Recent Excavations at Teklanika West: Cultural and Environmental Implications

for the Upper Teklanika River Valley

Sam Coffman and Ben A. Potter

Recent excavations at Teklanika West have yielded dateable materials in clear

association with chipped-stone technology. Both environmental and cultural data
obtained at the site have produced a more complex understanding of the site and
surrounding landscape. Multiple cultural occupations ranging in age from the late
Pleistocene through late Holocene are represented at the site. Various data indicate that
the upper Teklanika River valley was deglaciated by late Pleistocene/early Holocene
times allowing humans access to animals, new travel routes, and raw material resources.
This presentation focuses on the new dates from the site and their cultural and
paleoenvironmental implications.