The Cape Espenberg Birnirk Project - A report on the 2016 field season of archaeology, geomorphology and anthropology
Résumé
During a 9-week field season in 2016 at Cape Espenberg, excavations of two driftwood houses including one with human remains were conducted in collaboration with Shishmaref community representatives. Implementation of field conservation procedures helped stabilize organic artifacts upon excavation, while experiments with seal oil and wood-fed fires tested hypotheses on fuel use and hearth function. Past landscapes were investigated by refining the local sea level change chronology to define beach ridge stabilization. Interviews with Shishmaref community members focused on the old objects people collect and a community workshop was conducted in Shishmaref to discuss the project’s summer discoveries.