Oldest habitation site found in Alaska

Archaeologists have discovered what is believed to be the oldest known habitation site in the Western Hemisphere. The site, located approximately 55 kilometers southeast of Fairbanks in Alaska, dates back 13,800 years and is named Shég' Xdaltth'í' ("They were there").

Study published in scientific journal

The discovery, detailed in a study published in October in the journal Science Advances, includes tens of thousands of artifacts such as stone tools, bone needles, and a wooden pendant. The site also features traces of a primitive shelter and a fire pit filled with charcoal and animal bones, suggesting the area was used for slow cooking of meat.

Site shows long-term human presence

The site is notable for its extensive remains, indicating that populations returned frequently over a period of a thousand years. Kelly Graf, co-author of the study and archaeologist at the University of Kansas, expressed surprise at the scale of the findings, stating that she expected to find hunting tools and debris around one or two hearths, but not a base camp with tens of thousands of artifacts.

Artifacts suggest cultural connections

The discovery provides clues about cultural links between northeast Asia and North America. The mounted bifaces found at the site, chipped from rhyolite and basalt in a diamond-shaped form, resemble tools from present-day northern Siberia. Additionally, the bone needles—the oldest found in the Western Hemisphere—and the deer antler pendant resemble objects discovered further south.

Animal remains hint at early domestication

The site also contained the bones of more than a dozen animals resembling wolves, though analysis of one specimen's jaw indicated they were a population of canids specific to central Alaska. The dating of the bones and the location of the site suggest that the inhabitants may have begun to tame these animals, potentially linking them to the domestication of dogs in North America, which descended from Siberian wolves.