Comparison of Elevations of Archaeological Sites and Calculated Sea Levels in Arctic Canada

Based on a study of postglacial uplift in the Canadian Arctic, it has been proposed that relative emergence can be estimated if the age and elevation of late-glacial marine limits are known. This suggestion is used to construct 5 maps showing the amounts of relative sea level emergence since 4000, 3...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:ARCTIC
Main Authors: Andrews, J.T., McGhee, Robert, McKenzie-Pollock, Lorna
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: The Arctic Institute of North America 1971
Subjects:
Art
Online Access:https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/66185
Description
Summary:Based on a study of postglacial uplift in the Canadian Arctic, it has been proposed that relative emergence can be estimated if the age and elevation of late-glacial marine limits are known. This suggestion is used to construct 5 maps showing the amounts of relative sea level emergence since 4000, 3200, 2400, 1600 and 800 BP. The archaeological sequence of coastal arctic Canada has been artificially divided into 5 corresponding 800-year periods. Eighty-four archaeological sites are examined; 71 of these appear to have been located with reference to contemporaneous sea level. The mean elevation of the 71 sites is only 5.2 m above the interpolated sea level for each period; the Spearman rank correlation between site elevations and interpolated sea level is 0.82. The maps can therefore be used to delimit area of search for cultural remains of specific ages in archaeological reconnaissance, but the relationship is not sufficiently close to allow the construction of a detailed chronological sequence using elevation data alone. Comparaison des altitudes de sites archéologiques et de niveaux marins calculés, dans l’Arctique canadien. Sur la base d’une étude du relèvement post-glaciaire dans l’Arctique canadien, on a proposé que l’émergence relative peut être estimée si l’âge et l’altitude des limites marines fini-glaciaires sont connus. A partir de cette suggestion, on construit 5 cartes montrant les niveaux d’émergence relative du niveau de la mer depuis 4000, 3200, 2400, 1600 et 800 ans. Puis, on divise artificiellement la séquence archéologique du Canada arctique côtier en 5 périodes de 800 ans. Des quatre-vingt-quatre sites archéologiques examinés, 71 semblent localisés par rapport au niveau marin qui leur était contemporain, car l’altitude moyenne de ces 71 sites n’est que 5,2 m au-dessus du niveau moyen interpolé pour chaque période; la corrélation de Spearman entre l’altitude des sites et le niveau marin interpolé est de 0,82. Ces cartes peuvent ainsi servir à délimiter une aire de recherche de vestiges culturels d’âges spécifiques dans une reconnaissance archéologique d’une séquence chronologique détaillée n’utilisant que les seules données d’altitude.