INTERACT A multi-proxy prism into past human and faunal interactions in the eastern Arctic
Name of applicant
Eline Lorenzen
Title
Professor
Institution
University of Copenhagen
Amount
DKK 8,654,779
Year
2023
Type of grant
Semper Ardens: Accomplish
What?
This proposal aims to understand the continuity and disruption of marine life in the Arctic over 4,500 years of human presence, using a multi-proxy approach. Through ancient biomolecules, we will investigate the role of faunal interactions in driving ecosystem changes over extended timescales, providing pioneering insights into long-term food web dynamics.
Why?
We lack a comprehensive understanding of the long-term role of faunal interactions, within and across trophic levels, in driving ecosystem changes over evolutionary timescales. Due to a rich fossil record, archaeological sites in the Arctic offer a singular opportunity to investigate co-occurring species that are interconnected within the marine ecosystem, across space and time.
How?
We will examine faunal remains from well-defined archaeological contexts from Greenland and High Arctic Canada, covering 4,500 years of human presence. By integrating bulk-bone metabarcoding with palaeogenomics and stable isotope analysis of 14C dated faunal remains, we will investigate faunal dynamics across three levels of biodiversity: community-level, species-level, individual-level.