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 State of Alaska > Natural Resources > Parks and Outdoor Recreation > History and Archaeology |
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Why and where sites occur in the landscape
continue to be crucial questions for archaeologists. The problem of finding
sites becomes increasingly difficult the farther back in time one goes.
The oldest sites may be deeply buried in loess or flood deposits, or they
could be shallow surface scatters that lack context and perhaps have become
mixed with more recent material. Or they simply may no longer exist because
of natural erosion. In the Alaskan interior, boreal forest, taiga, and muskeg
vegetation further hinder our ability to locate archaeological sites.
Click to Enlarge The oldest archaeological sites yet known in Alaska are found in the Tanana Valley between the Alaska Range and the Tanana-Yukon Upland. Radiocarbon determinations for these sites are between 11,000 and 12,000 yr. BP using both conventional and Atomic Mass Spectrometer dates. Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene loess deposits, rich with calcium carbonate, have preserved butchered remains of birds and mammals in unequivocal stratigraphic context with human-made stone tools and hearth charcoal at three sites near Shaw Creek in the middle Tanana Valley, the Broken Mammoth, Mead, and Swan Point sites. Investigations at these three archaeological sites have yielded data to show that a broad-based hunting and foraging economy was practiced in Eastern Beringia at the end of the last ice age. These sites are the oldest in Alaska to contain evidence of artifacts directly associated with extinct mammals such as wapiti, bison, and mammoth. The co-occurrence of human tools and animal bones in these three sites provide a rare opportunity to refine our knowledge about human adaptation to environmental change. |
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Office of History and Archaeology (OHA) Heritage Newsletter OHA and SHPO Staff Alaska Historical Commission Alaska Geographic Names Program Alaska Gold Rush Centennials Alaska Archaeological Survey Alaska State Historical Parks Alaska OHA Photo Galleries Cultural Resource Plan for the Denali Highway Lands Frequently Used Resources Alaska Heritage Resources Survey Report Submittal Checklist and Cover Sheet Permits for Investigations on State Lands Permits for Investigations on State Lands Report Submittal Checklist and Cover Sheet Request for SHPO Section 106 Review OHA Projects Castle Hill Archaeological Project Broken Mammoth Archaeological Project The Wreck of the Kad'yak Southeast Alaska Historic Shipwrecks Alaska State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) SHPO Main Page Alaska's Historic Preservation Plan National Register of Historic Places Section 106 Review Process Rehabilitation Tax Credit Certified Local Government Program Education (Project Archaeology) HPF Development Program Historic Preservation Links Historic Preservation Series National Historic Preservation Act Unalaska South Channel (Amaknak) Bridge Project Special Announcements New Hours Set for AHRS Research |
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Last updated on Tuesday, November 8, 2011.
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