Stable and Radio-Isotope Chemistry of the Nuvuk Mortuary Assemblage, Point Barrow, Alaska

University Of Utah, Salt Lake City UT

Investigators

Abstract

This project entails accelerator radiocarbon dating (AMS) and stable isotope analysis of human remains from the Nuvuk Cemetery site at Point Barrow, Alaska. It is complimentary to genetic research directed by Dennis O'Rourke and M. Geoffrey Hayes (OPP-0732846) designed to establish the relationship between burials from this prehistoric cemetery, which are rapidly eroding into the Arctic Ocean, and modern groups now living both along the North Slope of Alaska and in the eastern Arctic. Previous research suggests that eastern Arctic groups originated at Point Barrow; however Nuvuk Cemetery lacks the chronological control necessary to anchor prehistoric genetic variability and provide the temporal framework needed to reconstruct migratory events. Here, the research team will extract and purify bone collagen from 100 individuals for AMS dating and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis. The former procedure will establish much needed temporal control while the latter will allow the investigators to examine dietary patterning over the temporal span of the study. The research at Nuvuk is in collaboration with the community of Barrow, including the participation of Barrow high school students in research activities.