Current News and Events
Early Farmers of the European Alpine: the Archaeology of Lake Shore Settlements and
Relations to Climatic Changes of the Holocene
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 1ST, 2022
Watch the Replay Here
Prehistoric settlements in lakes and bogs from the period 5000-1000 BCE have been
one of the most important archaeological sources on the early history of European
agrarian societies since their discovery in the mid-19th century. The special preservation
conditions under water provide aerobic conditions permitting the preservation of organic
material such as wood, textiles and others that are usually missing in other contexts.
Large quantities of wood samples allow year-precise dendrochronological dating that
has been systematically applied for several decades. The fine-scale chronology provided
by dendrochronology allows decipherment of the architectural structure of settlements
as well as their building history.
The presentation will provide an overview of underwater archaeological research in
lakes of the alpine region of Switzerland. A short survey of a high alpine site in
the Bernese Alps will be presented to further explore the impact of climatic influences.
The presentation concludes with a reflection on an ongoing research project in lakes
of the southern Balkans.
ANTHROPOLOGY COLLOQUIUM: The Fort Richardson Internment Camp and the Internment Experience
in Alaska during World War II
FRIDAY OCTOBER 7TH, 2022
Dr. Morgan Blanchard Senior Project Archaeologist Northern Land Use Research Alaska
LLC - - -In February 1942, the American government began to intern American citizens
of Japanese descent living in military zones established in California, Oregon, Washington,
and Alaska. However, more than a year before the start of World War II, the FBI began
creating lists of foreign nationals to be arrested in the event of war with Japan.
The resulting arrests began in Alaska the day of the Pearl Harbor attack. This presentation
examines how a chance discovery during a cultural resources survey led to an archaeological
study of the Fort Richardson Internment Camp and the ongoing effort to learn and tell
the unique history of World War II internment in Alaska.
Sled dogs as gifts: An ethnography of dog exchanges among kennels in Alaska
May 6th 9am-11am AKST
Allison Cruz Anthropology MA Thesis Defense Friday, May 6, 9am-11am AKST Room 302
Bunnell Building and via Zoom Sled dogs as gifts: An ethnography of dog exchanges
among kennels in Alaska Abstract: This thesis investigates the social relationships
that develop through the circulation of sled dogs among Alaskan kennels. Drawing on
multisited ethnographic fieldwork in and around Fairbanks, AK, as well as on anthropological
literature on kinship, personhood, and gift-giving economies, it examines how sled
dogs are acquired and exchanged in Alaska. It also offers a novel perspective on the
value of “bloodlines” and the “special relationships” that unite breeders, mushers
and sled dogs. A main argument is that Alaskan sled dogs are exchanged as relational
gifts (rather than commodities). Research results reveal that the value of sled dogs
as gifts reflects the bond that exists in human-canine relationships. This relation
stems from the specific forms of interaction that are at work in the interspecies
team. It is also characterized by a profoundly spiritual dimension that reveals itself
out on “the trail,” a liminal space cutting across the Alaskan “wilderness.” The overall
findings of this work determine that sled dogs, as relational gifts, are central figures
within the mushing community and play a key role in creating multifaceted connections
within and among kennels in Alaska.
