posted February 13, 2023
BCST - Smarter, Not Harder: New Archaeological Survey Methods in the Ice Free Corridor
Are you curious about archaeology, natural science, or palaeontology? You’re in luck! Beringia Centre Science Talks are back for a 4th season.
This week we're speaking with Dr. Robin Woywitka from MacEwan University about his research on the ice free corridor.
Despite its prominent role in the study of initial human occupation of North America, the ice-free corridor contains very few sites dated to immediate post-glacial times. Finding sites in this area is challenging; it is heavily forested, and a dynamic geomorphic deglacial setting complicates site preservation. However, there has only been one systematic survey of the corridor designed to locate early sites, and this was conducted in the late 1980s.
This talk details new survey methods for finding datable sites in the corridor. A suite of landforms in northern Alberta, Canada that hold high potential for the preservation of early archaeological sites are identified using high resolution digital elevation models and digital terrain analysis.