Sigma Xi Seminar Series
Sponsored by Sigma Xi The Scientific Research Honor Society
Presents:
Lost Worlds:
Locating Submerged Archaeological
Sites in Southeast Alaska
by
Dr. Kelly Monteleone,
Adjunct Assistant Professor,
Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary
Thursday, October 19rd 2017, 5 pm
University of Calgary, Biological Sciences Room 211
Abstract: How, when, and why people first colonized North America has been the subject of academic inquiry since early European exploration of the Americas in the 1500s. The primary objectives of this research are to develop and test an archaeological land-use model designed to identify areas of high archeological potential on the continental shelf of Southeast Alaska, specifically the Alexander Archipelago. The Alexander Archipelago is an island chain located in the northern section of the Northwest Coast of North America (NWC). Sea level history and glacial geology suggest that the archaeological record prior to 10,600 cal years BP (9,400 14C years) may be submerged on the continental shelf. Global sea level at this time was 120 m below modern mean sea level. A forebulge caused by the weight of the adjacent continental glacier created a maximum land-sea level relationship of 165 m below modern sea level in Southeast Alaska. Research along the NWC has shown that ice-free areas supporting terrestrial mammals existed during the Last Glacial Maximum. To locate and test for sites older than 10,600, it is essential to extend archeological survey to the continental shelf in areas that were either unglaciated refugia or deglaciated during the interval between 18,000 -10,500 cal BP.
Bio: Kelly Monteleone is an underwater archaeologist, a data analyst at Mount Royal University’s Registar’s Office, and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology and UofC. She completed her PhD in Anthropology in May 2013 from the University of New Mexico and is actively seeking an assistant professorship in Canada. She has a Master’s of Science in Maritime Archaeology from the University of Southampton, UK and a Honours Bachelors of Science in Archaeology from the University of Calgary. Her research focuses on locating submerged archaeological sites on the continental shelf of southeast Alaska. Kelly is the 2014 Young Investigator Award winner for the University of New Mexico Chapter of Sigma Xi.