Late Pleistocene marine resources from the Bering Glacier Foreland and human coastal migration in the northern Gulf of Alaska region
Abstract Recent research on the Bering Glacier forelands in the northern Gulf of Alaska provides new insights into late Pleistocene/early Holocene shorelines, providing a favorable route for human migration as early as ~16,000 cal yr BP. This route included an irregular coastline with embayments and...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/qua.2018.92 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589418000923 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/qua.2018.92 2024-03-03T08:43:08+00:00 Late Pleistocene marine resources from the Bering Glacier Foreland and human coastal migration in the northern Gulf of Alaska region Yesner, David R. Pasch, Anne D. Crossen, Kristine J. 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/qua.2018.92 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589418000923 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Quaternary Research page 1-17 ISSN 0033-5894 1096-0287 General Earth and Planetary Sciences Earth-Surface Processes Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) journal-article 2019 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2018.92 2024-02-08T08:43:21Z Abstract Recent research on the Bering Glacier forelands in the northern Gulf of Alaska provides new insights into late Pleistocene/early Holocene shorelines, providing a favorable route for human migration as early as ~16,000 cal yr BP. This route included an irregular coastline with embayments and islands offering protection from the open ocean; edible marine invertebrates dating from 15,000 to 5,500 cal yr BP; and marine vertebrates dating as early as 16,000 cal yr BP. The latter included walrus ( Odobenus rosmarus ), bearded seal ( Erignathus barbatus ), and ringed seal ( Phoca cf. hispida ), all associated with pack ice conditions unlike those present today. While this ecosystem could have supported humans migrating along the coastline, and coastal refugia may have existed elsewhere in the region, coastal archaeological sites in the northern Gulf of Alaska and southwest Alaska are no older than ~9,500 cal yr BP. This suggests that the earliest sites have been eroded or destroyed, that the earliest migrants ignored available marine resources, and/or that these migrants did not use a coastal route. In contrast, the earliest archaeological sites in southeast Alaska date to ~12,500 cal yr BP, suggesting migration from interior Alaska to the coast somewhere east of the Copper River delta. Article in Journal/Newspaper bearded seal Erignathus barbatus glacier Odobenus rosmarus ringed seal Alaska walrus* Cambridge University Press Gulf of Alaska Quaternary Research 1 17 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Earth-Surface Processes Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) |
spellingShingle |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Earth-Surface Processes Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) Yesner, David R. Pasch, Anne D. Crossen, Kristine J. Late Pleistocene marine resources from the Bering Glacier Foreland and human coastal migration in the northern Gulf of Alaska region |
topic_facet |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Earth-Surface Processes Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) |
description |
Abstract Recent research on the Bering Glacier forelands in the northern Gulf of Alaska provides new insights into late Pleistocene/early Holocene shorelines, providing a favorable route for human migration as early as ~16,000 cal yr BP. This route included an irregular coastline with embayments and islands offering protection from the open ocean; edible marine invertebrates dating from 15,000 to 5,500 cal yr BP; and marine vertebrates dating as early as 16,000 cal yr BP. The latter included walrus ( Odobenus rosmarus ), bearded seal ( Erignathus barbatus ), and ringed seal ( Phoca cf. hispida ), all associated with pack ice conditions unlike those present today. While this ecosystem could have supported humans migrating along the coastline, and coastal refugia may have existed elsewhere in the region, coastal archaeological sites in the northern Gulf of Alaska and southwest Alaska are no older than ~9,500 cal yr BP. This suggests that the earliest sites have been eroded or destroyed, that the earliest migrants ignored available marine resources, and/or that these migrants did not use a coastal route. In contrast, the earliest archaeological sites in southeast Alaska date to ~12,500 cal yr BP, suggesting migration from interior Alaska to the coast somewhere east of the Copper River delta. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Yesner, David R. Pasch, Anne D. Crossen, Kristine J. |
author_facet |
Yesner, David R. Pasch, Anne D. Crossen, Kristine J. |
author_sort |
Yesner, David R. |
title |
Late Pleistocene marine resources from the Bering Glacier Foreland and human coastal migration in the northern Gulf of Alaska region |
title_short |
Late Pleistocene marine resources from the Bering Glacier Foreland and human coastal migration in the northern Gulf of Alaska region |
title_full |
Late Pleistocene marine resources from the Bering Glacier Foreland and human coastal migration in the northern Gulf of Alaska region |
title_fullStr |
Late Pleistocene marine resources from the Bering Glacier Foreland and human coastal migration in the northern Gulf of Alaska region |
title_full_unstemmed |
Late Pleistocene marine resources from the Bering Glacier Foreland and human coastal migration in the northern Gulf of Alaska region |
title_sort |
late pleistocene marine resources from the bering glacier foreland and human coastal migration in the northern gulf of alaska region |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/qua.2018.92 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589418000923 |
geographic |
Gulf of Alaska |
geographic_facet |
Gulf of Alaska |
genre |
bearded seal Erignathus barbatus glacier Odobenus rosmarus ringed seal Alaska walrus* |
genre_facet |
bearded seal Erignathus barbatus glacier Odobenus rosmarus ringed seal Alaska walrus* |
op_source |
Quaternary Research page 1-17 ISSN 0033-5894 1096-0287 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2018.92 |
container_title |
Quaternary Research |
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1 |
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17 |
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1792498552002314240 |