CLIMATE, VEGETATION, AND ARCHAEOLOGY 14,000 TO 9000 CAL YR B.P. IN CENTRAL ALASKA.

This paper presents results of a comparison of the pollen and archaeological records in interior Alaska between about 14,000 and 9000 calibrated years B.P. (cal yr B.P.). The pollen and archaeological data were first calibrated and then plotted on synoptic maps to visually compare the inferred vegetation with archaeological site occupancy. Unfortunately, the analysis revealed that significant differences exist between vegetation records radiocarbon dated by decay counting and those dated by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), making the chronology of vegetation change difficult to interpret. Despite this, some general conclusions were reached: (1) At about 14,000 cal yr B.P., the initial peopling of Alaska occurred during a period of rapid climatic warming and increasing effective moisture. (2) The Younger Dryas (ca. 11,300-14,000 cal yr B.P.) had little effect on the vegetation and no effect on the people. (3) The early Holocene is marked by fewer archaeological sites by fewer archaeological sites than previous periods; it is unclear to what extent, if any, climate influenced population distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]