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Too Little, Too Late? The Radiocarbon Chronology of Alaska and the Peopling of the New World

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Michael R. Bever*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, One University StationC3200, TX 78712-0303, Austin

Abstract

Alaska is commonly viewed as a gateway between the Old and New Worlds, and as such, figures prominently in most models of the peopling of the New World. With a growing number of archaeological sites dating to the terminal Pleistocene, Alaska might be expected to provide direct evidence bearing on the colonization of the Americas. Based on 27 site components with 114 radiocarbon dates, this paper discusses the archaeological record of late Pleistocene Alaska, organized around the characteristics and chronology of three complexes: the microblade-bearing Denali complex, the Nenana complex, and the Mesa complex. This paper shows that the archaeological record of late Pleistocene Alaska is quite diverse, and not lacking in controversy and conflicting interpretations. In addition, this period of archaeological diversity coincides with the Younger Dryas climatic event. However, none of the reliably dated sites is older than the earliest evidence of human occupation further south in the Americas. Despite this, evidence from DNA studies points strongly to a north-central Asian homeland for Native Americans, upholding Alaska as the point of entry into the New World. Suggestions are offered, then, as to why the Alaskan record remains silent about the initial peopling of the New World.

Résumé

Résumé

Alaska se ve comúnmente como el puente entre el Viejo y el Nuevo Mundo, y como tal, figura prominentemente dentro de la mayoría de los modelos sobre la colonización inicial del Nuevo Mundo. Con un expediente creciente de sitios arqueológicos que fechan a finales del pleistoceno, se esperaría que Alaska proporcionara evidencia directa concerniente a la colonización de las Américas. Basado en un estudio de 27 componentes arqueológicos con 114 fechas de radiocarbono, este artículo discute la evidencia arqueológica del período pleistoceno tardío de Alaska, organizado alrededor de las características y cronología de tres complejos tecnológicos: el complejo Denali (marcado por microlaminillas), el complejo Nenana, y el complejo Mesa. Además, este estudio demuestra que la evidencia arqueológica del periodo pleistoceno tardió de Alaska es ampliamente diversa, y no escapa a controversia e interpretaciones en conflicto. Este período de diversidad arqueológica coincide con el acontecimiento climático conocide como el Younger Dryas. Sin embargo, ninguno de los componentes arqueológicos con fechas radiocarbónicas confiables son mucho más viejos que la evidencia más temprana de ocupación humana encontrada más al sur en las Américas. A pesar de esto, la evidencia derivada de estudios de ADN indica fuertemente que el lugar de origen de grupos autóctonos norteamericanos debe ser la región norte-central de Asia, apoyando a Alaska como el punto de entrada al nuevo mundo. Este artículo ofrece sugerencias en cuanto a porqué la evidencia arqueológica de Alaska aún no puede ser relacionada directamente con la colonización inicial de las Américas.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2006

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