Who were the people who left these tiny flakes of stone? Did they sew animal skins together to make clothing? Did they hunt the 15-foot-tall wooly mammoth or were those extinct already? Did they realize they had entered a totally unexplored continent which extended south into a hemisphere no people had ever seen? We have learned a lot already on this trip but it's funny how answers lead to more questions.
Because of driving rain this morning we waited until after lunch to go up to the dig. After lunch we went up there and started working, finding a few flakes and a tiny microblade. Soon, however, the rain returned and made screening too difficult with the muddy soil. There was a good chance we could lose artifacts so we opted to stop the excavation for today.
Instead, we went for a walk. Walking in the tundra tussocks is really hard! It looks like a nice grassy meadow but looks are deceiving. The tussocks are like giant grassy bowling balls with 6 inches of water around them. At first I tried to walk on top of them but almost rolled an ankle. So I ended stepping in the frigid water. I'm so glad I have Xtra-Tuff rubber boots which are lined with neoprene like a wetsuit.
The archaeologists learned a lot on the hike and I picked up our Word of Day: Solifluction. Solifluction is when a frozen hillside thaws and a part from the middle sort of oozes out of its place. Like a landslide in the middle of the hill. These guys are experts in examining layers of soil so they enjoyed seeing evidence of solifluction, which leaves a unique signature in the stratigraphy (layers of soil).
We are really excited to have the three native visitors from Kivalina coming tomorrow. I called them all today on the satellite phone and they were all ready to go. We hope to send the helicopter in the morning, but they have had weather like us: windy and rainy early in the day and a little drier later. If the wind and rain is too strong, we'll have to wait until later in the day.
Early this morning Steve saw a big Arctic snowy owl hunting up near the dig site. Wow! That's the owl featured in Harry Potter - big, white and regal. Sometimes walking along the river you are surprised when a tiny bird skitters away with a chirp. They are the color of wet gray rocks but they have white stripes on their wings.
Back in camp we are all trying to keep the inside of our tents dry in the near constant rain. We are also keeping a wary eye on the river, which is now flowing several inches higher than when we arrived. If it comes up much more we'll have to move our tents to higher ground.
I found a piece of bone (caribou?) and started working on a harpoon point replica inspired by some I saw in the Museum of the North back in Fairbanks. I'm impressed by people who were tough enough to survive out here with those kind of tools and no generators, REI tents, fleece jackets and rain gear like we have.
Steve, right, and Stephan enjoy the view as we rest during our hike. The ground looks nice to walk on but it's actually a lot of work. It's not flat at all!
We stopped to rest and take in the view after slogging through the wet tussocks for 25 minutes. I had my eyes peeled for woolly mammoth!
The ground out here is often covered with many tiny plants. Some look like tiny ferns while others look like branches from little cedar trees. Note the ripe blue berries in the foreground a favorite among bears (and archaeologists).
An attempt to make a harpoon point out of caribou bone (it's relaxing to whittle a bit at night).