Yukon First Nation use of Copper for End-Blades on Hunting Arrows

Abstract

Copper metallurgy and bow and arrow technology are widely considered hallmark traits of the Late Prehistoric Period in the northwest of North America (Yukon and Alaska). In recent years, a number of osseous arrow points have been recovered from melting alpine ice patches in the northwest, some with evidence of copper utilization. This article reports on the construction and radiocarbon dating of three osseous arrowheads recovered from Yukon-Alaska ice patches and documents the use of handheld energy-dispersive x-ray florescence (EDXRF) technology to discriminate native copper implements, as well as detect absorbed copper residues from other osseous points. We also reference several other bladed arrow points discovered at ice patches in Yukon and neighboring Alaska to develop a tentative timeline for the use of copper end-blades with osseous arrow points in the northwest.

Overview of Interdisciplinary Ice Patch Research in the Greater Yellowstone Region, USA

“…Our program has the means to monitor between 30 and 40 sites per year, and rarely do we get the opportunity to be onsite at any one ice patch for more than two or three hours. From the 2016 find of copper bladed arrowhead at Deuces Wild Creek (Thomas et al 2020), we've learned that even the most ephemeral ice patch can produce a cultural heirloom of extreme value to the citizens of our First Nations (Figure 3). Happenstance also impacts fieldwork, as illustrated by a spectacular find in 2018.…”

Research trends in U.S. national parks, the world's “living laboratories”

“…Parks also serve as reservoirs of ecosystem services (Palomo, Martín‐López, Potschin, Haines‐Young, & Montes, 2013; Postel & Thompson Jr., 2005; Soares‐Filho et al, 2010), as test sites for developing climate change mitigation and adaptation plans (Gonzalez, Neilson, Lenihan, & Drapek, 2010; Rehfeldt, Ferguson, & Crookston, 2009; Westerling, Turner, Smithwick, Romme, & Ryan, 2011), as sources of aesthetic and artistic inspiration (e.g., Nancarrow, 2006; Vaughn & Lovett, 2019), and as vital connection points between people and nature (Floyd, 2001; Leaman, 2013). For these reasons, among many others, parks have been valuable sites for both basic and applied scholarly research, ranging from long‐term studies of environmental change (e.g., Roland, Stehn, Schmidt, & Houseman, 2016) to archeological and paleontological discoveries (e.g., Thomas et al, 2020) to advances in economic valuation of non‐market goods (e.g., Haefele, Loomis, & Bilmes, 2016).…”