Monday, April 26, 2010
High in the Mackenzie Mountains, scientists are finding a
treasure trove of ancient hunting tools being revealed as warming
temperatures melt patches of ice that have been in place for
thousands of years.
Tom Andrews, an archaeologist with the Prince of Wales Northern
Heritage Centre in Yellowknife and lead researcher on the
International Polar Year Ice Patch Study, is amazed at the
implements being discovered by researchers.
"We're just like children opening Christmas presents. I kind of
pinch myself," says Andrews.
Ice patches are accumulations of annual snow that, until recently,
remained frozen all year. For millennia, caribou seeking relief
from summer heat and insects have made their way to ice patches
where they bed down until cooler temperatures prevail. Hunters
noticed caribou were, in effect, marooned on these ice islands and
took advantage.
"I'm never surprised at the brilliance of ancient hunters anymore.
I feel stupid that we didn't find this sooner," says
Andrews.
Ice patch archeology is a recent phenomenon that began in Yukon. In
1997, sheep hunters discovered a 4,300-year-old dart shaft in
caribou dung that had become exposed as the ice receded. Scientists
who investigated the site found layers of caribou dung buried
between annual deposits of ice. They also discovered a repository
of well-preserved artifacts.
Andrews first became aware of the importance of ice patches when
word about the Yukon find started leaking out. "We began wondering
if we had the same phenomenon here."
In 2000, he cobbled together funds to buy satellite imagery of
specific areas in the Mackenzie Mountains and began to examine ice
patches in the region. Five years later, he had raised enough to
support a four-hour helicopter ride to investigate two ice patches.
The trip proved fruitful.
"Low and behold, we found a willow bow." That discovery led to a
successful application for federal International Polar Year funds
which have allowed an interdisciplinary team of researchers to
explore eight ice patches for four years.
The results have been extraordinary. Andrews and his team have
found 2400-year-old spear throwing tools, a 1000-year-old ground
squirrel snare, and bows and arrows dating back 850 years.
Biologists involved in the project are examining dung for plant
remains, insect parts, pollen and caribou parasites. Others are
studying DNA evidence to track the lineage and migration patterns
of caribou. Andrews also works closely with the Shutaot'ine or
Mountain Dene, drawing on their guiding experience and traditional
knowledge.
"The implements are truly amazing. There are wooden arrows and dart
shafts so fine you can't believe someone sat down with a stone and
made them."
Andrews is currently in a race against time. His IPY funds have run
out and he is keenly aware that each summer, the patches continue
to melt. In fact, two of the eight original patches have already
disappeared.
"We realize that the ice patches are continuing to melt and we have
an ethical obligation to collect these artifacts as they are
exposed," says Andrews. If left on the ground, exposed artifacts
would be trampled by caribou or dissolved by the acidic soils. "In
a year or two the artifacts would be gone."
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Arctic Institute of North America
Thanks to Arctic Institute of North America for this
article.