Nunalleq

The Nunalleq project is to date the largest archaeological excavation in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region of Southwestern Alaska.

The University of Aberdeen Department of Archaeology, in partnership with the village corporation Qanirtuuq, Inc. and the Yup’ik Eskimo village of Quinhagak, Alaska, is working to record archaeological sites threatened by rising sea levels along the Bering Sea.

Nunalleq means ‘the OldVillage’ in Yup’ik, the traditional language of the Eskimo people of the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta and interior and the coast region of Southwest Alaska. Excavations began in 2009 revealing that this ‘old village’ dates back at least 700 years. It is a multi-period prehistoric (or pre-contact by Europeans) Yup’ik winter village site. The waterlogged frozen tundra preserves organic material to an incredible degree. Everything from grass ropes, footwear, salmon berry seeds, ivory harpoons, pottery bowls and insects, along with an abundance of wooden and lithic/stone artifacts and faunal/animal bone remains are recovered at the site.  This abundance of material helps us to build the knowledge of a period in Yup’ik prehistory that up until now has been very little known or studied.

The archaeological team is led by Dr Rick Knecht and Dr Charlotta Hillerdal from the University of Aberdeen and is support by a grant from the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council).

For more information visit their blog at:http://nunalleq.wordpress.com/