Highlights from an early base camp in Beringia 13,800 years ago: Shég’ Xdaltth’í’ and the Late Pleistocene peopling of Alaska

Abstract

Human dispersal across the Bering Land Bridge (BLB) was a key event in the peopling of the Americas, but Beringia’s archaeological record remains poorly understood. In response, the Shég’ Xdaltth’í’ site in interior Alaska has been the focus of a multi-disciplinary study since 2016. The site contains three archaeological components dating to the Late Pleistocene, 13.8, 13, and 12.7 thousand years ago. The oldest component yielded an expressive array of cultural remains, including a unique hafted-biface form, osseous tools, diverse fauna, and well-preserved activity areas, a record unparalleled for this age in Beringia. Shég’ Xdaltth’í’ represents the earliest known Nenana Complex occupation east of the BLB, and its distinct hafted-biface form occurs in coeval sites west of the BLB, providing an important trans-Beringian cultural link. Although not Beringia’s oldest site, Shég’ Xdaltth’í’ reveals important information about Late Glacial peopling and settling-in behavior in this far northern setting.