An Early Holocene Site in the Upper Susitna Basin, Central Alaska.

摘要: Central Alaska has a diverse late-Pleistocene and Holocene archaeological record. Lithic assemblages vary spatially and temporally, highlighted by the decision to use bifacial versus inset-microblade projectile technology (Goebel and Buvit 2011; West 1996b). Current explanations for this variability propose that technological choices were conditioned by seasonal variation in subsistence activities and technological organization on different landscapes (Potter 2008; Wygal 2009). The uplands of the central Alaska Range play an important role in assessing these hypotheses, as few prehistoric sites have been fully documented in this region (but see West 1996a; Wygal 2009). Our research is focused on identifying hunter-gatherer adaptations to upland landscapes from the earliest colonization throughout the Holocene. In summer 2010 we conducted archaeological reconnaissance survey in the upper Susitna basin. We located four unrecorded surface lithic scatters and conducted test excavations at two of them; the most intriguing of these sites is Susitna Dune 1 (HEA-454).Susitna Dune 1 is located in the upper Susitna basin at 63 112′ 15.87423 ″latitude, 147 322′ 57.58083 ″longitude, at 797 m above sea level. The site is located on a sand dune capped by aeolian sedimentary deposits (Figure 1), overlooking the upper Susitna basin to the north and east, approximately 1.2 km northeast of the Denali Highway. We excavated one 1-m2 test unit and identified 3 cultural components. Components 2 and 3, located in the uppermost 25 cm of the profile, are undated (Figure 1). Component 1, buried 90 cm below the ground surface (Figure 1 …