“Ancient Alaskan Discovery: Secrets of a 1,000-Year-Old Indigenous Food Cache Unveil Surprising Moose and Caribou Connection!”
Have you ever stumbled upon a time capsule that just screams, “I’ve seen it all”? Well, brace yourself, because researchers recently unearthed a 1,000-year-old food cache in Alaska that seems to do just that! This intriguing underground pit, measuring a modest 3.5 feet deep and lined with birch bark and grass, was expertly crafted by the Dene people — and guess what? They found remnants of caribou and moose still preserved within! This remarkable discovery not only sheds light on the resourcefulness of Alaska’s Indigenous peoples in the face of harsh climates but also invites us to ponder: how much of our past remains hidden, waiting for the right moment to be revealed? Join us as we delve into this fascinating story of history and tradition! LEARN MORE
Dug 3.5 feet deep and lined with birch bark and grass, this carefully constructed pit would have been ideal for storing meat and fish — and researchers actually found 1,000-year-old traces of caribou and moose still inside.
U.S. Air ForceOn a hill overlooking Upper Cook Inlet, researchers uncovered this underground food cache used by the Dene people 1,000 years ago.
Military officials recently announced the discovery of a 1,000-year-old Indigenous food cache near a narrow stretch of the Gulf of Alaska in 2024. The cache was located along a well-known trail long used by local native groups that extends northward out of modern-day Anchorage.
Measuring 3.5 feet deep, this cache pit was lined with birch bark and grass, and was meant to preserve fish, meat, and berries in the face of Alaska’s often intense seasonal weather patterns. The cache was created by the region’s Dene people around 1,000 years ago, according to initial radiocarbon dating.
Researchers now say that this discovery provides a new perspective on the region’s Indigenous history and illuminates additional ways to protect that legacy going forward.
The Discovery Of An Indigenous Food Cache On A Hill Overlooking Alaska’s Knik Arm
Joint Base Elmendorf-RichardsonThe food pit is located along an important trail traditionally used by the Indigenous Dene people to travel between Upper Cook Inlet and the Matanuska and Susitna valleys.
In June 2024, archaeologists from the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) discovered the 1,000-year-old cache near Upper Cook Inlet on a hill of spruce and birch overlooking the Knik Arm, a narrow stretch of the Gulf of Alaska. In a December press release, military officials described the cache as a kind of root cellar, used to store food and preserve it throughout Alaska’s seasonal weather extremes.
“This is the oldest known site on the east side of Upper Cook Inlet, and further substantiates Dena’ina and Ahtna oral traditions that JBER and the surrounding area have been used for a very long time,” said Margan Grover, archaeologist and JBER cultural resource manager.
Similar examples have been found in the past in other Alaskan regions, particularly the Matanuska and Susitna valleys or on the Kenai Peninsula. However, it is far rarer to find Dene cache pits or house sites near Anchorage, largely due to the area’s history of human development and its less stable ground conditions. For such a site to survive for nearly 1,000 years in this region is truly remarkable.
Joint Base Elmendorf-RichardsonThe pit was 3.5 feet deep and lined with birch bark and layers of grass.
“When we got the results back that said it was 960 years, plus or minus 30, we were shocked,” Liz Ortiz, an archaeologist and cultural resources program manager with JBER, told local news station KNBA. “[We] were jumping up and down in our cube in tears. It was very, very exciting.”
Ortiz and fellow researchers believe the cache’s discovery could provide an important learning opportunity regarding the region’s Indigenous history.
“Anchorage is a new town. You know, 1914 is when it’s first established,” Grover said. “But there are people who were here much longer than that, and they were amazing stewards of this land, and so we have to make sure we acknowledge that.”
How This Dene Food Cache Is Offering New Insights Into Alaska’s Indigenous History
The site where the cache was found has a long history of association with the Dena’ina and Ahtna people, Ortiz explained. It lies along a traditional trail used to travel between what’s now the Anchorage region and the Matanuska and Susitna valleys, where people would remain throughout the spring and summer to catch and preserve salmon.
During these warm months, Indigenous people would also stay in traditional houses known as nichil, which lined the bluff and beach along Upper Cook Inlet. Here, they also erected smokehouses, important buildings for ceremonies, worship, and preserving meat.
While this is not the oldest site of its kind in Alaska — some others have been dated back 14,000 years — it is still an important focal point for study that allows researchers to learn more about the Dene. To this day, half of Alaska’s population today lives within traditional Dene lands. Unfortunately, many of those areas have been disturbed, leaving fewer and fewer opportunities to examine sites such as this.
