ABSTRACT: Southern Yukon alpine ice patches: climate change records, caribou history, ancient hunters and much more.

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Abstract

The accidental discovery in 1997 of large concentrations of ancient caribou dung and other organic remains melting from permanent alpine snow/ice patches in the southern Yukon has initiated a variety of multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural research efforts involving Government, University, and First Nations researchers and managers. The seasonal accumulation of alpine snow has provided an excellent preservational environment for the caribou dung and for caribou, bison and sheep skeletal parts, as well as remains of various small mammals and birds. Well preserved hunting implements made of wood, antler and bone are also being recovered from the melting patches. More than 70 alpine ice patches of various sizes and configurations with the caribou dung deposits have now been identified. Ice coring at two of the patches has provided a stratigraphic record spanning 8330 yBP (uncalibrated), indicating the ice patches have significant potential for yielding environmental, biological and cultural information spanning much of the Holocene period. Detailed examination of the ice patches will assist in reconstructing the record of climate change in the southern Yukon, while their locational data provides a basis for modeling former patterns of wildlife distributions. Many of the patches are located in areas where caribou are no longer found today.A variety of analytical studies on the well preserved caribou dung from stratigraphic context have been initiated and more lines of investigation are anticipated. The results are expected to provide insight into the health, diet and habitat of the species through time, the relationship between ancient caribou populations and modern-day herds in the Territory, as well as the evolutionary history of the species. The artifacts recovered from the ice patches range in age from 90 to nearly 7,000 yBP and owing to their excellent preservation state, many of the specimens are unique in Canadian archaeology, as well as scientifically significant. Elements of both bow and arrow and atlatl/throwing board hunting technology are represented in the collections.The formation and degradation history of the ice patches is also being considered. Extrapolating from archival air photos, it is estimated that at their current melt rate, many of these ice patches may disappear within 5-10 years. The urgency for both the biological study of the ice patches and the recovery of the rare hunting artifacts made of organic materials that are melting out of the ice patches is recognized.The presently identified ice patches are located within the traditional territories of three south Yukon First Nations, Champagne and Aishihik, Carcross-Tagish and Kwanlin Dün. Interest in the ancient caribou dung and hunting artifacts is high in these communities. Local oral history reports that the ancestors of all three First Nations relied heavily on the species and actively hunted in the mountains where the ice patches are located. The ice patch archaeological data illustrates a great continuity and time depth to First Nations relationships with caribou, and the strong connections between oral history and archaeology. For the participating First Nations, the ice patch studies provide many opportunities, including a chance for their citizens, especially youth, to be involved in the study of their history, and to link science with community. Citizens of the three First Nations are participating in the field work, in searching the ice patches for artifacts and biological specimens and surveying for related features such as hunting blinds, and interviewing Elders about their people’s history with caribou. This year the First Nations also operated a week-long "Science Camp" for teenagers as an outreach component of the project. Highlight of the science camp week included a visit to a nearby ice patch where participants and visiting Elders saw the ancient caribou dung and helped search for artifacts; and the making and throwing of atlatls, one of the ancient tool forms being recovered from these unique archaeological sites. Looking ahead, it is anticipated that the ice patches and the "gifts from the past" that they are yielding will provide many opportunities for community education and development.

Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology