• A field of cottongrass on an early summer morning

    Bering Land Bridge

    National Preserve Alaska

Research

Archeologist Kelly Graf documenting a stratigraphic profile
Archeologist Kelly Graf documenting a stratigraphic profile
Texas A&M University
 

Ice-Age Humans of the Bering Land Bridge: Archeology of Serpentine Hot Springs, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Alaska.

2009-2011 - The Center for the Study of the First Americans (at Texas A&M University) and the National Park Service had the opportunity to investigate what may be the first Ice-Age archeological site yet found in the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve. The site is located near Serpentine Hot Springs,and it contains stone tools and animal bones preliminarily dated to about 12,000 calendar years ago.

Though the theory that humans crossed the Bering Land Bridge to inhabit North America still stands, recent research at this site shows that the original speculations of many scientists who believe that humans populated all of the Americas by traveling from North to South may not be correct. The discovery of fluted points from Serpentine resemble fluted points from temperate America dating to 13,000-12,000 years ago and are not old enough to fit this theory. Now it would seem that fluted points were brought northwards as glaciers melted and early peoples explored the newly opened territory of northwestern Canada.

Contributed by Ted Goebel, Center for the Study of the First Americans, Texas A&M University.
Written by Heather Smith.

 

Did You Know?

An inactive 2005 Bilge Creek Fire.

A lightning strike ignites a fire in the preserve. The fire burns for a week and then rain puts it out. In about 7 years, a visitor could walk on the burned site having no idea there once was a fire under his or her feet. This speedy site re-vegetation is typical of tundra fire adapted ecosystems.