QUINHAGAK, Alaska — A wooden bowl found on the beach after last October’s storm offered a stark reminder of what is being lost along this remote stretch of western Alaska. Jenny Matthew and her husband were surveying storm damage near Quinhagak when they saw the smooth, carved bowl in the debris. Archaeologists estimate it was made by local Yup'ik people 400 to 600 years ago. It had been unearthed from Nunalleq, a nearby archaeological site known for preserving thousands of objects tied to the community’s history before Western contact. Typhoon Halong’s remnants brought widespread flooding to western Alaska, displacing more than 1,000 people in several villages not connected to the state’s road system. In Quinhagak, the storm damaged homes and infrastructure, flooded the Nunalleq site and carried artifacts away as the water receded. The storm also removed more of the land protecting artifacts that remain underground. At high tide, seawater can now reach portions of the excavation area. “It’s every bit as tough as working in front of bulldozers,” said Rick Knecht, the site’s principal archaeologist. This summer, archaeologists and volunteer excavators returned for an emergency dig, working around the buried remains of sod houses that date back roughly 400 to 500 years. The full site covers an area about the size of two Olympic swimming pools; the emergency excavation is closer to the size of a backyard pool. Artifacts recovered at Nunalleq include carved animal figures, grass rope, sewing needles, wooden masks, leather and pieces of kayaks. The frozen ground helped preserve many of the organic materials, which would likely have decayed in warmer or wetter conditions. Archaeologists have worked at Nunalleq since 2009, after thawing permafrost began exposing large numbers of objects in the early 2000s. Quinhagak residents then chose to pursue a community-led effort to document and preserve the belongings of their ancestors. The work is largely carried out by volunteers and supported by a small budget, with funding from groups including the Pacific Northwest Archaeological Society and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Quinhagak Heritage Inc., the nonprofit overseeing the excavation and the Nunalleq Culture and Archaeology Center, is still raising money for another field season. The site’s vulnerability reflects broader changes along Alaska’s western coast. Thawing permafrost and declining sea ice — both intensified by human-caused climate change — are leaving shorelines less protected from storms and erosion. Last fall’s flooding demonstrated how quickly that exposure can translate into the loss of irreplaceable cultural material. Charlotta Hillerdal, who has worked on the excavation for more than 15 years, said she was devastated when she learned what had happened while she was at home in Scotland. “I was crying,” Hillerdal said. “It was a horrible feeling.” At the Nunalleq Culture and Archaeology Center, recovered objects are stabilized, studied and made available to Quinhagak residents, their descendants and the public. The center’s director, Elizabeth Church, said the artifacts are not simply archaeological specimens but part of the community’s identity and responsibilities to future generations. “They are interwoven into us as people, and we feel a great sense of responsibility to care for them well, and to take them into the future with us,” Church said. The collection also shows how Yup'ik people adapted to environmental change and developed new technologies over time, she said. Knowing that history can strengthen a community facing profound changes today. “When you know that you come from a people that were so resilient and so capable and so talented and so smart — you get a boost,” Church said. Knecht hopes the team can return next summer, but the timing depends on fundraising. With another fall storm season approaching, archaeologists and community members are trying to recover as many artifacts as possible before the Bering Sea takes more of the site.