Ethnoarchaeological investigation of the Yup´ik seal poke storage

This proposal seeks funding to conduct ethnoarchaeological research of the Native Alaskan seal poke storage system. The seal poke storage system is a highly innovative and efficient subsistence technique and yet no scholarly research has been devoted it. The primary goal of this study is to document how the pokes and storing facilities are manufactured and used and the health implications of changes in the storage of traditional foods. This is important to better identify and model storage facilities in the archaeological record as well as potential health implications of contemporary storage techniques. Though one of the most important aspects of adaptation in the Arctic is food storage, little attention has been paid to 1) how people store their foods 2) how and why storage techniques and materials change over time, and 3) the health implications of changed storage practices and technology. The seal poke system was an ingenious storage technology whole seal skins wherein dried fish were stored and seal fat was rendered into oil. However, today coastal people often store their oil in plastic buckets. This research will document how the pokes are made and used and the possible effects that traditional storing and processing methods in this region may have had on the quality of foods. To address these issues, this project uses a broad-based methodology, a proven research approach the PI has implemented in Yup´ik communities in southwestern Alaska since 1996, which integrates the collection of field data and in this study medical anthropology and laboratory food analysis. Data will be drawn from research in Tununak, Alaska with Yup´ik women and men who have used this storage system in their lifetimes as a critical subsistence strategy that will be lost after this elder generation. This project will record the building of a seal poke storage facility, 2 seal pokes, monitor the use and contents of the pokes over a 2 year period, and will collect qualitative interview data about the system. The quantitative nutritional evaluation of the seal poke oil will be compared with samples from 3 families who will keep their oil in plastic buckets.

本提案申请专项经费，以开展针对阿拉斯加原住民海豹皮囊储存系统（seal poke storage system）的民族考古学（ethnoarchaeological）研究。该海豹皮囊储存系统是一项极具创新性与高效性的生计技术，但目前尚无学术研究对其展开专门探讨。本研究的核心目标是记录该皮囊及其配套储存设施的制作流程与使用方式，以及传统食物储存方式变革所带来的健康影响。这一研究目标对于更好地识别考古记录中的储存设施并构建其模拟模型，以及明晰当代储存技术潜在的健康影响均具有重要意义。尽管食物储存是北极地区环境适应的核心环节之一，但目前学界对以下三方面的关注仍显不足：1）当地民众的食物储存方式；2）储存技术与材料随时间变迁的路径及动因；3）储存方式与技术变革所产生的健康影响。海豹皮囊储存系统是一项巧妙的储存技术：以完整海豹皮为原料，用于存放风干鱼类并将海豹脂肪熬炼为食用油脂。但如今当地沿海原住民常使用塑料桶储存油脂。本研究将记录该皮囊的制作与使用流程，并探究本地区传统储存与加工方式可能对食物品质产生的潜在影响。为解决上述问题，本项目采用了一套兼具广度与成熟度的研究方法：该方法是项目首席研究员（Principal Investigator，PI）自1996年起在阿拉斯加西南部尤皮克（Yup'ik）社区实践过的成熟研究路径，整合了野外数据采集、医学人类学研究与实验室食品分析三大模块。本研究的数据将采集自阿拉斯加州图努纳克（Tununak）地区的尤皮克族男女居民——这些民众毕生都将该储存系统作为核心生计手段，该技术将随这一代长者的离世而彻底失传。本项目将记录一套海豹皮囊储存设施与2个皮囊的制作过程，在为期两年的周期内持续监测皮囊的使用状态与内部储存物，并收集关于该系统的质性访谈资料。研究团队将对海豹皮囊储存的油脂开展定量营养评估，并将其与3个使用塑料桶储存油脂的家庭的油脂样本进行对比分析。