Across The Arctic In An Archaeological Instant

Archaeologists Andrew Tremayne and Jeff Rasic discuss the Denbigh small tool tradition, a cultural trend among ancient people evidenced by their tools, and how the tradition seems to have spread across the Arctic.

Across The Arctic In An Archaeological Instant

The tools that archaeologists discover at dig site tell a story about the people who crafted them. Archaeologists excavating an ancient hunting camp in the Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve, Alaska, describe the Denbigh Flint Complex or Denbigh small tool tradition.

The Matcharak Lake archaeological site excavated by Andrew Tremayne holds artifacts representing a distinctive stone tool technology called the Denbigh Flint Complex (say DEN-bee). Denbigh people spread and colonized most of Arctic North America 5000 years ago. At Lake Matcharak archaeologists uncovered a Paleo-Eskimo hunting camp containing Denbigh-era artifacts and animal bones. Although 75-100 Denbigh sites are known in Alaska, only a handful (literally) of bone fragments are known from all of these sites. The condition of shallow permafrost and the ongoing formation of peat at Matcharak Lake were just right to preserve the animal remains of many Denbigh meals.

Artifact tools Arctic ancient culture Denbigh tradition

artifact tools Arctic ancient culture Denbigh tradition

Across The Arctic In An Archaeological Instant video | Frontier Scientists on YouTube

(artifact tools Arctic ancient culture Denbigh tradition)

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Project Summary

Paleo-Eskimo

Paleo-Eskimo

Paleo-Eskimo Archaeology — Paleo-Eskimos are the ancient ancestors of modern Natives in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. Travel with archaeologists into the field in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska, as they dig for artifacts from these long-ago traditions, uncovering examples of cunning technology and hunting prowess which... Read More >