Gerad Smith
Expertise: Subarctic and Arctic Archaeology; Intersite Variability; Site Structure and Organization; Spatial Analysis; Field Survey and Excavation; Cultural Resource Management; Multivariate Statistical Analysis; Lithic and Faunal Analysis; Geographic Information Systems, Footprint/Ichnology Analysis (forensic and morphometric), Photomodelling, Hunter Gatherer Ecology
less
InterestsView All (18)
Uploads
Alaska: Swan Point, Bachner, and Niidhaayh Na’. The results show that both ground penetrating radar and auger survey can indicate subsurface geology, important for sites without exposed vertical deposits. Additionally, systematic auger surveys can be used to identify activity areas at large sites and in components up to 4 m below surface prior to full-scale excavation. This can help archaeologists identify earlier archaeological components and target specific areas that are directly
related to their research questions while preserving the rest of the site for future investigations. Compared to traditional shovel testing, auger surveys provide a consistent, efficient, and rigorous method for assessing buried cultural remains.
antler from a tributary of Ship Creek is presented within the context of the local prehistoric record of the area. Direct evidence of prehistoric caribou use in the Anchorage Lowlands is almost entirely absent; therefore, a review of the ethnographic and historical records is provided to present a picture of the role that large game procurement may have played for pre-Euroamerican inhabitants. Caribou were a valued and actively sought-after resource by the Dena’ina on the eastern shore of Knik Arm. Informants from these bands, who typically traveled seasonally into the Talkeetna Mountains to procure caribou, also reported their presence in the upper Ship Creek area.
-Lithic Analysis
-Faunal Analysis
-Ethnoarchaeology
-Geoarchaeology
-Ecological Archaeology
-and much more!
The focus of the current field school will be to explore archaeological components associated with these horizons in the surrounding Shaw Creek flats. This is a great opportunity for field school students to participate in the excavation of an important North American site and will provide experience with cutting edge archaeological equipment and methodology that will provide valuable training for their professional future. Additional field trips will be taken to other important cultural sites throughout the Interior every Sunday.
The Tanana River Valley is a wide river basin with lush stands of spruce, birch, poplar, and willow. The sites are located in the foothills of the Yukon-Tanana Uplands, a region of low elevation hills. The Alaska Range, visible to the south, is typified by peaks rising 12-14,000 feet. The Tanana Valley in the Alaskan Interior has been the focus of northern archaeological research since the 1930s. The oldest site thus far described is the Swan Point Archaeological Site which has been almost continually excavated since its discovery in the early 1990s. The site is representative of all major archaeological traditions in the Interior. Swan Point represents four major cultural components; the earliest is over 14,200 years old, currently the oldest best-dated cultural zone in Alaska. The oldest component of this stratified site contains microblade technology similar to the ancient Diuktai cultural widespread in Siberia. This deeply buried site also represents occupations associated with the Younger Dryas, the middle Holocene, the late Prehistoric, and Historic periods. The Pickupsticks Site dates to ~1000 cal BP, representing a residence feature at a critical juncture of cultural change in the Alaskan Interior.
This website projects over 12,000 indigenous place names in the Athabascan language family on an interactive web map. Access is restricted to researchers. Please contact Smith to request access to the atlas.
https://sites.google.com/a/alaska.edu/denemapped/
Alaska: Swan Point, Bachner, and Niidhaayh Na’. The results show that both ground penetrating radar and auger survey can indicate subsurface geology, important for sites without exposed vertical deposits. Additionally, systematic auger surveys can be used to identify activity areas at large sites and in components up to 4 m below surface prior to full-scale excavation. This can help archaeologists identify earlier archaeological components and target specific areas that are directly
related to their research questions while preserving the rest of the site for future investigations. Compared to traditional shovel testing, auger surveys provide a consistent, efficient, and rigorous method for assessing buried cultural remains.
antler from a tributary of Ship Creek is presented within the context of the local prehistoric record of the area. Direct evidence of prehistoric caribou use in the Anchorage Lowlands is almost entirely absent; therefore, a review of the ethnographic and historical records is provided to present a picture of the role that large game procurement may have played for pre-Euroamerican inhabitants. Caribou were a valued and actively sought-after resource by the Dena’ina on the eastern shore of Knik Arm. Informants from these bands, who typically traveled seasonally into the Talkeetna Mountains to procure caribou, also reported their presence in the upper Ship Creek area.
-Lithic Analysis
-Faunal Analysis
-Ethnoarchaeology
-Geoarchaeology
-Ecological Archaeology
-and much more!
The focus of the current field school will be to explore archaeological components associated with these horizons in the surrounding Shaw Creek flats. This is a great opportunity for field school students to participate in the excavation of an important North American site and will provide experience with cutting edge archaeological equipment and methodology that will provide valuable training for their professional future. Additional field trips will be taken to other important cultural sites throughout the Interior every Sunday.
The Tanana River Valley is a wide river basin with lush stands of spruce, birch, poplar, and willow. The sites are located in the foothills of the Yukon-Tanana Uplands, a region of low elevation hills. The Alaska Range, visible to the south, is typified by peaks rising 12-14,000 feet. The Tanana Valley in the Alaskan Interior has been the focus of northern archaeological research since the 1930s. The oldest site thus far described is the Swan Point Archaeological Site which has been almost continually excavated since its discovery in the early 1990s. The site is representative of all major archaeological traditions in the Interior. Swan Point represents four major cultural components; the earliest is over 14,200 years old, currently the oldest best-dated cultural zone in Alaska. The oldest component of this stratified site contains microblade technology similar to the ancient Diuktai cultural widespread in Siberia. This deeply buried site also represents occupations associated with the Younger Dryas, the middle Holocene, the late Prehistoric, and Historic periods. The Pickupsticks Site dates to ~1000 cal BP, representing a residence feature at a critical juncture of cultural change in the Alaskan Interior.
This website projects over 12,000 indigenous place names in the Athabascan language family on an interactive web map. Access is restricted to researchers. Please contact Smith to request access to the atlas.
https://sites.google.com/a/alaska.edu/denemapped/