| Summary: | This chapter introduces the central issues relating to the archaeology of the North American Arctic, a region stretching 6,000 km from west to east and 3,000 km south to north. The region is characterized by a uniquely detailed ethnographic record, and excellent preservation of organic remains due to cold temperatures, which together allow particularly high-resolution interpretation of the archaeological record. Themes common to all northern archaeology covered in this chapter include the use of ethnographic analogy to understand ancient archaeological cultures, the role of climate change in archaeological interpretation, the construction of chronologies in an arctic setting, and the role of migration and interaction in the arctic past.
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