Doctoral Dissertation Research: Investigating Community Resilience across Repeated Volcanic Events in Katmai, Alaska

This archaeological project explores the occupation history of the volcanically active Katmai region of the Alaska Peninsula. Archaeological research at two villages abandoned after the massive Novarupta eruption of 1912 will quantify how investments in human, natural, social, economic and built capital affected communities. In a region where the rate of volcanic eruptions in the archaeological record appears to far outpace cultural change, persistent community investments across repeated volcanic events are anticipated to reveal both local and regional strategies for mitigating disaster.

Identifying community characteristics that contribute to resiliency has potential to inform planning around current and future hazards. Understanding these past interactions is critical, as climate change and rising sea levels continue to alter lifeways, affect resource access and destroy cultural heritage across the Arctic and Subarctic.

The holistic community capitals framework will be applied to two multicomponent village sites on the Alaska Peninsula. Katmai Village and Savonoski, situated in different environmental zones on either side of a major volcanic epicenter, were occupied until 1912 when they were buried by approximately 60 cm of volcanic ash. Archaeological features at the sites will be identified and mapped using magnetometry, while targeted excavations will recover radiocarbon samples and diagnostic artifacts to produce absolute chronologies.

Analysis of lithic and ceramic artifacts, including X-ray fluorescence and neutron activation, will contribute to reconstruction of regional exchange networks. Because Katmai Village and Savonoski continue to hold significant meaning for Alutiit/Sugpiat communities living on the Alaska Peninsula today, project participants will co-design an educational curriculum and experiential program that engages local K-12 students and culture bearers with the archaeological study of their history and heritage.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.