Early Prehistoric Archaeology of the Middle Susitna Valley, Alaska

The early prehistory of the Susitna River region, near the place where three major rivers, the Susitna, Talkeetna, and the Chulitna, converge, provides important regional information about the movement of small-scale foraging societies in southcentral Alaska as well as specific data concerning lithi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Arctic anthropology 2012-01, Vol.49 (1), p.45-67
Main Authors: Wygal, Brian T., Goebel, Ted
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alaska
America and Arctic regions
Archaeological dating
Archaeological sites
Arctic regions
Charcoal
Chulitna River
Clays
Cobbles
Dating
Excavation and methods
Fish
Fish production
Geoarchaeology
Holocene
Laboratory methods
Lithics
Loess
Material culture
Methodology and general studies
Paleoanthropology
Prehistory
Prehistory and protohistory
Radiocarbon
Raw materials
Rivers
Susitna River
Talkeetna River
Tephra
U.S.A
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Summary:The early prehistory of the Susitna River region, near the place where three major rivers, the Susitna, Talkeetna, and the Chulitna, converge, provides important regional information about the movement of small-scale foraging societies in southcentral Alaska as well as specific data concerning lithic use. Since 2004, ongoing research at the Trapper Creek Overlook (TCO) and Susitna River Overlook (SRO) sites has revealed three primarily lithic artifact assemblages from stratigraphically sealed cultural occupations spanning the early to middle Holocene (ca. 10,000–5000 cal B.P.). Radiocarbon, tephrochronology, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating techniques provide context for interpreting these sites with a focus on geomorphic and stratigraphic contexts, geochronology, and lithic analyses. Results suggest an initial migration from the north and similarities between early and middle Holocene lithic industries in the period prior to the development of riverine salmon economies.
ISSN:0066-6939
1933-8139
DOI:10.1353/arc.2012.0014