“Ancient Alaskan Discovery: Secrets of a 1,000-Year-Old Indigenous Food Cache Unveil Surprising Moose and Caribou Connection!”
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.
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