Cultural Identity, Subsistence, and the Potential for Epigenetic Research in Togiak, Alaska

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Temyiq Tuyuryaq: Collaborative Archaeology the Yup’iit Way" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The contemporary village of Togiak, and the old village site, Temyiq Tuyuryaq (Old Togiak), together represent a multigenerational Yup’ik village in northern Bristol Bay, Alaska (K. Barnett 2018). Cultural identity has been, and continues to be, heavily influenced by subsistence. Throughout the past 1300 years the region has experienced ecological variation and the encroachment of colonial marketplace, along with other colonial impacts, that have impacted subsistence and dietary practice. The emerging field of epigenetics is providing new avenues for exploring the effects of generational effects of colonialism, environmental factors, and their resulting modification to DNA. Temyiq Tuyuryaq provides a unique opportunity to explore these question in an archaeological context. The outcomes of this research seeks to identify relevant intersects between Indigenous archaeology and epigenetics that can make considerable contributions to current village concerns and long term community goals that address issues of health and well being, education, and subsistence practices.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Temyiq Tuyuryaq: Collaborative Archaeology the Yup’iit Way   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24692