Tales from the Trench: an analysis of artifacts salvaged from two Western Thule sites in Kotzebue, Alaska

Summary

Monitoring and salvage archaeology is often viewed as an anathema to the archaeological record. Nevertheless, both situations frequently occur within CRM contexts. Here, we present analyses of lithic material, organic tools, pottery, and fauna from two subsurface house features in Kotzebue, Alaska. Radiocarbon dates indicate that the two sites are roughly contemporaneous, dating to the end of the Medieval Warm Period, and are associated with the Western Thule tradition. The materials were recovered during trenching activities for a fiber-optic cable and retain little provenance integrity. However, we argue that the analysis of ‘salvaged’ artifacts, even without ideal stratigraphic or spatial information such as these, can be informative for the archaeological record and CRM companies should encourage contractors to support analysis and research that can contribute to knowledge at both the local and academic level.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16345