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Title: REPORT: Considering Ancestral Unangam Selection Biases in Transdisciplinary Research
Multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research combine data from multiple fields to address critical issues in the Aleutian Islands and elsewhere. One such project is the Aleutian Mercury Dynamics Project, which focuses on changes in mercury concentrations in the Aleutian Islands. The project analyzes modern and ancient bone samples from sentinel species: northern fur seal, Steller sea lion, and Pacific cod, many of which are sourced from ancestral Unangam middens across the Aleutian Islands. Ancient acts of harvest, processing, and discard impart resource acquisition selection biases, which may impact mercury concentration patterns in the study samples. Here we report on a summary of Unangam intersections with the sentinel species as expressed in primary sources such as language texts and narratives. This allows for consistent consideration of ancestral Unangam acquisition and processing selection bias factors in age, sex, species, and elements present in middens for the study focus species.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1935823
PAR ID:
10490335
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Alaska Anthropological Association
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Alaska Journal of Anthropology
Volume:
21
Issue:
1 & 2
ISSN:
1544-9793
Page Range / eLocation ID:
108-117
Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
archaeology Aleutian Islands Unangam heritage language selection bias hunter-gatherer-forager transdisciplinary research mercury studies
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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