and test for Aleut manipulation of local landscapes. Our research is changing commonly held perceptions of human impacts on what have traditionally been considered "pristine" natural land- and seascapes.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage