Scientists know, through sediment and ice core samples, that the Northern Hemisphere underwent a dramatic cooling period between about 2,500 and 4,700 years ago. And when archaeologists found a surprising cluster of bones in an ancient garbage heap here, they suspected that this global climate change may have had a dramatic effect on the island and its inhabitants. Using two sets of artifacts, seal bones and clamshells, as well as some other clues, West and her colleagues want to find out how far the temperature dropped in Unalaska during that cold snap and—if the change were drastic—how did the people and the animals adapt?
The answers to these questions matter. The discoveries that West’s team hopes to make will teach us a lot about present-day commercial fisheries, marine mammal behavior, and global weather patterns, as well as the impact of climate shifts on all these things. Dramatic effects of climate change are already assailing the Arctic—like the rapidly thawing permafrost throughout Alaska—and scientists are beginning to understand better how fluctuating conditions in the far north influence weather around the globe.
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