Archaeological field school offers First Nations students hands-on experience
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3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Remnants of 7,000-Year-Old Village Discovered on Alaskan Island
Researchers found evidence of an Alutiiq village on Shuyak Island An important discovery was made on the remote Alaskan island of Shuyak, 54 air miles north of the Kodiak Archipelago. Artifacts dating back 7,000 years were discovered at the site. The island has served as a hotspot for archeological activity since the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in 1989, local outlet Alaska's News Source reported. 'We didn't know that we were going to find a site over 7,000 years old, which is, it's always very exciting," Director of Archaeology for the Alutiiq Museum, Molly Odell, told the outlet. "The site had partially eroded, and so there were artifacts, stone tools, on the beach.' The team of researchers also located evidence of a small 300-year-old village believed to have once been home to nearly 300 people. The Alutiiq-Sugpiaq people, who are indigenous to Alaska, have inhabited the area surrounding the archipelago for approximately 7,500 years, according to Alaska Public Media. The word Suu'aq (Shuyak) in Alutiiq translates to "rising out of the water." "I think we found that one village that had 11 house pits, probably had two to three hundred people living in it, you know, 300 years ago," Patrick Saltonstall, the archaeology curator with the Alutiiq Museum, told the outlet. "Shuyak has always sort of been a place where I think it seems like there were fewer people up there. But finding that, you know what your preconceptions are and what you actually find often don't match." Shuyak Island played a significant role in Alaska's history, in particular, due to at least two established Alutiiq villages. Russian fur trader Gregorii Shelikov destroyed one of the villages — and by the late 1700s, there were no communities left on the island, the outlet reported. The island was later home to a herring saltery and family fishing operations providing food for human consumption and animal feed for a "growing fox farming industry" in the 1920s. The Sklaroff & Sons smoked fish establishment from 1892, in Port William on the south end of Shuyak Island, was turned into a fish processing facility or cannery, which was operated by the Washington Fish and Oyster Company until 1976. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Following the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, parts of the island's archaeological sites were at risk of erosion. The new discoveries have indicated that this threat is less prevalent. "What we found up there is that's not happening anymore. All the sites are much more stable," Saltonstall told Alaska Public Media. "You see grass growing on all the beaches, and it demonstrates…the land sank in 1964 and it's rebounded ever since, and it's outpacing sea level rise up there." The museum is doing survey work in partnership with the Shuyak Island State Park and Alaska State Parks system. The museum plans to update the archaeology display at the Big Bay Ranger station on the island to reflect the new artifacts discovered on the island, according to the outlet. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Scientists make alarming discovery after attaching GoPro cameras to polar bears in the Arctic — here's what's happening
Scientists make alarming discovery after attaching GoPro cameras to polar bears in the Arctic — here's what's happening The large amounts of melting sea ice due to rising global temperatures are impacting polar bears' ability to hunt for seals, forcing them to adapt to new ways of finding food. However, these alternative food options are much less nutritious and scarce, resulting in cases of alarming weight loss, Glass Almanac reported. What's happening? A group of Canadian scientists attached GoPro cameras to GPS collars on 20 polar bears in the Hudson Bay area in northeastern Canada. The scientists studied the footage and observed how polar bears are adapting to rapidly melting sea ice. Over three years, the scientists observed how polar bears are collectively losing an alarming amount of weight. Of the 20 bears studied, 19 lost an average of 46 pounds over three weeks, according to Glass Almanac. The loss of sea ice directly affects the bears' ability to hunt for seals, an important food source that provides the bears with high-fat food for energy and warmth, allowing the bears to weather the cold, hunt for more food, and survive. The footage shows the polar bears increasingly turning to food on land as hunting for seals becomes more difficult. On average, polar bears "now spend up to three weeks more on land each year compared to the early 1980s, when the ice was more stable and reliable for hunting," per the Glass Almanac. However, food on land — bird carcasses, berries, and other marine animals — does not provide the bears with enough nutrition to continue hunting and survive, leading to alarming rates of weight loss. Why is melting sea ice concerning? Rising global temperatures are melting sea ice rapidly, which contributes to rising sea levels. This can endanger coastal cities, putting them at risk of flooding or storm surges, and threatening the destruction of coastal infrastructure. Increased global temperatures are also causing more water to evaporate, making extreme weather conditions, like heavy rains, winds, and storms, more frequent and intense. New Mexico, a traditionally dry climate, has been experiencing heavy rainfall and flooding — as many states have recently. Do you worry about air pollution in your town? All the time Often Only sometimes Never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. What's being done about rising sea levels? Slowing the rate of global temperature increase can help keep sea levels at a safer level, mitigating the incidence and risk of extreme weather events. It also prevents sea ice from disappearing, allowing polar bears to continue hunting for food as they've done for generations. On an individual level, you can effect change by educating yourself, family, and friends about critical climate issues and voting for climate-conscious leaders that put the health of the community and the planet at the forefront of their legislative efforts. In a similar vein, find local organizations doing good and important work, and volunteer your time, money, or effort to support your community and the larger planet's climate resiliency. Each effort toward a healthier, more sustainable planet helps preserve the health and natural beauty of the world, ensuring future generations may get to live and experience the planet as we once did. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Scientists create ultra-repellent non-stick coating for safer cooking at home
Teflon and other PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) have long been prized for making cookware, packaging, and fabrics resistant to water and grease. But these 'forever chemicals' don't break down in nature and tend to accumulate in the human body, posing serious health and environmental risks. Now, researchers at the University of Toronto have created a promising alternative that delivers high performance with much lower risk. Their new coating repels water and oil as effectively as standard non-stick materials, but contains only trace amounts of the least harmful PFAS variant. Silicone base with PFAS twist The team used polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), commonly known as silicone, as the base for their new material. 'PDMS is often sold under the name silicone, and depending on how it's formulated, it can be very biocompatible — in fact it's often used in devices that are meant to be implanted into the body,' said Professor Kevin Golovin, who leads the Durable Repellent Engineered Advanced Materials (DREAM) Lab. However, PDMS on its own falls short of matching PFAS when it comes to repelling oil and grease. The breakthrough came when PhD student Samuel Au developed a method to enhance the material's performance through what the team calls nanoscale fletching. Nanoscale fletching for repellency 'Unlike typical silicone, we bond short chains of PDMS to a base material — you can think of them like bristles on a brush,' Au explained. To improve their oil-repelling power, the team added the shortest possible PFAS molecule, consisting of a single carbon atom bonded to three fluorine atoms, to the tips of those bristles. 'If you were able to shrink down to the nanometre scale, it would look a bit like the feathers that you see around the back end of an arrow, where it notches to the bow. That's called fletching, so this is nanoscale fletching.' When the researchers tested the coated fabric with oil droplets, the material achieved a grade of 6 on a standard repellency scale used by the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists. That's on par with many commercial PFAS-based coatings. Low risk, commercial potential 'While we did use a PFAS molecule in this process, it is the shortest possible one and therefore does not bioaccumulate,' said Golovin. 'What we've seen in the literature, and even in the regulations, is that it's the longest-chain PFAS that are getting banned first, with the shorter ones considered much less harmful.' 'Our hybrid material provides the same performance as what had been achieved with long-chain PFAS, but with greatly reduced risk.' The team hopes to collaborate with manufacturers to scale up the process and bring the product to market. Meanwhile, research continues. 'The holy grail of this field would be a substance that outperforms Teflon, but with no PFAS at all,' Golovin said. 'We're not quite there yet, but this is an important step in the right direction.' The study is published in the journal Nature Communications. Solve the daily Crossword
