Ice Patch Archaeology in Western North America
Lee CM, Kelly RL, Reckin R, Matt I, Yu P. 2014. Ice Patch Archaeology in Western North America. The Archaeological Record. 14(2):15-19
Ice patch archaeology refers to the study of anthropogenic materials recovered in association with retreating snow and ice patches. Global warming is melting perennial ice patches at high latitudes and high elevations, resulting in the release of ancient paleobiological and archaeological materials that, until recently, were in cryogenic-like stasis. Ice patches can attract animals and their human predators and thus maintain a record of human hunting and other activities. The stable ice in these features exhibits little internal deformation or movement and can preserve otherwise perishable materials for millennia. The article reviews some of the issues associated with conducting ice patch research in western North America with an emphasis on our work in Glacier NP, including (1) methods of ice patch identification; (2) expense of the surveys in terms of time, effort and money relative to the rate of return; (3) the wildcard role of interannual variability introduced by weather events; and (4) the inherent beauty of these seasonally restricted alpine landscapes and their connection to living indigenous communities.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Lee, Craig; Kelly, Robert; Reckin, Rachel; Matt, Ira; Yu, Pei-Lin
- Units
- CRCO , GLAC
- Keywords
- Alpine Ecology, Archaeology, Climate Change, Cultural Resources, glacier studies, ice patch archaeology, PWR-toolkit, PWR-toolkit-cultural-resources
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Glacial Features and Processes