Stability assessment, Avayalik Island Cluster, Labrador, Canada, 800-1000 CE

This Rapid Response Research (RAPID) award funded two weeks of fieldwork in northern Labrador, Canada. Parks Canada provided Kaplan the vessel, its crew, and polar bear monitors free of charge to accomplish the project. The goal of the fieldwork was to assess the stability of a Middle Dorset (800 CE to 1,000 CE; CE meaning Common Era or the equivalent of 1,216 years ago to 1,016 years ago as of the present date: 2016 CE) archaeological site (Avayalik-1, House 1), located on an outer island 25 miles south of the tip of Labrador. Researchers investigated the vulnerability of Avayalik-1 to rising sea levels and the thawing of permafrost, with the intention of contributing to discussions on how to assess, monitor, and preserve such sites. This information is of great interest to the scientific community, culture resource managers, and also to the indigenous residents who are in many cases the decedents of the original occupants. Avayalik-1, House 1 is a scientifically unique Middle Dorset site. It was last investigated in 1978, and yielded organic artifacts and faunal remains unsurpassed in quantity and preservation by any other Labrador Middle Dorset sites due to the fact the cultural deposits were permanently frozen. However, given the current warming of the Arctic and the rapid thawing of permafrost, many Arctic heritage sites thought for decades to be safe while in the frozen ground are under threat. Avayalik-1 is such a site. The dataset contains specific archaeology site locations, photographs, fieldnotes, and an archaeology collection inventory. The information is being used to assess the stability of Avayalik-1, a Paleoeskimo site of importance to understanding the prehistory of Labrador, Canada. According to the terms of the research permit, the data collected must be deposited with Parks Canada, the archaeology office of the Province of Labrador-Newfoundland, and Nunatsiavut Archaeology Office. The data can be accessed through those repositories only, for Canada considers exact locations and the contents of archaeological sites protected information. Once the collections are across the border and analyzed they will be published and the data deposited with the approved repositories.本快速响应研究（Rapid Response Research，简称RAPID）项目资助了加拿大拉布拉多北部为期两周的野外调查工作。加拿大公园局（Parks Canada）为保障本项目顺利实施，向研究者卡普兰（Kaplan）免费提供了科考船、船员及北极熊监测人员。本次野外调查的目标为评估位于拉布拉多最南端以南25英里外岛上的中多塞特文化（Middle Dorset）考古遗址——阿瓦利亚克-1号（Avayalik-1）1号居所（House 1）的稳定性；该遗址年代为公元800年至1000年（公元即Common Era，以2016年为基准计算，对应距今1216年至1016年）。研究者针对该遗址受海平面上升与永久冻土融化影响的脆弱性展开了调查，旨在为如何评估、监测及保护此类遗址的学术讨论提供支撑。该研究成果对科学界、文化资源管理者，以及诸多作为原居住者后裔的原住民群体均具有重要价值。 阿瓦利亚克-1号1号居所是一处具有独特科学价值的中多塞特文化遗址，上一次考古调查于1978年开展。由于该遗址的文化遗存长期处于永久冻结状态，其出土的有机文物与动物遗骸在数量和保存完整性上均远超拉布拉多地区其他同文化遗址。然而随着当前北极地区气候变暖、永久冻土快速消融，数十年来被认为在冻土层中得以安全保存的诸多北极遗产遗址正面临威胁，阿瓦利亚克-1号1号居所正是此类遗址之一。 本数据集包含该考古遗址的精确位置信息、影像资料、野外调查记录以及考古藏品清单。相关信息正被用于评估阿瓦利亚克-1号1号居所的稳定性——该遗址是对理解加拿大拉布拉多地区史前史具有重要意义的古爱斯基摩（Paleoeskimo）遗址。 根据研究许可的相关条款，本次收集的数据必须提交至加拿大公园局、拉布拉多-纽芬兰省考古办公室以及努纳齐亚武特考古办公室。鉴于加拿大将考古遗址的精确位置与遗存内容列为受保护信息，数据仅可通过上述三家机构的馆藏库进行查阅。待藏品跨境运抵并完成分析后，相关研究成果将予以发表，数据也将存入获批的官方馆藏库中。