Polar bears and expanding sea ice in the Mid Holocene Aleutian Islands, Alaska.

ABSTRACT: The archaeological record offers the opportunity to infer the effects of regional climatic shifts on species distributions and human-animal interactions. In Alaska's temperate Aleutian Islands, the archaeological record suggests that the Neoglacial climate phase (ca. 4700 - 2500 rcyr BP) was significantly colder and the region likely supported sea ice and ice-dependent animals. Previous analyses have identified polar bear (Ursus maritimus) remains in archaeological sites in Unalaska Bay, which have been used to infer bear range expansion and significant climate changes during this period. However, morphological similarities between polar and brown (Ursus arctos) bears make it difficult to distinguish between the two species, and the presence of bear material in Unalaska Bay could be the re

SUBMITTER: Parker LD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11833045 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature