23 July 2013 So much to do in this last week

Journal

Eskimo ART-ifacts

I nearly forgot to include that I spent almost 2-hours at the Inupiat Heritage Center yesterday! There were some pretty cool Inupiat artifacts of the North Slope including many pieces of art, but also some old weaponry, tools, and clothing – many of these are described in the stories I’ve been reading. I was looking for caribou-head shoes, but I didn’t see any ☺

seal bag — What better purse than a seal-stomach? This one would have been used as a bag for many purposes.

tusk carving — Mammoth tusks, such as this, are found abundantly in many parts of Alaska. It's actually the state fossil here -- I'll bet you didn't know that most states have an official fossil, much like a state bird or tree.

Those are some expensive toys! These Inupiat dolls were fashioned from a variety of skins and furs; caribou, wolverine, fox, and seal.

Inupiat photo — I'm not sure how late this photo dates back to, but it shows a man and woman in traditional Inupiat clothing that would have been worn during a celebration.

Too n-ICE of a photo opportunity to pass up

I mentioned last night that I would be going out for a walk – and I did. For nearly 2-hours I scanned the beach and slinked around town, looking for interesting images. I don’t really have the artistic eye, that’s my wife’s talent, but I think it would be difficult to find an un-interesting image in Barrow. My hands were thoroughly frozen at the end of the walk, but here are a few of my shots.

Foggy sea ice — Ice was crashing together and breaking apart -- the sea was angry that day, my friends.

Beach feather — Beauty in this little feather from a little byrdy. What type of bird do you think this came from?

shorebird — Anyone know what this little guy is? A sandpiper? A dotterel?

gull flying — This glaucous gull is HUGE. These birds are one of the most active hunting gulls and actually eat other birds, small mammals, fish, and **carrion**.

geo home — This geodesic home is BEAUTIFUL -- and seems to fit in so well in Alaska.

caribou dump — The left-overs of a caribou -- I think. Sorry for the gruesome image but, with hunting season underway, this is one of the most tame images I have regarding local subsistence. Whale, walrus, caribou -- all are on the menu at the moment.

Today’s fruits and tomorrow’s plans

We managed to “work out of the house” today – our fast internet and library books kept us busy. We’ve setup some interviews with local Emergency response teams to discuss what they believe the biggest threats to be and hear personal stories they have to share. That won’t be for a couple of days, yet. Tomorrow will start with a tour of the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) facilities in Barrow. I hope to find some research regarding changes in temperature, atmospheric composition, weather phenomenon, etc. Then, we’ll join Anne Jensen, an Archaeologist, at her lab to learn about past findings of Inupiat cultural significance. In 1968, many old artifacts were discovered in the loose strata of Point Barrow. It has been, for many years now, falling into the sea as the ocean erodes away at the land. She was recently informed of another ancient home falling into the ocean, and she plans to get out to its remote location soon, though we won’t be joining her for that.

What does Barrow, Alaska, have in common with Iceland?

I received an email today from Carole Crumley. I was informed by Anne that Carole is a big name in science because she was one of the first to do Historical Ecology – putting together all of the science to form one big picture of a given area. She referred me to an interesting website, which I’ll post below:

http://ihopenet.org/circumpolarnetworks/

The website details a very similar research project to what Anne and I are doing, though this project is being done for central Iceland.

Details