Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of a 13,800-year-old base camp in interior Alaska, including bone needles, stone tools, a possible dwelling and remains of wolf-like canids that may have been associated with early human communities.
The discoveries come from Shégˊ Xdaltthˊíˊ, an archaeological site located approximately 55 kilometres south-east of Fairbanks.
Meaning “They were there” in an Alaska Native Athabascan language, Shégˊ Xdaltthˊíˊ was intermittently occupied for more than 1,000 years and has produced tens of thousands of artefacts and animal remains.
Researchers led by Kelly Graf of the University of Kansas have focused on the earliest occupation phase, dating to approximately 13,800 years ago, which provides a rare glimpse into how people were living in eastern Beringia during the Late Pleistocene.
Beringia was a vast geographical region encompassing parts of north-eastern Asia and north-western North America that were connected during periods of lowered sea level in the last Ice Age.
Possible early dwelling
Excavations revealed a hearth, a small pit and evidence of a former wooden post, which researchers suggest could represent the remains of a shelter with a sloping roof or an early tent-like structure.
If this interpretation is correct, the feature would represent one of the earliest known examples of a constructed shelter in North America.
Nearby, archaeologists identified an earth oven containing charcoal and animal bones. The feature may have been used to slowly cook meat during occupation of the camp.
The scale and variety of archaeological material differs from the comparatively small seasonal hunting camps frequently documented at early sites in Beringia.
Researchers have therefore interpreted Shégˊ Xdaltthˊíˊ as a base camp where a wider range of activities took place.
Stone tools show connections across Beringia
Among the discoveries are distinctive bifacial stone tools manufactured from rhyolite and basalt.
The diamond-shaped forms share technological characteristics with artefacts found farther west in Beringia, including archaeological sites in northern Siberia.
Obsidian artefacts were also recovered during the excavations. Geological sourcing indicates that the volcanic glass originated hundreds of kilometres north-west of Shégˊ Xdaltthˊíˊ.
Together, the finds demonstrate movement of raw materials and technological traditions across considerable distances.
Researchers suggest that these similarities provide evidence of cultural connections between communities occupying the Asian and North American regions of Beringia.
Possible evidence of early dogs
Animal remains recovered from the site include bones belonging to more than a dozen wolf-like canids.
Analysis of one jawbone indicates that the animal was neither a dire wolf nor readily attributable to the Pleistocene Beringian or grey wolf populations considered by the researchers.
Instead, it appears to represent a population of wolf-like canids present in central Alaska.
Genetic evidence from previous studies indicates that early domestic dogs in North America ultimately descended from Siberian wolf populations. The age and geographical position of Shégˊ Xdaltthˊíˊ have therefore raised the possibility that some of the canids found at the site were associated with people.
However, the evidence does not establish that the animals were domesticated dogs, and researchers describe the proposed association as indirect.
Oldest known needles in the Western Hemisphere
Archaeologists also recovered eight fragments of bone needles from the site.
According to the study, the examples from Shégˊ Xdaltthˊíˊ represent the oldest known needles in the Western Hemisphere.
Such tools would have enabled people to manufacture fitted clothing and other sewn materials, an important technology for communities living in the cold environments of Late Pleistocene Alaska.
Previously known eyed needles from early archaeological contexts in North America have been recovered farther south, providing another potential technological connection between Beringian communities and populations beyond the northern ice sheets.
A perforated pendant manufactured from deer antler was also discovered. The object shares similarities with personal ornaments documented at early sites elsewhere in North America.
The combination of these technologies at a single site provides evidence of cultural links extending both westwards into Asian Beringia and southwards into North America.
Researchers caution, however, that archaeological similarities cannot determine whether individual inhabitants of Shégˊ Xdaltthˊíˊ personally travelled these distances.
A rare glimpse into Late Pleistocene Alaska
Early archaeological sites in Alaska are often represented by relatively limited assemblages associated with short-term occupations.
Shégˊ Xdaltthˊíˊ is notable for the concentration of structural remains, stone and bone artefacts, animal remains and evidence for multiple activities within the same location.
The findings provide evidence that some communities in interior Alaska were establishing substantial camps by approximately 13,800 years ago, rather than leaving only the archaeological traces of short hunting expeditions.
Further excavations are planned, with researchers working alongside Alaska Native organisations and incorporating local knowledge into the continuing investigation of the site.
Sources : Journal Science Advances.