Late Holocene stone and copper arrow points of interior Alaska and Yukon

Date/Time: 
Vendredi, avril 29, 2022 - 15:20
Presentation Type: 
Oral
Presentation Format: 
Online - pre-recorded
Author(s): 
Robert  Sattler - Tanana Chiefs Conference
Julie  Esdale - Colorado State University
Christian Thomas - Yukon Government
Angela Younie - Ember Archaeology

Small stone projectile points and native copper arrowheads have been found in late Holocene contexts at sites in interior Alaska and the Yukon Territory. We present three examples from the middle Tanana River and one from the Upper Yukon River canyon below the international border. The Upper Yukon River example is from a buried context and is associated with southern sources of obsidian and a native copper preform. Dated charcoal from a hearth feature conforms to the timing of the eastern lobe of the White River ash event. Examples from the middle Tanana River valley, however, are undated and stylistically smaller than known and dated Chindadn points. The size of the stone points suggests that they were used with arrows versus darts, and the dating is consistent with the late Holocene transition to bow and arrow hunting technology known from the Yukon ice-patch record. Because these points are rare in Interior Alaska and the Yukon, this paper acts as both an introduction to this form and a call for similar identifications in the region.