Archeology

What We Do

The realm of archeology is the study of past people through examination of cultural materials, such as stone tools, pottery, and ivory or bone implements, which were abandoned or discarded at sites where they once lived and worked. By recovering and analyzing these remnants, along with the animal bones, pollen, structural remains of houses, and layers of sediment found at a site, archeologists can piece together factual stories of people who lived in an area during different times in the past. Archeologists have recorded an incredible variety of sites in the Alaska parklands, including ancient hunting camps, dating 10,000 years old or older; large village sites where Native Alaskans lived at the time of European contact; and historic mining camps, dating as recently as the early 1950s. Archeologists at the Alaska Regional Office conduct site research, assist staff at the parks in maintaining site databases, write nominations for the National Register of Historic Places, assist village partners and National Historic Landmarks stewards across the state in protecting and preserving their significant sites, as well as creating and delivering public education programs about Alaska’s dynamic and intriguing past.

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Learn more about archeological Resource Protection