Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

COLLAPSE AND ADAPTATION: Comparative Boundary Systems, Prehistory and Ecology in the Arctic.  (COLLAPSE AND ADAPTATION)

Outline
Arctic human adaptation consists of three principal human/environment systems: 1) Marine-based socioeconomic systems, 2) Terrestrial-based socioeconomic systems, and 3) Reindeer husbandry-based socioeconomic systems. Archaeological data provides long-term perspectives on how these systems have developed, adapted and changed over time. The nature of adaptation and system collapse is now widely discussed in the scientific and popular literature but focuses almost exclusively on complex societies in the middle latitudes. The linkages between environmental and cultural changes have long been a mainstay of research in the Arctic. Changes in tree lines and sea ice distributions provide important landscape and seascape boundaries and thresholds for evaluating how humans have adapted to ecosystem and environmental changes over time. The increasing sophistication of Arctic ecosystem modeling, coupled with dramatic refinements of temporal and spatial parameters, invite a major reappraisal and assessment the sustainabilities and collapses of societal and biological systems during the period 8000 – 0 BP. Ironically, the main interest in the Arctic regarding systems collapse has been in the failures of European (Nordic) settlements in Greenland, but equally dramatic examples are a feature of the indigenous archaeological record across the circumpolar North. The effects of epidemiology, technological and economic innovations are important themes for discussion. This project will focus on three regions of study where there is extensive archaeological and paleo-environmental data: Labrador, Northwest Alaska and NW Eurasia (NW Russia and the Nordic North). With long records of post-glacial cultural adaptations these regions form an axis of socioeconomic change based to varying degrees on wild terrestrial and marine resources and animal husbandry that make them ideal for studying the linkages between biophysical change and culture change. These regions were characterized by fluctuations in boundaries between taiga and tundra landscapes and northern seas (Barents Sea, North Sea, Labrador Sea and the Bering Sea). Archaeologists with special expertise in these regions are: William Fizhugh (SI), Stephen Loring (SI), Susan Kaplan (Bowdoin College), Douglas Anderson (Brown University), Dan Odess (University of Alaska Fairbanks), Natalia Fedorova (RAS), Andre Golovnev (RAS) and Noel Broadbent (SI). They can serve as the primary investigators and also direct graduate students within the framework of the project. Collaboration with Native organizations in each region is planned. Three core questions posed by this project are: 1)How have cultural boundaries and identities coincided with or changed with shifts in the taiga, tundra and sea ice boundaries? 2)What is the interplay of marine-based and terrestrial-based human systems over time? 3)How have arctic communities succeeded or failed in maintaining their identities and sustainability in these landscapes over time?

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
This project will advance IPY themes by addressing change (Theme 2), the Arctic as a vantage point for studying human/environment interactions (Themes 5 & 6), and through graduate student education and research. Archaeology is poised especially well for the integration of the natural and social sciences in the Arctic. Geology (shoreline studies, stratigraphy and soil chemistry), archaeozoology, anthropology, place-name analysis and indigenous involvement in the research project (Saami,Inuit, Komi, Nenets Khanty)make this a truly interdisciplinary and international project.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
United States,Canada, Russia, Norway, Finland and Sweden

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, NW Russia (Yamal), Labrador, NW Alaska.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 01/2007 - 01/2009            
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
none

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?

Use of existing infrastructure

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
not yet

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
New

This project will build on previous research results as well as new research to be conducted during the IPY.

How will the project be organised and managed?
The main coordination with be through the Smithsonian Institution, Arctic Studies Center, in collaboration with the individual PIs at the University of Alaska, Bowdoin College, Brown University and the Russian Academy of Sciences.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Education will take the form of direct student and community involvment, graduate education, and outreach through a traveling exhibit, webpages and publications, which is a major strength of the Smithsonian Institution.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
All archaeological materials must remain in the individual countries. Copies of data will be archived at the Smithsonian Institution.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
The PIs will seek funds from NSF, National Geographic Society, Wenner Gren and other foundations.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
None

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr William Fitzhugh
Arctic Studies Center, Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History (MRC 112)
Washington, D.C.
20013-7012
USA

Tel: 202 633 1887
Mobile: no
Fax: 202 357 2684
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation