What is Jon M. Erlandson's kelp highway hypothesis?
The kelp highway hypothesis proposes that the earliest inhabitants of the Americas migrated south along the Pacific Coast, following a chain of productive kelp forests stretching from northeast Asia to Baja California. Erlandson and his colleagues developed the hypothesis to explain the presence of sites like Monte Verde in Chile and Oregon's Paisley Caves, which date to roughly 14,000 years ago, before the inland ice-free corridor through North America appears to have opened. The hypothesis was published in the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology in 2007.
What did Jon M. Erlandson discover at the Mosfell Archaeological Project in Iceland?
Erlandson and his colleagues excavated three Viking Age sites in the Mosfell Valley of Iceland over seven field seasons, spanning the early 10th to mid-12th century. The team found the first archaeological evidence of cremation ever recorded in Iceland, along with a Viking longhouse, an early Christian church and graveyard, and physical evidence of blood feuds that matched the written sagas associated with the site.
How long have the California Channel Islands been inhabited according to Jon M. Erlandson's research?
The Channel Islands have been inhabited by humans for more than 13,000 years. The Chumash people lived there from at least 9,500 years ago until they were removed from the islands around AD 1820.
What paper by Jon M. Erlandson was named the top science story of 2001 by Discover Magazine?
Discover Magazine named the paper "Historical Overfishing and the Recent Collapse of Coastal Ecosystems" by Jeremy Jackson and co-authors including Erlandson the top science story of 2001. The paper appeared in the journal Science.
What academic honors has Jon M. Erlandson received?
Erlandson was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2013 and elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2021. He has also won several awards for outstanding teaching, research, and mentoring of minority students.
What challenges does Jon M. Erlandson identify in researching early maritime cultures?
Erlandson points to rising sea levels since the last Glacial Maximum as a primary obstacle, since they have submerged the coastlines that early maritime peoples would have occupied. Additional challenges include distinguishing human-made deposits from natural ones, the rates at which shell and bone decay in the archaeological record, and the difficulty of defining what counts as a fully maritime culture.