SEPT 20th: ES 162
Presenter: Dr. Craig Lee, Principal Investigator at Metcalf Archaeological Consultants, a Research Scientist II/Associate Professor at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), and an Adjunct Instructor in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Montana State University
Title: Ice Patch Archaeology in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Periglacial alpine snow and ice is melting in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) and around the world in response to changing weather patterns. As it melts, some of this ancient ice is releasing an astonishing array of paleobiological and archaeological material, including trees, plants, animals, and insects, as well as rare and unique organic artifacts such as dart shafts, basketry, and other pieces of material culture. Consistent with the oral traditions of many tribal groups, the GYE ice patch record allows for the conceptualization of the alpine—in ancient times, at least—as an ecosystem in balance where humans and animals alike took advantage of a seasonally-enriched biome; however, much remains to be learned.
Ice patch resources are finite and may be lost in the coming decades. The exposure of ancient archaeological and paleobiological materials by the retreat of moisture-starved and heat-ravaged ice patches in the GYE is a tangible indication of climate change in the Rocky Mountain West, and the impacts transcend the divide between the cultural and natural world. The archaeological record demonstrates repeated use of ice patches by Native Americans for millennia. They were an important element of their sociocultural and geographic landscape.
A project sponsored by the Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee (GYCC) in 2013 resulted in the identification of over 450 prospective ice patches consistent with a posteriori criteria developed from observations at known ice patch archaeological and paleobiological sites in the GYE and elsewhere. Even more recently (2016), the ‘Camp Monaco Prize’ from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center’s Draper Natural History Museum, University of Wyoming’s Biodiversity Institute, and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation enabled a group of scientists from the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado, the Institute on Ecosystems at Montana State University, and the US Geological Survey to undertake an intensive analysis of GYE ice patches, including a coring effort and field survey.