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Cape Krusenstern National Monument
Archeologist J.L. Giddings

J. Louis Giddings dedicated his professional life to understanding the people and the prehistory of Northwest Alaska. During a quarter-century of prolific archeological fieldwork (1939 to 1964) Giddings made discoveries that greatly changed prevailing views on the antiquity and complexity of Arctic cultures. Nowhere is his legacy more evident than in the vast expanse of Cape Krusenstern National Monument, designated in 1978, primarily to protect and interpret its incredible archeological resources. 

In the mid-1950s, Giddings, and his Inupiaq boatman, Almond Downey, discovered a long sequence of ancient beach ridges at Cape Krusternstern. Preserved on the ridges was evidence of the sweep of Arctic prehistory from roughly 5,000 years ago up through historic times. On the bluffs behind the beach ridges are older sites, possibly dating to 9,000 years ago. The archeological staff of Western Arctic National Parklands continue the scientific research and interpretation of the prehistory of Cape Krusenstern begun almost 50 years ago by Giddings

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Image of the Cape Krusenstern landscape

Did You Know?
In 1980, with the passage of ANILCA (Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act), much of the traditional homeland of the Inupiat Eskimos of Northwest Alaska became national parks, preserves, monuments, and wildlife refuges.
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Last Updated: August 07, 2006 at 16:28 MST