M.Sc. Defence: Rachel Dickenson

We are pleased to announce the following Master of Science defence:
Student: Rachel Dickenson
Title: “A stable isotope-based reconstruction of the dietary patterns of Birnirk individuals from the North Slope of Alaska”

Abstract: Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was performed on Birnirk individuals from four sites located in the North Slope of Alaska to understand their dietary patterns and the implications for Birnirk social organization. This analysis revealed that these all these individuals consumed a predominately marine-based diet, with ringed and bearded seals being their major dietary source. There were no detectable dietary differences between individuals from different sites nor different structures within sites. Comparison of bone samples and sequential tooth samples did not show significant dietary differences throughout any individuals lifetime. The dominance of ice-adapted seal and reliance on sealing by the Birnirk are consistent with their social organization being based around smaller, family-based egalitarian groups as opposed to the larger communities with vertical hierarchies seen in the Thule and other contemporaneous Iñupiat groups (specifically, the Punuk, Ipiutak, and Old Bering Sea cultures). The indication from this research that the Birnirk were not active whalers contributes to interesting questions regarding the Eastern migration of the Thule; specifically, what motivated their migration out of the North Slope, as well as where/when, why, and how they adopted whaling.