The Kwäday Dän Ts'inchi Discovery: Expanding Our Understanding Through Linked Scientific and Community Studies

• Main Authors: Greer, Sheila, A. P. Mackie, D. Yang, Oles, Frances, K. Mackie, Helwig, Kate, P. Mudie, Joe-Quock, Sheila, Monahan, Valery
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Cryospheric Information Network 2016
• Subjects: Archaeology; Artifacts; DNA; Glaciers; Human remains; Tatshenshini-Alsek Park; Traditional Knowledge; International Polar Year-The Kwaday Dan Ts'inchi Discovery - expanding our understanding through linked scientific and community studies; Nunavut; Yukon; Canada; British Columbia; Champagne; Aishihik; First Nations; glacier; glaciers; International Polar Year; IPY; Tutchone; Alaska
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5443/11449; https://www.polardata.ca/pdcsearch/?doi_id=11449

The Kwäday Dän Ts'inchi Discovery project is one of two confirmed projects within the IPY Activity #435 titled "Recovery Research and Stabilization of Culturally and Scientifically Significant Specimens From Melting Ice and Cryosols." This activity involves science and social science research that has been initiated as a result of the recent melting of glaciers and alpine ice patches. Melting of these scientific "deep freezes" is providing unanticipated data sources that are giving us insight into past northern societies, flora/fauna, environments, and their changes through time. The field work is occurring in different northern Canadian jurisdictions (both Yukon/B.C. and Nunavut), and is operating under the leadership of northern governments (territorial or state) and/or First Nations government representatives. Local communities are directly involved in the projects, directing and/or participating in the fieldwork. They are also intimately involved in the study and interpretation of the recovered materials, as well determining where and how information is publicly released. The materials being recovered from these frozen contexts include ancient artifacts, biological materials including plant macro and micro remains, including recovered human remains. Laboratory work to study both the biological and archaeological specimens and samples recovered during these projects is being undertaking by government researchers based in the north, where-ever possible, working in collaboration with scientists/specialists at southern institutions. The projects that comprise this Activity operate independently, as an informal collective that shares information. Each operates under its own permit, which follows from legislation concerned with the management and protection of heritage resources. Each project has its own funding and administrative framework, while undertaking methodologically and topically similar work. : Purpose: In 1999, the remains of a young adult aboriginal male was found eroding out of a receding glacier in Tatshenshini-Alsek Park in northern British Columbia. The find, named Kwäday Däy Ts'inchi meaning "long ago person found" in the Southern Tutchone language, was made within the traditional territory of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations (CAFN). Champagne and Aishihik is a self-governing First Nation, having achieved a comprehensive land claim agreement (modern treaty) with the Governments of Canada and Yukon 1993. Due to the exceptional preservation, finds such as the Kwäday Däy Ts'inchi discovery can provide unprecedented insights into ancient life-ways and past environmental conditions. This find also sheds light on past use of landscapes today commonly thought to be inhospitable to people. Since the original discovery the province and the First Nation have jointly managed the discovery and the resulting investigations that have taken place. To date, a range of scientific studies have focused on the human remains and directed towards establishing who, or what people, the long ago person belonged to. Analysis of his mitochrondrial DNA have confirmed his aboriginal identify, while study of his dietary history, as recorded in his bones and hair, indicated that for almost his entire life the young man consumed a marine-based diet, i.e., seafood, or piscivorous fish; this means that for most of his life, he had likely lived on or near coastal Alaska. While much has been learned, the potential of the discovery remains to be realized. To address the information, particularly the traditional knowledge data gaps, a research program focused on linking scientific and community-based studies has been initiated. Current investigations include documentation of traditional knowledge regarding the discovery and the area where he was found, including traditional aboriginal travel routes; reproduction of select artifacts associated with the discovery; comparative analysis of the artifacts; and completion of studies focused on identifying living relatives of the long ago person found. : Summary: In 1999, the ancient remains of a young adult Aboriginal male were found eroding out of a receding glacier in Tatshenshini-Alsek Park in northern British Columbia. While previous research has confirmed his Aboriginal identity, this project is examining accompanying artifacts and establishing the identity of any living relatives. This work includes analysis of the DNA of animal parts of the artifacts found with these remains to establish the species represented. As well, analysis is being conducted on pigments from the artifacts to determine their source and origin. These analyses will provide great insights into ancient lifestyles and past environmental conditions.