Ethnoarchaeological Exploration of the Western Brooks Range, Alaska

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Archaeology of Alaska, the Gateway to the Americas" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The western Alaska Brooks Range contains a diverse arctic ecosystem, scenic landscapes, and deep cultural roots. The foothills of the western Brooks Range crosses BLM, NPS, State, and Tribal lands, and it spans Iñupiaq and Koyukon Athabsacan homelands. Archaeological research from the region is minimal and remains relatively unexplored. This study is a collaboration between BLM and NPS archaeologists to explore cultural practices and material remains from ancestral sites in the area through Indigenous language, traditional knowledge, and oral histories. To pursue this study, the authors conducted literature review, archival research, and listened to oral interviews, then applied this knowledge to material culture from a subset of ancestral sites. Although both authors are outsiders to the Indigenous cultures, through extensive background research they applied an Indigenous methodology to exploring the regions history. Analyzing ancestral sites through Indigenous methodologies provides land managers broadened historical perspectives and establishes diverse mechanisms of investigation during the Section 106 process.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archaeology of Alaska, the Gateway to the Americas   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36847.0