Determining vitamin D status in precontact Western Alaska: a new method for exploring past health and dietary adaptations to high-latitude living

This research will use newly-developed archaeological science approaches to target permafrost-preserved human hair from the precontact site of Nunalleq, Western Alaska (1450-1650 AD) in order to empirically-determine seasonal vitamin D status in an archaeological population for the first time. Vitamin D is essential for healthy skeletal growth and cardiovascular health, and deficiency is related to multiple diseases. The most important source of vitamin D in humans is ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced dermal (skin) synthesis of vitamin D3. However, at high latitudes, especially in winter, a lack of ultraviolet light of the appropriate wavelength leads to an increase in the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, and dietary supply or supplementation becomes essential - a major environmental challenge for past and present populations living at high-latitudes today, including in Western Alaska and in the UK. Using novel analytical technology, our aim is to determine vitamin D concentrations in archaeological hair strands preserved at the precontact site of Nunalleq and to compare these new data with existing seasonal palaeodietary data, allowing the relationship between vitamin D status and seasonal dietary habits to be inferred for different individuals at the site.

Data generated will provide a baseline for the interpretation of modern and recent-historic (post-1960s) data concerning the relationship between contemporary vitamin D deficiency and consumption of traditional marine foods and allow us to explore the potential of this method in illuminating past human-environmental interactions and adaptations to high-latitude living. The outcomes of this project will lead to a better understanding of precontact lifeways, diet and health in Western Alaska. The results will also help define new pathways in the scientific investigation of ancient diet applicable to other archaeological sites and contexts and help forge new cross-disciplinary links between palaeodietary and palaeoenvironmental studies, and modern nutritional health research. Our results will also feed directly into ongoing public outreach initiatives centred around the Nunalleq site in the community of Quinhagak, Alaska (AK), including adding to an online Digital Museum and learning activities for local school children. These will enhance public understanding of vitamin D health, but will also enhance our understanding of the role of archaeo-health studies in reinforcing positive health practices today in Alaska and elsewhere.