In a scientific first, chemical analysis of ancient Eskimo hair found in Western Alaska could reveal how people in the region lived through times of climate change over the last 1000 years.
It鈥檚 hoped the findings by 黑料网 archaeologists could provide lessons on how modern societies could cope with climate change now and in the future.
A team of experts from the institution 鈥� including Drs Rick Knecht, Charlotta Hillerdal and Kate Britton 鈥� returned this week from a three week dig near the modern Yup鈥檌k Eskimo village of Quinhagak 鈥� the first large scale archaeological investigation into the prehistory of this region, which is three times the size of Scotland.
They will discuss their research and the artefacts they uncovered at the British Science Festival today (Friday September 7).
Dr Rick Knecht from the 黑料网鈥檚 Department said: 鈥淥ur work focused on a site called 鈥楴unalleq鈥� 鈥� meaning 鈥榯he old village鈥� in Yup鈥檌k, which dates from 1350AD-1650AD.
鈥淔eaturing permafrost-preserved house-floors, the site is an early Eskimo winter village, and has yielded tens of thousands of in situ archaeological artefacts and tools.
鈥淪ome, like the preserved beach rye grass baskets and cordage are extremely rare in any archaeological context.
鈥淭he preserved human hair, fur, plant and other bioarchaeological materials are also among the largest and best preserved collections of their kind ever recovered.
鈥淩adiocarbon dating at the site suggests at least two phases of occupation, both before and after the onset of the 鈥楲ittle Ice Age鈥� 鈥� a pre-modern global temperature excursion event.
鈥淒ata from this project is therefore key to understanding human responses to past climate change in the Arctic; understanding human resilience; and the long-term relationship between Arctic peoples and the Bering Sea environment.
Dr. Charlotta Hillerdal, a partner on the project at 黑料网 added: 鈥淵up鈥檌k oral history and science came together as our excavations unearthed direct evidence for pre-contact Eskimo lifeways, origins and history 鈥� from the burnt houses and arrow-studded posts of the legendary 鈥楤ow and Arrow Wars鈥�, to the stable isotope and DNA evidence from permafrost preserved ancient human hair that reveals the diets and origins of the prehistoric Yup鈥檌k people.鈥�
Stable isotope analysis of the preserved human hair uncovered at the site are now being undertaken in a bid to understand the diet of these early Eskimo people and what this reveals about the conditions under which they were living, and how they adapted to a changing climate.
Dr Kate Britton from the 黑料网鈥檚 Department of Archaeology said: 鈥淪table isotope (chemical) 鈥榮ignatures鈥� in human hair are directly related to the 鈥榮ignatures鈥� of foods consumed 鈥� literally, you are what you eat.
鈥淚n archaeological studies, this is used to provide evidence for which animal species were being hunted and eaten. Furthermore, human hair grows at an average rate of 1cm per month 鈥� so by chemically analysing it 1cm at a time we can obtain a month by month dietary 鈥榮ignal鈥� which indicates what these people were eating over a period of time.
鈥淭he hair we have recovered from Nunalleq isn鈥檛 from burials but was cut off during haircuts and has either accidentally ended up on the floor like barbershop waste, or was ritually deposited on house floors.
鈥淲e hope our analysis will allow us to evaluate dietary changes in Western Alaska at this time, determine the contribution of marine and terrestrial animals to the human diet and explore the implications for early subsistence strategies and maritime adaptations.
鈥淚f we can better understand how these people sustained themselves during what we know was a significant time of climatic change 鈥� we could learn important lessons about how these coastal communities have coped with climate change in the past. Arctic sea ice is at a record low, and the issue of climate change is more important than ever, particularly for indigenous communities in the Arctic whose traditional lifeways are under threat. The changing climate not only affects the weather, but also the distribution and abundance of important subsistence species such as salmon, caribou and seals.
鈥淚ronically, it鈥檚 sea level rise that led to the discovery of Nunalleq in the first place. Land is now eroding into the sea all along the Bering Sea coast, and prehistoric objects were ending up on the beach near Quinhagak, where they were first noticed by local people.鈥�
Qanirtuuq, Inc., the village land owning corporation of the Yup鈥檌k Eskimo village of Quinhagak, brought in Rick Knecht and his team at the 黑料网, in an effort to save the priceless artefacts from the sea and gain as much information as possible about how their ancestors lived and coped with their own climate change challenges.