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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. When archaeologists found a surprising cluster of bones in an ancient garbage heap on the island of Unalaska, 800 miles southwest of Anchorage in the Aleutian Islands, they suspected that this global climate change might 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, the team wants 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 team's discoveries 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.Image credit: Devin Hahn/Boston University
