大象传媒

大象传媒 marine archaeologist Rob Rondeau is preparing to scour the seafloor off B.C.鈥檚 west coast, in search of ancient underwater archaeological sites that may hold clues about the earliest migration route between Northeastern Asia and North America.

While there is a longstanding debate over which route First Peoples took from Siberia to arrive in North America鈥攁n interior continental route (between ice sheets) or a coastal migration route鈥擱ondeau says there is increasing evidence supporting a coastal migration route, which is now the focus of his PhD research.

鈥淚鈥檓 looking for evidence of the First Peoples who came to the Americas from Siberia across what was Beringia as early as 15,000 years ago,鈥� says Rondeau, who this month begins a three-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) PhD scholarship to carry out his research.

The First Peoples who arrived in the Americas lived in a vastly different world than today. Sheets of ice covered the interior of the province and a tundra-like plain covered much of what was then the coast of British Columbia, in some places extending 40 kms west of the present-day shoreline. When the ice sheets receded around 10,000 years ago, sea levels rose and this part of coastal Beringia was plunged underwater. 

Searching for evidence of this ancient world will involve using computational modelling to identify undersea locations with the highest potential of containing early archaeological sites. Rondeau also plans to use the latest in multibeam sonar, and augmented reality and holographic technologies to visualize the landscape underwater. Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) will also be used to photograph the seafloor.

鈥淏eringia underwater is 2.5 million square kilometers in size. I need ways to narrow down the survey area in deciding where 鈥榅鈥� marks the spot鈥�, he notes.

Once potential sites are identified, Rondeau and colleagues will extract sediment core samples from the ocean floor, attempting to uncover buried archaeological materials. 

鈥淲hat we are really hoping to find is evidence of human occupation, such as stone tools, bits of burnt bone, wood or charcoal from a campfire for example, that will allow us to date the time period,鈥� says Rondeau, who has most-recently shared his archaeological expertise, including studies of shipwrecks, on the Discovery Channel鈥檚 Mysteries of the Deep.

鈥淯nderstanding how and when people first moved down the Pacific Northwest Coast will allow archaeologists to better understand the 鈥榩eopling process鈥� of the Americas,鈥� he explains.

Gaining a better understanding of the offshore underwater landscape can also provide insight regarding the future of B.C.鈥檚 coastline. At the end of the last Ice Age, melting ice sheets caused a dramatic rise in sea levels. Human-caused climate change is altering the coastal environment. The technologies being developed from Rondeau鈥檚 research can also be used to monitor and study rising sea levels, coastal erosion and other environmental threats. 

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 really important to understand the past because it鈥檚 the old saying, 鈥榠f we don鈥檛 know where we鈥檝e been we don鈥檛 know where we're going,鈥欌�� he says.

AVAILABLE 大象传媒 EXPERTS

ROB RONDEAU, research associate, Museum of Archaeology & Ethnography & graduate student, archaeology                     
rob_rondeau@sfu.ca

CONTACT 

MELISSA SHAW, 大象传媒 Communications & Marketing 
236.880.3297 | melissa_shaw@sfu.ca

大象传媒
Communications & Marketing | 大象传媒 Media Experts Directory
778.782.3210

ABOUT SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

As Canada鈥檚 engaged university, 大象传媒 works with communities, organizations and partners to create, share and embrace knowledge that improves life and generates real change. We deliver a world-class education with lifelong value that shapes change-makers, visionaries and problem-solvers. We connect research and innovation to entrepreneurship and industry to deliver sustainable, relevant solutions to today鈥檚 problems. With campuses in British Columbia鈥檚 three largest cities鈥擵ancouver, Burnaby and Surrey鈥敶笙蟠� has eight faculties that deliver 193 undergraduate degree programs and 127 graduate degree programs to more than 37,000 students. The university now boasts more than 165,000 alumni residing in 143 countries.