Nunalleq Archeological Site

I am reading a book (that I will report on later) of beautiful essays, one of which concerns an archeological dig near the "city" (pop. 669) of Quinhagak, in the far west of Alaska at 60°N on the Bering Sea. The dig site is called Nunalleq ("old village" in Yup'ik) and dates back to about 1540 (if not earlier). Because the site is being steadily eroded as the permafrost melts and the sea encroaches, work has been nonstop—at least for two months at a time: July and August—and fruitful. More than 50,000 artifacts have been unearthed over the ten-plus years of the project. In 2018, a museum opened to showcase the finds of this remarkable site, following processing at the University of Aberdeen under the supervision of dig manager Rick Knecht.

Here's an excerpt from the essay in question, "In Quinhagak," by Kathleen Jamie from the book Surfacing:

[The Quinhagak Village Corporation president Warren Jones] spoke about the dig. "We pleaded with those elders [to allow the dig to happen]. We said it was for the youngsters. How are they to know their own culture? We had nothing. When I was growing up, all we got was the church! We knew nothing about our own culture."
     "And is it working?"
     Warren relaxed as he spoke.
     "It's pivotal. Last year we held a dance. The dig inspired it. Did you know that? On that site, they are discovering dance-masks that our ancestors wore. The missionaries told us our ceremonies were devil worship! They brainwashed us! There hadn't been a ceremonial dance in this village for a hundred years. Well, one of the teachers put this dance together from elders' memories and fragments from other villages. They made that dance and the youngsters performed it."
     He looked defiant. "Well, the first time that drum hit, the hair on my neck stood up. I thought, It's back! Now, I'm telling the hunters to keep the wattles of the caribou. It's what the women's dance-fans are made of. Now they are required again, for the first time in a hundred years.
     ". . . You know how we do 'show and tell,' at the end of the season? First time, forty people came. Last year, it was eighty. This time we've got TV reporters coming, National Geographic are sending people... Since this dig began, kids from this village are hunting, carving again. They're working the dig, learning archaeology, learning their own traditions. We're sending more kids to college. Is that a coincidence? I don't think so."

A Wordpress site was launched in 2012, chronicling the work at Nunalleq in all its nitty and gritty. The site continues to this day, celebrating new PhDs and awards, and presenting some of the unique finds of the dig. It's a remarkable resource. Occasionally, Warren himself wanders through one of the entries.

One area of the Wordpress site that I find especially interesting is #ArtefactoftheDay. Here are a few of the items featured:

Labrets (lip plugs)

Dance masks

Amber beads

A legendary palraiyuk (a gator-like creature)

Red ochre-painted bentwood bowl

Wooden spoon

An early show-and-tell:
more heritage coming to light

And although these are not from the dig, these are Yup'ik dance fans, or tegumiak (the men's are made with snowy owl feathers; these appear to be the women's):

Reading this essay and learning about these hardy people and the otherworldly land they inhabit has been eye-opening for me. This world with all its denizens, even including us humans, is simply remarkable.