SEA-LEVEL DYNAMICS, GLACIERS, AND ARCHAEOLOGY ALONG THE CENTRAL GULF-OF-ALASKA COAST

Because of their impacts on the preservation of archaeological records , Holocene sea level fluctuations and glacial activity have significan t implications for modeling the paleodemography of prehistoric hunter- gatherer populations around the Gulf of Alaska. Interdisciplinary fiel d studies relating archaeological site preservation to sea level chang es and glacier fluctuations were undertaken in Kenai Fjords National P ark and Katmai National Park in 1993-94. Radiocarbon dates and elevati ons above sea level for 19 new and reinvestigated archaeological sites are combined in our analysis with data reported by other investigator s. Tectonic subsidence associated with a large magnitude earthquake in about AD 1170 appears to be responsible for the near absence of sites older than 800 years in Kenai Fjords National Park. In contrast, long -term uplift has allowed preservation of a continuous 7000 year archae ological sequence along the coastline of Katmai National Park. These r esults point out the need for detailed local studies of sea level hist ory and glacial activity in conjunction with coastal archaeological su rveys.