Arctic Speaker Series – Peter Dawson will discuss “Last Chance to See? Digital Archaeology & the Preservation of Polar Heritage”

Over the past decades, increasing global temperatures have accelerated erosion and biodegradation at many polar heritage sites of national and international significance. The cumulative impacts of ship-based tourism since the early 1990’s are also taking their toll, via footpath development, the appropriation of historic artifacts, graffiti, and the dismantling of heritage structures. The chemical legacies of centuries old scientific activities pose further risks, as toxins originally used to preserve natural history specimens and refill meteorological instruments, have leached out from their decaying containers and into the surrounding soil. Protecting these sites is important because of the information they can provide about the history and nature of both Euro-North American and indigenous occupation in Polar Regions, and how they were inevitably intertwined through events like the First International Polar Year (1882-83), the race to the North Pole, whaling, and the fur trade. In this talk, I will discuss how digital archaeology is being used to protect, preserve and promote polar heritage sites in the Canadian Arctic. Tickets: Free & Open to the Public More info: http://arctic.ucalgary.ca/event/jan-15-2014/arctic-speaker-series-pete-dawson-will-discuss-last-chance-to-see-digital-archaeol

Location:

Science B 148

Speaker:

Dr. Peter Dawson

More information at http://www.ucalgary.ca/events/calendar/arctic-speaker-series-peter-dawson-will-discuss-last-chance-see-digital-archaeology