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THE SWAN POINT SITE, ALASKA: THE CHRONOLOGY OF A MULTI-COMPONENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE IN EASTERN BERINGIA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2023

Joshua D Reuther Open the ORCID record for Joshua D Reuther [Opens in a new window] ,
Charles E Holmes ,
Gerad M Smith ,
Francois B Lanoe ,
Barbara A Crass ,
Audrey G Rowe  and
Matthew J Wooller
Joshua D Reuther*
Affiliation:
University of Alaska Museum of the North, Archaeology Department, Fairbanks, AK, USA University of Alaska Fairbanks, Department of Anthropology, Fairbanks, AK, USA
Charles E Holmes
Affiliation:
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Department of Anthropology, Fairbanks, AK, USA
Gerad M Smith
Affiliation:
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Department of Anthropology, Fairbanks, AK, USA
Francois B Lanoe
Affiliation:
The University of Arizona School of Anthropology, Tucson, AZ, USA
Barbara A Crass
Affiliation:
University of Alaska Museum of the North, Archaeology Department, Fairbanks, AK, USA
Audrey G Rowe
Affiliation:
Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, Water and Environmental Research Center, Institute of Northern Engineering, Fairbanks, AK, USA University of Alaska Fairbanks, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Fairbanks, AK, USA
Matthew J Wooller
Affiliation:
Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, Water and Environmental Research Center, Institute of Northern Engineering, Fairbanks, AK, USA University of Alaska Fairbanks, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Fairbanks, AK, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: jreuther@alaska.edu
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Abstract

The Swan Point site in interior Alaska contains a significant multi-component archaeological record dating back to 14,200 cal BP. The site’s radiocarbon (14C) chronology has been presented in scattered publications that mostly focus on specific archaeological periods in Alaska, in particular its terminal Pleistocene components associated with the East Beringian tradition. This paper synthesizes the site’s 14C data and provides sequential Bayesian models for its cultural zones and subzones. The 14C and archaeological record at Swan Point attests that the location was persistently used over the last 14,000 years, even though major changes are evident within regional vegetation and local faunal communities, reflecting long-term trends culminating in Dene-Athabascan history.

Keywords

archaeological siteBayesian modelinginterior Alaskamulticomponent
Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 65 , Issue 3 , June 2023 , pp. 693 - 720
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Copyright
© University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of University of Arizona

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