Uncategorized
Museums Alaska Executive Director Recruitment
A mammoth discovery: ice-age archaeology in Alaska
Join us for a virtual research update from the Holzman site in Alaska, where a 14,000-year-old mammoth tusk was discovered and a team of experts from around the world work to better understand the first arrival of people into the Americas. Monday September 28, 2:00-3:00 pm (EST). Please save the date and invite your groups, classes, and clubs. For more information, see the attached flyer and abstract below. Register in advance and mark your calendars here.
Abstract: The Holzman archaeological site lies along the west bank of Shaw Creek, a northern tributary of the middle Tanana River in Interior Alaska. Recent excavations have yielded an expedient stone technology alongside well-preserved hearths, avifauna, and large mammal remains including abundant mammoth ivory in deeply buried deposits. Evidence of food preparation and ivory tool manufacture has been dated to at least to 13,700 cal BP. A smaller component at the site dates to 14,000 years ago making Holzman one of the earliest sites in the Americas. A multidisciplinary team including students from all over the world conducted wide-ranging analyses to contribute to our understanding of the human activities and local environmental change in the Shaw Creek valley—an area rich in Paleolithic archaeology.
Environmental Impact Analyst job posting!
Fairbanks, Juneau, or Anchorage – The Department of Transportation’s Statewide Design and Engineering Services division looks to provide technical services to support the Department’s mission to Keep Alaska Moving through service and infrastructure. Our Environmental Office achieves this by developing and implementing environmental policies and procedures to ensure that Department projects and activities are carried out in accordance with state and federal environmental requirements. We also play a key oversight role in providing NEPA approvals, which are required for Federal Highway Administration funding for transportation infrastructure projects. We also prepare compliance reports for statewide programmatic agreements that streamline certain federal Section 106 reviews.
A Letter to the Alaska Anthropology Community
Dear Colleagues and Friends in the Alaska Anthropology Community,
The year 2020 has brought immense changes and challenges to the social interactive work we do in our organizations and communities. Amidst the tensions and uncertainty of the Covid-19 public health emergency, the past few weeks have witnessed a public outcry against ongoing racism in our country. The anthropology community carries a unique role to reflect and critically respond to renewed calls for social justice.
The Alaska Anthropological Association Board of Directors has committed to ongoing advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion within our organization and communities. The Association offers a range of student scholarships and travel grants each year to support emerging professionals and increase access to the annual meeting. In 2019, the Alaska Anthropological Association adopted an Anti-Harassment Policy to promote a professional and welcoming environment that is free from bias and intimidation. This was followed in February 2020 with an open conversation on the policy and a training workshop held in partnership with STAR (Standing Together Against Rape) during the 47thAnnual Meeting of the Alaska Anthropological Association in Fairbanks.
The Covid-19 public health emergency of 2020 has checked our habitual travel patterns and increased financial strain to organizations and individuals within the Alaska anthropology community. It has also brought us together as we work to safeguard our vulnerable populations, support local businesses who are struggling, and find creative ways to move projects forward together. To help address the current needs of our members and communities while continuing to make space for conversations, the 48thAnnual Meeting of the Alaska Anthropological Association will be offered as a virtual conference (#AkAA virtual) in March 2021.
#AkAA virtual will be organized around the theme of fostering a culture of equity through the removal of boundaries. The virtual conference affords the opportunity to offer both research-driven presentations as well as social events that encourage conversations and connections. The boundary-less conference format also offers us a significant opportunity to better serve our underrepresented communities. To increase accessibility, all conference participants will be available to register for free with special features available to AkAA members.
If you are interested in joining the Organizing Committee to help shape the vision of #AkAA virtual, please send a brief note of interest to: alaskaanthro@gmail.com by August 1, 2020. The committee is typically active from September to March with 2-4 hours a week devoted to the conference. Participation is open to all current members of the Alaska Anthropological Association.
The concerted efforts of the Alaska anthropology community during this seminal time can impact the direction of the social sciences for generations. We support you in the good work that you are doing to build partnerships and advance community-driven change.
