Ancient Alaska Base Camp Reveals Daily Life and Cultural Links Across Beringia

Archaeologists in interior Alaska have uncovered a densely occupied ancient base camp containing stone tools, animal bones and possible dwelling remains, according to Live Science and Gizmodo. The discoveries offer evidence of daily life and cultural connections across the Bering Land Bridge.

Both outlets reported that the earliest occupation at Shég’ Xdaltth’í’, near Fairbanks, dates to about 13,800 years ago. Researchers described their findings in a study published in Science Advances on 14 October.

Unlike short-lived hunting camps known from the same period, the site appears to have served as a longer-term residential base, both outlets reported. Gizmodo described the research as the result of more than a decade of excavation and analysis.

Live Science placed the site about 34 miles southeast of Fairbanks and reported that people used the encampment intermittently for a millennium. Its name, chosen by Alaska Native elders, means “They Were There” in the Alaska Native Athabascan language, according to the outlet.

Evidence of shelter includes a hearth, a small pit and a stain left by a wooden post, Live Science reported. Researchers interpreted these features as possible remains of a lean-to or early tent house and described them as the earliest potential evidence of a habitation structure in North America. Gizmodo likewise reported a pit and hearth apparently situated inside a dwelling.

Live Science additionally described a nearby earth oven containing charcoal and animal bones, probably used to slow-cook meat for a large family group.

The quantity of material surprised the researchers. Kelly Graf, the University of Kansas archaeologist leading the study, told Live Science that she had expected hunting equipment and stoneworking debris rather than a base camp containing tens of thousands of artifacts. Gizmodo reported that thousands of objects came from an area smaller than 11 square feet.

Distinctive diamond-shaped stone tools provide a connection to communities farther west, both outlets reported. Live Science described tools made from rhyolite and basalt resembling examples from northern Siberia. Gizmodo reported that the same projectile-point style had previously been found at two Russian sites from the same period, but not elsewhere in Alaska.

Stone materials also point to knowledge of distant resources. Live Science reported that obsidian reached the camp from a geological source hundreds of miles to the northwest. Gizmodo said obsidian and rhyolite appeared to originate west of the site.

Graf told Gizmodo that the distant material sources, together with evidence that visits coincided with animal migration, suggested familiarity with the surrounding region. She interpreted this as a reason to investigate whether people had occupied eastern Beringia considerably earlier.

Live Science additionally reported eight bone needle fragments, described in the study as the oldest needles discovered in the Western Hemisphere. Their presence, along with a drilled antler pendant, revealed similarities with early sites farther south in North America.

Animal remains raised a separate possibility. According to Live Science, bones from more than a dozen wolf-like animals may include evidence of early domesticated dogs. Researchers distinguished one jaw from several known wolf groups, but the proposed connection to dog ownership rests on circumstantial evidence involving the site’s location and age.

The cultural similarities do not establish how individuals travelled. Graf told Live Science that movement between regions within a person’s lifetime would be difficult to determine, even though connections were evident.

Further excavation is planned, Live Science reported. Two study co-authors are elders from nearby Alaska Native corporations, and elders have visited the site to discuss excavation locations and possible discoveries. Graf said she also hopes to involve younger Alaska Native participants in future fieldwork.

Sources

• Live Science: Archaeologists discover the oldest dwelling in the Western Hemisphere at a 13,800-year-old site in Alaska
• Thousands of Artifacts Unearthed in Alaska Hint at an Even Older Human Presence in the Americas