The peopling of eastern Beringia and its archaeological complexities

Wygal, Brian T.

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2016.09.024

Cited by 34 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Some colleagues have argued that all sites should be subsumed into a single Beringian Tradition in which at times ancient Beringians would select either a microblade‐based toolkit or a non‐microblade‐based toolkit, depending on the behaviors to be performed at sites during different seasons of occupation (Holmes, ; Potter, ; Potter et al, ; Wygal, ). By grouping potentially chronologically distinct industries together without support from robust site‐function and seasonality data, however, such interpretations mask the potential significance of the variability present, especially when chronological patterning is found between technological complexes (Graf et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent excavations at Owl Ridge, interior Alaska: Site stratigraphy, chronology, and site formation and implications for late Pleistocene archaeology and peopling of eastern Beringia

et al. 2019

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The early archaeological record of Beringia is complicated by the occurrence of several lithic industries. Site assemblages, dating from 14,000 to 12,800 years ago and located from the Yana‐Indigirka Lowlands of Siberia to the upper Tanana River basin, contain artifacts characteristic of the Nenana technological complex. After 12,800 years ago, site assemblages contain artifacts diagnostic of the Denali technocomplex. To explain the variation in lithic industries, we first and foremost need well‐stratified and well‐dated sites with multiple components so we securely know their ages and depositional relationships. We present excavation results of one such site located in interior Alaska, Owl Ridge, with the goal of assessing site stratigraphy, radiocarbon chronology, and natural site formation processes. Owl Ridge was visited three times during the Pleistocene‐Holocene transition with a Nenana‐complex occupation at 13,380–12,800 years ago followed by two Denali‐complex occupations at 12,540–11,430 years ago and 11,270–11,200 years ago. Assemblage change at Owl Ridge was diachronically patterned, as at the nearby Dry Creek archaeological site, and separated by two climatic events, a brief extremely windy Younger Dryas (lasting 300–250 years) and a very brief wetter period (lasting ~160 years). Our results indicate these climate and environmental conditions played a role in settlement of eastern Beringia.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent excavations at Owl Ridge, interior Alaska: Site stratigraphy, chronology, and site formation and implications for late Pleistocene archaeology and peopling of eastern Beringia

et al. 2019

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“…More than 50 archaeological components dating to the late Pleistocene (LP) and early Holocene (EH) have been documented in central Alaska, but few of these are located in the interior Alaska Range (Blong, ; Potter, , ; Wygal, ). The earliest evidence for human occupation of the interior Alaska Range is at Teklanika West (12,900 calibrated year [cal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The low frequency and ephemeral nature of LP/EH archaeological sites in the Alaska Range has been argued to represent a residentially mobile LP/EH land-use system primarily focused in the lowlands of the Tanana River basin and foothills of the Nenana River basin (Potter, 2008a(Potter, , 2008bPotter, Holmes, & Yesner, 2013). However, despite low archaeological visibility, there is evidence that huntergatherers procured upland resources in the Alaska Range as highly mobile, logistically oriented groups spread through the Alaska Range and into southern Alaska during the Younger Dryas (YD) and EH (Blong, 2018;Graf & Bigelow, 2011;Guthrie, 2017;Mason, Bowers, & Hopkins, 2001;Potter et al, 2013;Wygal, 2018). Supporting early use of the uplands, lithic raw material sourcing studies indicate that some lithic raw materials found at lowland LP/EH archaeological sites were likely procured from upland sources (Coffman & Rasic, 2015;Reuther, Slobodina, Rasic, Cook, & Speakman, 2011).…”

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confidence: 99%

Regional stratigraphy and human occupation of the upper Susitna River basin, central Alaska Range

Blong

2018

Geoarchaeology

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This study presents geomorphological, paleoenvironmental, and archaeological data from the upland upper Susitna River basin in the central Alaska Range. The goal of this study is to establish the landscape history and record of human use of the study area and test regional land‐use models. The results indicate that the upper Susitna was first occupied in the early Holocene at least 2,000 years after the end of full‐glacial conditions and 1,000 years after evidence of landscape recovery. Early Holocene land‐use consisted of short‐term task‐specific camps occupied by highly mobile groups on logistical forays. Upland land use intensified in the middle and late Holocene after modern vegetation patterns were established; during this time hunter‐gatherers occupied both residential and task‐specific camps in the study area in a logistical land‐use system. These results support a shift in land use in the early Holocene to include upland landscapes and intensification of upland landscape use in the late–middle Holocene. A shift in residential base camp location in the late Holocene may be tied to changing subsistence activities. There is evidence for a hiatus in human occupation following Holocene tephra fall, but it is unclear whether this was related to tephra deposition or broader climate instability.

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“…More detailed comparisons of dates on microblade and nonmicroblade sites appear elsewhere (Bever 2006; Graf and Bigelow 2011; Wygal 2018). In Alaska, among nonmicroblade sites, there are various occupations relating to the Nenana complex or other unassigned sites.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Alaska, among nonmicroblade sites, there are various occupations relating to the Nenana complex or other unassigned sites. One of the ongoing debates in Beringia, and central Alaska in particular, relates to the exact relationship between microblade and nonmicroblade sites (Goebel 2011; Wygal 2011, 2018; Yesner and Pearson 2002). In this respect, Swan Point CZ4b was a turning point in this debate, since it was the first example in Alaska of a pre–Nenana complex site with an undisputable microblade technology.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

THE MICROBLADE INDUSTRY FROM SWAN POINT CULTURAL ZONE 4b: TECHNOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS FROM THE EARLIEST HUMAN OCCUPATION IN ALASKA

Coutouly

Holmes

2018

Am. Antiq.

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Swan Point in central Alaska contains the oldest recognized human occupation in Alaska (Cultural Zone 4b [CZ4b]), dating to circa 14,000 cal BP. This component consists of a microblade and burin industry with clear technological ties to the Siberian Upper Paleolithic Diuktai Culture. Through the systematic use of the Yubetsu method for the production of microblades, Swan Point is technologically more similar to Siberian microblade sites than to later-age (Denali complex) microblade sites in Alaska. The Yubetsu method is the hallmark of the Diuktai Culture, and in Alaska, Swan Point CZ4b is the only component with systematic production of microblades using the Yubetsu method. Other late Pleistocene and Holocene microblade sites in Alaska have an industry based on Campus-style, conical, or tabular microblade cores. Analysis of the collection furthers our understanding of how CZ4b relates to previous Siberian Diuktai-related assemblages and to later Alaskan Denali-related sites. We interpret the CZ4b component as representing a brief single event that has major cultural and technological implications for the early colonization process of North America.

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The peopling of eastern Beringia and its archaeological complexities

Cited by 34 publications

References 31 publications

Recent excavations at Owl Ridge, interior Alaska: Site stratigraphy, chronology, and site formation and implications for late Pleistocene archaeology and peopling of eastern Beringia

Recent excavations at Owl Ridge, interior Alaska: Site stratigraphy, chronology, and site formation and implications for late Pleistocene archaeology and peopling of eastern Beringia

Regional stratigraphy and human occupation of the upper Susitna River basin, central Alaska Range

THE MICROBLADE INDUSTRY FROM SWAN POINT CULTURAL ZONE 4b: TECHNOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS FROM THE EARLIEST HUMAN OCCUPATION IN ALASKA

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