Sincerely,
Alaska Anthropological Association Board of Directors
Amy Phillips-Chan, President
Morgan Blanchard
Joshua Lynch
Britteny Howell
Sam Coffman
Scott Shirar
AmQua 50th Anniversary Conference “Holding the torch & turning the corner”
Dear Quaternary enthusiasts,
We hope you are staying well, and we look forward to your attendance at this online conference event, reorganized to share our mutual excitement in and dedication to Quaternary science in this time of global disruptions. As you know, the in-person AmQua meeting “Quaternary Futures” has been postponed a year. In its place we have organized an exciting Zoom meeting to help keep us engaged in the interim.
We invite you to join us for daily 2-hour sessions for:
1. a great lineup of speakers who have graciously agreed to present talks in this rapidly restructured online setting.
2. posters and poster “lightning talks” – we have several submissions and encourage new poster proposals (just submit a poster author/s, title, and abstract to qrc@uw.edu by the end of the day June 7th).
3. a Publishing Workshop hosted by Quaternary Research and Cambridge University Press (June 16th)
4. opportunities for collegial discussion about all of the above.
The full program (exclusive of posters at present) can be found on the AmQua 2020 Conference Web Site: https://sites.uw.edu/amq
Instructions for registration can be found on the website or below. To help us manage the meeting we ask you to follow the following 3-step process:
1. Sign-up at Eventbrite well before the conference to receive instructions for the Zoom meeting registration.
a. Sign-up in advance for this meeting: https://www.eventbrit
b. In Eventbright: select “1” ticket. The event is free, but you will be given the chance to donate to AMQUA to support student/early career participation in future in-person AMQUA meetings.
2. Register for the Zoom Meeting: When you receive an email from Eventbright, click on “View Now” button. This will take you to the Online Event Page, where you will follow instructions for registering for the Zoom meeting.
3. After registering with Zoom, you will receive a meeting access link and password, along with additional instructions for how to connect to the conference over Zoom, should you need them. This registration system will help us keep track of attendees and maintain the most secure meeting (i.e., minimize the risk of “Zoom bombing”).
Yours truly,
The AmQua 2020 Conference Organizing Committee and the UW Quaternary Research Center
Call for abstracts for special issue in AJA!
Guest co-editors are soliciting abstracts for a special issue of Alaska Journal of Anthropology on “Current Directions in the Anthropology of Health in Alaska.” Please send 150-200 word abstracts for papers, “research notes,” or any inquiries to corresponding editor, Sally Carraher at sfcarraher@alaska.edu. Abstracts are due August 1, with final paper submissions due December 31, 2020.
2020 Winning Poster: Alaska!
2020 NPS Alaska Archaeology Month Poster: Antler!
This is number two in a series focused on vital raw materials. Last year we focused on clever ways people used wood in the past. This year the poster highlights antler, a valued material in all corners of Alaska and for as long as people have been here because of its great resiliency and plasticity. The range of uses included snow goggles, combs, net shuttles, arrowheads, snowshoe needles, fish hooks, fish spears, war clubs, armor, harpoon heads, and even food, on occasion.
Cast your vote for the SAA poster contest!
Due to the cancellation of the 2020 SAA Annual Meeting, voting for the 2020 State Archaeology Celebration Poster Contest will take place online. Voting is now open until April 8 at 5:00pm EST. Any SAA member or registrant for the 2020 annual meeting will be eligible to participate. View the entries below and consider casting your vote for Alaska’s entry on “Wood!”
Annual Meeting Photos: Group Share
Members are invited to view and contribute to photos from the 46th Annual Meeting in Nome and 47th Annual Meeting in Fairbanks!
Share your favorite moments from the past two conferences here:
Nome (2019): https://photos.app.goo.gl/R7WMvRQt4fuJwRKb6
Fairbanks (2020): https://photos.app.goo.gl/GrUHbVGzaq7tVw8r5