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MILJØFORSK-Miljøforskning for en grønn samfunnsomstilling

LAND: SPARC. Snow Patch Archaeology Research Cooperation - The effects of climate change on vulnerable high mountain heritage environments.

Awarded: NOK 4.6 mill.

The SPARC project has investigated perennial snowpatches (PSP) as hunting grounds and heritage environments with regard to reindeer hunting through many thousand years. In Central Norway some PSPs reveal material remains from hunting, in others regions the PSPs represent mountain passes and the remains related to traffic. The low temperatures in the PSPs result in excellent conditions of preservation. The archaeological material from these sites is important in order to understand the societal importance of past outfield activities in a country where the archaeological deposits have little organic remains. East and West of the watershed in Central Norway regional differences in hunting methods can be observed. In the west individual hunters or hunting in small groups dominate, while hunting is labor-intensive and organized through villages keeping large hunting systems in the east. SPARC has traced hunting on reindeer on the PSPs back app. 5000 years (Neolithic), while the finds from before were predominantly iron age or later. Older layers in the PSPs are rapidly melting and spitting out archaeological material. This represents a research and management challenge. Through 6 WPs the projects throws light on 3 main issues: 1) To secure information on PSPs as heritage environments and uncover their cultural- and natural history (wp 1, 2, 4 and 6); 2) To investigate the PSPs as natural systems, to predict their future as preservation contexts for archaeological remains (wp3 and 4); 3) To inform and underpin heritage management on these dynamic heritage environments and sustain dissemination (wp5). The project has a wide international network of researchers and users through ?The Frozen Pasts» network, associated conferences and is on the editorial board of the refereed Journal of Glacial Archaeology. WP1 (Post Doc 1) has established a database of numerous radiocarbon dates of archaeological material from the case area in Western Central Norway. The material reveals time depth and development of hunting and represents a point of departure for comparative studies with stratigraphical and dates from the glaciological WP3. Through analysis the material has uncovered technological innovation, the collapse of Viking Age homogeneity and the late introduction of the crossbow technology for hunting. And confirms a minimum 5000 year of continual hunting on the PSPs. Large amounts of biological material melts out of the ice, the project`s WP6 (Post Doc 2) investigates natural historical and ecological perspectives on the PSPs. Genetic material from 141 samples of wild reindeer have been collected, covering at least 4500 years. The material, which is presently being analyzed, will throw light on migration patterns and population dynamics in the reindeer. Collection of numerous other species and the analysis of microorganisms contribute to characterizing the inland ice as a nature type and opens up the possibility to illuminate health aspects for animals through the presence of pathogens in the ice. WP2 unravels the history of reindeer hunting in prehistory based on archaeological sources from in- and outside the ice. It throws light on the relationship between man and reindeer and analyzes the importance and organization of hunting for society in Central Norway throughout prehistory. Comparative studies between Canada and Norway have been carried out, facilitated by a guest researcher from Yukon. Comparing notes on archaeological, climatic and preservation challenges as well as methodology. An important contribution is based on the results of field experiments (WP4) with planted replica modules in the ice. The information retrieved is crucial for future management strategies and required readiness with regard to rescuing of fragile archaeological object that are melting out. The project has developed a new empirical understanding of semi-permanent icepatches as physical structures (WP3 PhD) and PSPs as archaeological contexts. In Central Norway the PSPs were established app. 6000 years ago. Mass-balance has subsequently been relatively neutral, resulting in the PSPs being quite stable phenomena. The WP3 has two lines of enquiry, for one to carry out a mass-balance program and on the other hand to investigate the paleoclimatic evidence from the PSPs. Through application of a wide set of remote and direct measuring and analysis the research uncovers a direct transfer value of results between sequences of melting and build-up of the ice with the spatial pattern of archaeological finds, where younger artefacts can be found all over, while older artefacts are only found where the ice front melts back. WP 5 has revealed hindrances in today?s law regulations and management practice between sectors with regard to the PSPs as archives of integrated information on climate, ecology and archaeology. The project hopes to collaborate with the environmental authorities in order to find future solutions.

SPARC focuses on perennial high-mountain snow patches (PSPs) as long-term hosts for hunting environments. The project will address three important and interrelated environmental challenges related to on-going developments in these high-mountain cultural e nvironments, both internationally and in Norway, in particular. In certain regions PSPs contain important prehistoric artefacts, ecofacts and sites. The low-temperature conditions associated with these sites make for excellent preservation of organic rema ins, sometimes surviving inside the ice for thousands of years. In recent years, PSPs have been receding, thus subjecting archaeological sites and fragile finds containing important and generally unknown cultural historical and indirect climate informatio n to exposure and deterioration. Firstly, there is the challenge of securing information related to the PSP heritage environments and uncovering their cultural historical significance; secondly, to investigate PSPs and their development as a natural syste ms in order to be able to predict future challenges regarding heritage preservation; and thirdly, to underpin heritage management, organization and dissemination. Through integrated modeling, SPARC aims to develop an inter-disciplinary methodology to cont ribute new research-based knowledge and monitoring to effectively address the complex, inter-related and multidimensional challenges posed. In order to strengthen the Norwegian research base, SPARC brings together key research environments within the fiel d of glacial archaeology to establish a critical mass and a focal point for research exchange between regions of the world where such environments are recognized.

Publications from Cristin

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MILJØFORSK-Miljøforskning for en grønn samfunnsomstilling