Research
My research focuses on understanding how hunter-gatherers have adapted to changes in Late Holocene climate and resource availability, particularly in Arctic and Subarctic island environments. I use my methodological specialties in zooarchaeology and stable isotope analysis to address the human response to changing climate in the context of historical ecology and evolutionary ecology. While my data are rooted in the past, I am interested in using long-term datasets to address contemporary environmental issues, and my research projects derive from contemporary concerns about the long-term effects of landscape change, invasive species introductions, and changing climate in northern regions.
My current research projects focus on the Gulf of Alaska, where I have participated in survey, excavation, and museum work in a variety of island environments. I currently direct both the Chirikof Island Project and the Aleutian Islands Sea Ice Project, and my students and I partner with the Alutiiq Museum on the Ancestral Alutiiq Foods Project. This work is funded by the National Science Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Geographic Society.
Current Projects
