Cultural wealth, Point Hope subsistence and sea ice

Whale fin slices in the hands of Point Hope locals are evidence of ancient tradition. Subsistence hunting and gathering provide food and raw materials which support rural Alaskan communities. Subsistence activities make possible customs and traditions… they help define culture. A warming Arctic and associated environmental changes threaten these ways of life. Photographer Clark James […]

Bugs & Bones at the Burke Museum. At the University of Washington, Seattle

Seattle, Washington– A sticky strip of fly paper lays along the floor at the door of a tiny room.  “Step over,” says Jeff Bradley, collections Manager in mammalogy at the Burke Museum in Seattle.  A group of visiting anthropologists and archaeologists step over the sticky strip and crowd together as Bradley opens a 2 X […]

Tern Tail and Shark’s Tooth

Laura Nielsen for Frontier Scientists The Karluk One archaeological site, situated on the shores of modern-day Kodiak Island, Alaska, was exceptionally well-preserved. The location of an ancient settlement where Alutiiq people once resided, the site was occupied from 1400AD to 1800AD and held an abundance of astounding artifacts. Its location turned out to be unfortunate. […]

History in ice, a Paleo-Eskimo excavation

Does watching the archaeologists featured in Paleo-Eskimo videos hard at work– peeling away earth, getting excited over discovering an artifact– summon feelings of jealousy for anyone else? It does for me. The three archaeologists are working to uncover truths 4,000 years old. Situated in Gates of the Arctic National Park, their dig site reveals an […]